F Joakim Kemell - JYP, FIN JRS (2022, 17th, NSH)

[Antiillafire]

I liked him a lot at the HGC. I thought he was easily the most dangerous Finnish player against Slovakia (also liked Salin). Any chance he could push for a spot on the WjC team?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think he has to be on the WJC team, and I think top 15-20 may be selling him short. I think top 10 is possible.

 

[Zub]

This guy is having me more intrigued than Lambert at the moment, he consistently finds ways to generate offence and has very good passing skills/vision, top 10 potential thats for sure.

 

[JJTT]

Is he really only 181cm? Seems taller.

 

[JJTT]

From Steve Kournianos

Recap: 2021 U20 Four Nations Tournament (August)

I’ll try not to overstate this, but Kemell — who played on Finland’s top line — is the most abrasive European draft prospect I’ve covered since Russia’s Vasily Podkolzin in 2019, and there are similarities in both style and competitiveness. Kemell is more of a hunched skater but he’s so quick and shifty along the boards as he maintains complete puck control and acute situational awareness. He’s also an outstanding defensive winger; one who routinely is the first forward on the backcheck and will mark and cover the biggest threat rather than simply staying within his lane and only worrying about his man. Kemell operates at full throttle throughout his shifts and hits like a 6-foot-2, 200-pound winger. He was used on the power play in his customary off-wing position where he was targeted for one-timer attempts. There’s simply no reason to think he’s not good enough to be a top-five pick in the draft.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

I like the skill set a lot, and it might just be a mental thing at the u20 level, but he seems to get tunnel vision a lot with the puck. When I watch him I find he passes up the right play often to try and beat a player himself. Again, could be him just being cocky at the u20 level.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Scored opening goal for his team today. Looked ten times better than Lambert.

 

[Kiekura]

Scored opening goal for his team today. Looked ten times better than Lambert.

Strange how Lambert doesnt seem to figure it out. He has the tools

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Strange how Lambert doesnt seem to figure it out. He has the tools

He's not aggressive enough, passive player. I've never seen a Finnish prospect like Kemell, full of skill, super eager to shoot the puck & throwing hits left and right. And goes into the corners to dig the puck. All while not being big at all.

 

[Kiekura]

He's not aggressive enough, passive player. I've never seen a Finnish prospect like Kemell, full of skill, super eager to shoot the puck & throwing hits left and right. And goes into the corners to dig the puck.

Well we have to remember that he is still young. He sometimes flashes his skills.

Kemell is seriously grinding his way up on draft. He has been like best player in JYP today

 

[JJTT]

Gotta love this kid. Looks like young Ovechkin out there, the way he is throwing his body around.

 

[TheFinnishTrap]

He's not aggressive enough, passive player. I've never seen a Finnish prospect like Kemell, full of skill, super eager to shoot the puck & throwing hits left and right. And goes into the corners to dig the puck. All while not being big at all.

To be fair, in a practice game a week or two ago Lambert looked good while Kemell looked out of his depth, either one of them could look better on a given night. That being said, Kemell really is a unique prospect, truly full of energy and skill.

 

[Hntz]

Upset incoming, and Kemell going before Lambert in the draft? I know it’s early, but it’s fun to speculate.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

To be fair, in a practice game a week or two ago Lambert looked good while Kemell looked out of his depth, either one of them could look better on a given night. That being said, Kemell really is a unique prospect, truly full of energy and skill.

I wasn't really impressed by Lambert in any of the pre-season games. He also has a full season of experience in men's league, while Kemell has just begun learning what it's like.

Obviously this was just the first game, there's time for improvement. Lambert needs to find another gear in his physical game.

 

[Ippenator]

Scored opening goal for his team today. Looked ten times better than Lambert.

Absolutely. Kemell was constantly active with and without the puck and he made most of the time the right choices on the ice. Lambert was again showing that he has the wheels, but not the hockey IQ to match them. Almost constantly making bad decisions with the puck and also causing dangerous turnovers that almost ended up as goals to the opponent. He was also surprisingly passive without the puck and wasn’t really contributing much to anything for his team.

Of course it was only the first game of the season, but I saw way too much of this kind of play from him last season and it’s quite disappointing to see him continuing like that right from the start of the season. Anyway Kemell was massively better today and has honestly looked for quite a while already as the better player of these two. I think it might really go so that Kemell after all rises above Lambert in their draft.

Of course a long season to go and everything can start going any way for either of them. Interesting to follow, but for me Lambert is mostly a quite frustrating player to follow with his bad decision making and passive play without the puck - especially because he should definitely have the wheels to play very active and succesful way without the puck.

 

[Zub]

Upset incoming, and Kemell going before Lambert in the draft? I know it’s early, but it’s fun to speculate.

I wouldn't be suprised. Kemell is trending.

 

[Zub]

Shame Kemell isn't a little bit bigger he could be in the top 5 discussion by now, but who knows maybe his skill will be enough to get there, he looks so promising.

 

[PuckProspects]

I don't really see any issues with Kemell's size and he plays much bigger then he is. He should already be in top 10 discussion and could easily go above Lambert. Still early though.

 

[Ippenator]

I don't really see any issues with Kemell's size and he plays much bigger then he is. He should already be in top 10 discussion and could easily go above Lambert. Still early though.

He is in fact pretty much the same size as Sebastian Aho. And he even reminds me a bit of Aho how he plays. I don’t think Kemell has as high hockey IQ as Aho though, but it’s pretty good anyway.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Could Kemell be discussed without disparaging Lambert? They are not the same player, and there is no requirement to compare them.

 

[Ippenator]

Could Kemell be discussed without disparaging Lambert? They are not the same player, and there is no requirement to compare them.

They play in the same Liiga team right now and as they are in the same draft class, it’s pretty natural to be comparing them at the moment. Especially when their class of play was at so different levels today.

 

[Hntz]

Could Kemell be discussed without disparaging Lambert? They are not the same player, and there is no requirement to compare them.

We can’t compare two players in the same draft? Especially when Lambert has beeen hyped as a top 3 talent in the draft, yet Kemell is outperforming him currently.

 

[JustaFinnishGuy]

Kemell is still way better than Lambert so far vs Kärpät.
Even though it's just the start of the season, I wouldn't be too surprised if Kemell would challenge Lambert and eventually surpass him.

 

[Erikfromfin]

Scored another goal... pretty impressive 3 games in liiga and 3 goals

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Simply the best player on his team today. 1+1. Goal was lucky but deserved.