Finnish Prospect Update Thread

[dorsku]

Another underage player who made his C-juniors debut on Saturday was 2005-born winger Emil Järventie, who played for Ilves against HIFK in the top division, scoring a goal and a primary assist in a losing effort.

1+2 today against Blues. So 5 points after two games, looking pretty good. Can anyone tell more about this kid? Crazy he's only 13 years old..

 

[ookhaab]

Nvm!

 

[FinPanda]

LD Aron Kiviharju - TPS, FIN JRS (2024 Draft)

This thread has some a lot of info and videos of him.

Didn't he mean Järventie and not Kiviharju? He quoted a post about Emil.

 

[jalperi]

2019 draft eligible Finns statistics:

Liiga
Kaapo Kakko, LW, TPS 29 11+11=22 +1 TOI 17:38 (10 3+8=11 +5)
Mikko Kokkonen, D, Jukurit 41 1+14=15 -7 TOI 16:36 (21 0+6=6 -8)
Antti Saarela, C, Lukko 16 1+6=7 +1 TOI 12:49 (16 1+6=7 +1)
Ville Heinola, D, Lukko 23 1+5=6 +11 TOI 17:56 (8 1+3=4 +1)
Anttoni Honka, D, JYP 16 1+3=4 -7 TOI 13:52 -00 (1 0+0=0 0)
Henri Nikkanen, C, Jukurit 9 2+0=2 +1 TOI 9:24
Matias Mäntykivi, C/RW, SaiPa 4 1+0=1 0 TOI 9:09 (4 1+0=1 0)
Juuso Pärssinen, C, TPS 6 1+0=1 +1 TOI 11:23 (6 1+0=1 +1)
Mikko Petman, LW, Lukko 8 1+0=1 0 TOI 8:02 (5 0+0=0 -3)
Leevi Aaltonen, LW, KalPa 6 0+1=1 +1 TOI 9:37 (1 0+0=0 0)
Patrik Puistola, LW, Tappara 16 0+1=1 -1 TOI 7:49 (15 0+1=1 -3)
Kristian Tanus, F, Tappara/Jukurit 8 0+0=0 -4 TOI 6:58(4 0+0=0 -2) (2018 draft eligible)
Kim Nousiainen, D, KalPa 6 0+0=0 -1 TOI 8:21 (6 0+0=0 -1)
Aleks Haatanen, RW, Pelicans 1 0+0=0 0 TOI 4:12 (1 0+0=0 0)

Mestis (Finland 2)
Kristian Tanus, F, Leki 32 13+29=42 +21 -00 (15 1+18=19 +9)(2018 draft eligible)
Patrik Puistola, W, LeKi 18 13+10=23 +10 (9 7+4=11 +3)
---- All followers are new ones
Kalle Loponen, D, Hermes 18 4+6=10 +10
Anttoni Honka, D, KeuPa HT, 10 1+5=6 +1
Aleks Haatanen, LW, Peliitat 7 1+4=5 +1
Kim Nousiainen, D, IPK 8 0+5=5 -4
Matias Mäntykivi, C/RW, Ketterä 2 1+0=1 +2
Eemil Jaatinen, F, IPK, 2 0+0=0 -1

A-SM Upper group (U20 league)
Tuukka Tieksola, F, Kärpät 9 3+13=16 +11
Aarne Intonen, F, TPS 9 3+4=7 +6
Wiljami Myllylä, RW, HIFK, 9 3+4=7 +5
Aku Räty, F, Kärpät 9 1+6=7 +5
Miiro Linjala, LW, Jukurit 9 3+2=5 +3 -00
Juuso Pärssinen, C, TPS 6 2+3=5 +8
Konsta Hirvonen, F, HIFK 9 1+4=5 +1 -00
Santtu Hakanen, C, HPK 9 0+5=5 -12
Leevi Aaltonen, LW, KalPa 5 0+4=4 -6
Iivari Räsänen, D, Tappara 9 0+4=4 -1
Benjamin Korhonen, F, KalPa 9 2+0=2 -12
Karri Kapanen, F, KalPa 9 2+0=2 0 -00
Elias Vilen, C, Pelicans 3 1+1=2 -1
Kasperi Heinänen, RW, HPK 7 1+1=2 -8
Patrik Puistola, W, Tappara 1 0+1=1 -3
Kristian Tanus, F, Tappara 2 0+1=1 0
Aapo Holtinkoski, D, TPS 2 1+0=1 -1
Leevi Teissala, RW , TPS 2 0+0=0 -2

A-SM Lower group (U20-league)
Antti Tuomisto, D, Ässät 9 0+9=9 +5
Jiri Parviainen, F, KooKoo 9 4+4=8 +4 -00
Mathias Hänninen, LW, KooKoo 8 2+5=7 +7
Mikko Petman, LW, Lukko 6 3+3=6 +3
Matias Mäntykivi, C/RW, SaiPa 6 1+4=5 +2
Samuel Valkeejärvi, F, JYP 7 1+2=3 -2
Tomi Niku, D, JYP 7 0+3=3 0
Santeri Hatakka, D, Jokerit 6 1+1=2 +4
Markus Oden, F, KooKoo 8 1+0=1 -1
Verneri Metsänen, F, Ilves 1 0+0=1 -1

A-SM (U20-League)
Jiri Parviainen, F, KooKoo 34 13+22=35 -6 -00
Aleks Haatanen, RW, Pelicans, 27 12+23=35 +25 -00
Aarne Intonen, F, TPS 34 12+20=32 +17
Tuukka Tieksola, F, Kärpät 33 9+23=32 +9
Wiljami Myllylä, RW, HIFK, 34 16+14=30 +12
Mathias Hänninen, LW, KooKoo 31 7+23=30 -2
Matias Mäntykivi, C/RW, SaiPa 27 11+18=29 -2
Aku Räty, F, Kärpät 34 14+14=28 +10
Kim Nousiainen, D, KalPa 32 8+20=28 +10 -00
Konsta Hirvonen, F, HIFK 34 9+17=26 0 -00
Benjamin Korhonen, F, KalPa 34 13+9=24 +4
Santtu Hakanen, C, HPK 34 11+13=24 +2
Kasperi Heinänen, RW, HPK 30 10+14=24 -6
Iivari Räsänen, D, Tappara 32 6+17=23 +10
Mikko Petman, LW, Lukko 28 11+10=21 -22
Antti Tuomisto, D, Ässät 29 7+14=21 -7
Leevi Aaltonen, LW, KalPa 17 7+13=20 +11
Markus Oden, F, KooKoo 31 8+11=19 -8
Miiro Linjala, LW, Jukurit 32 6+13=19 +5 -00
Samuel Valkeejärvi, F, JYP 25 10+7=17 -6
Patrik Puistola, W, Tappara 17 9+7=16 +6
Juuso Pärssinen, C, TPS 29 9+6=15 +2
Antti Saarela, F, Lukko 21 7+8=15 -5
Verneri Metsänen, F, Ilves 33 9+5=14 +4
Karri Kapanen, F, KalPa 26 6+8=14 +3 -00
Leevi Teissala, RW , TPS 21 3+8=11 -16
Henri Nikkanen, C, Jukurit 14 2+7=9 0
Kalle Loponen, D, Kärpät 18 2+7=9 +3
Ville Heinola, D, Lukko 9 1+8=9 -2
Santeri Hatakka, D, Jokerit 28 2+6=8 -4
Elias Vilen, C, Pelicans 10 0+6=6 0
Tomi Niku, D, JYP 24 0+5=5 -9
Aapo Holtinkoski, D, TPS 20 0+3=3 -6

B-SM Upper group (U18)
Daniel Mäkiaho, RW, Blues 8 7+8=15
Aleksander Forslund, C, Blues 8 5+9=14
Anton Mäkelä, F, Ässät 8 4+9=13
Petteri Puhakka, F, Kärpät 8 6+6=12
Miro Markkula, F, Tappara 7 5+3=8
Miika Herrala, F, HIFK 7 3+2=5
Elias Vilen, C, Pelicans 5 2+3=5

B-SM Lower group (U18)
Eemeli Mäki, F, Ilves 8 7+5=12
Verneri Metsänen, F, Ilves 8 3+8=11


B-SM (U18-League)
Miro Markkula, F, Tappara 30 19+25=44
Daniel Mäkiaho, RW, Blues 31 21+19=40
Aleksander Forslund, C, Blues 30 11+29=40
Miika Herrala, F, HIFK 31 11+27=38
Petteri Puhakka, F, Kärpät 26 17+18=35
Elias Vilen, C, Pelicans 16 17+15=32
Anton Mäkelä, F, Ässät 31 8+24=32
Joona Haarti, D, Blues 31 8+20=28
Kalle Loponen, D, Kärpät 2 0+4=4

B-Mestis Q
Eemeli Mäki, F, Ilves 23 22+30=52
Verneri Metsänen, F, Ilves 4 7+6=13

WHL
Lassi Thomson, D, Kelowna Rockets 47 11+19=30 -1 (31 4+14=18 +2) -00

QMJHL
Jasper Rannisto, D, Blainville- Boisbriand Armada 32 1+7=8 -7 (19 0+5=5 -3) -00

USHL
Matias Maccelli, LW Dubuque Fighting Saints 37 19+27=46 +13 (20 10+17=27 +11) -00
Jami Krannila, F, Sioux Falls Stampede 35 12+16=28 +10 (20 7+10=17 +5) -00
Marcus Kallionkieli, F, Sioux City Musketeers 33 17+10=27 +18 (20 6+3=9 +7)
Oskari Oksanen, D, Green Bay Gamblers 26 0+4=4 -1 (19 0+4=4 +2)

 

[JJTT]

Full roster to Pohjola camp

Leijonat - Tässä kaikki Pohjola-leirille kutsutut pelaajat – Yhteensä 102 parasta pelaajaa vuonna 2004 syntyneiden ikäluokasta

Haven't followed this group at all, who are the top prospects? Laakso and Kemell?

 

[ijuka]

At this point, for forwards I'd also add Jani Nyman and perhaps even players such as Jere Lassila, Oskari Vuorio or Iisai Pesonen.

 

[wings5]

Tieksola looks like a name to follow with good stats in the u20 upper league, havne't heard of him until recently. Looks pretty physically undeveloped as well so may very grow within the next few years

 

[LoveHateLeafs]

Would anyone care to describe 2001-born d-man Kalle Loponen's playing style, strengths, and weaknesses? He has encouraging numbers in the Mestis, maybe enough to be a mid-to-late round draft pick.

 

[ijuka]

Would anyone care to describe 2001-born d-man Kalle Loponen's playing style, strengths, and weaknesses? He has encouraging numbers in the Mestis, maybe enough to be a mid-to-late round draft pick.

Kalle Loponen | FinnProspects.com

Any questions after reading this?

 

[ijuka]

Emil Järventie has now scored 5+5=10 points in 4 games at C-juniors as a double underager. Today he scored a hat trick and got an assist. The all-time record for a double underager is by Jesse Puljujärvi, 34 points in 23 games. Though what's different here is that Järventie, unlike Puljujärvi, is actually rather small for this age group and can't compete in terms of physicality.

I also watched him play this entire game so now I have a bit of an opinion on him as a player. I think that his skating is quite impressive. Perhaps not at the very elite of skaters, but it always is great to see players with such agility and ability to play stop-and-go without having to circle around. He was able to very quickly change direction to where he was required to go and he even did proper accelerating backwards crossovers which isn't all that common for forwards of this age(Side note here: It feels as if Finnish minor skating coaching has improved? I don't think there were very many players whose overall skating kit I'd have considered impressive just a few years ago). The other thing that especially stood out is his IQ, especially in the offensive zone. Seemed to do the right thing very consistently, especially when it comes to positioning. He also has very very impressive hands and ability to unwind tight spots and a bomb of a shot from what I could see.

Especially this goal was nice:

Spoiler

 

[Jyssy]

Who do you think is the better prospect, Aatu Räty or Simontaival? I've never seen Räty play and only seen some clips of Simontaival so I'm curious.

 

[FinnishSniper]

Who do you think is the better prospect, Aatu Räty or Simontaival? I've never seen Räty play and only seen some clips of Simontaival so I'm curious.

Better prospect for sure is Räty because of skating, position and size.

 

[JJTT]

Samu Tuomaala with couple of nice goals with U16 nt today

 

[wings5]

Samu Tuomaala with couple of nice goals with U16 nt today

Impressive shot the kid has already, is he a center? What kind of player is he, and how does he stack up compared to Lambert?

 

[ijuka]

Impressive shot the kid has already, is he a center? What kind of player is he, and how does he stack up compared to Lambert?

Winger... IMO he's not even close to Lambert. A year older yet Lambert plays in A-SM and also the u17 national team(with great success so far).

 

[Erikfromfin]

delete...

 

[Dr Pepper]

Samu Tuomaala with couple of nice goals with U16 nt today

What's up with the curling rings in the offensive zone there? Multi-purpose rink, I take it? Never seen it so obvious like that, during a hockey game.

 

[jalperi]

Viljam Sandvik (-03,2021 draft) played today on Jokerit A-juniors 12:15 TOI. Centered 2nd line on third period.

 

[kelsier]

Watched two periods of Lundell yesterday and damn does he look promising. He's a late born and already past 17y so you kind of get how he can already excel at this level. It's always difficult to weight in the team factor and the fact that he plays in HIFK certainly doesn't hurt, but right now he looks like an upgrade to Kotkaniemi and I think he'd be in the top 10 if not top 5 in this years draft, but then again he's got all the time in the world to improve the stocks since the spring of 2020 is far away.

Also watched the entire game from TPS and I have to say Kakko has looked better as a center than a winger these past games. With Filppula on the sidelines I wonder why he's still being used on the wing instead of being slotted in the middle (especially if he has such a desire to be the the 1st OA). Kakko had a good game, but nothing that we haven't seen before. Still got to say this kid is something else though.

 

[JustAPleb]

Elmeri Laakso ´04 broke today 50 pts in finnish U16 (03) lvl. Jokipojat Joensuu D have now in 37 games 17 goals+35 assists= 52 points and 115 penalty minutes.

 

[BigHitter67]

As the NHL becomes increasingly skill based -half the guys who played 20..30 yrs ago- would have zero chance in today’s league , (As a Canadian)I’m blown away by the quantity of top end prospects being developed by small countries like Finland. Without seeing stats I’m guessing Finland is likely top producer (per-capita) of first round talent in last three combined NHL drafts.
My question ...what does development look like for Finnish kids at the very young ages ..say U12 and younger. Is it mostly skill sessions and small sided games for 8..9 and 10 yrold kids? Over here I’m seeing the top 10 yrolds playing over 100 game seasons -from Sept to late June and the evidence is pretty clear that this is far far from ideal for producing truly skilled players . Most kids will touch the puck for no more than total of 40 to 60 seconds in a 1 hour game...it’s brutal for development and yet??....

 

[ijuka]

As the NHL becomes increasingly skill based -half the guys who played 20..30 yrs ago- would have zero chance in today’s league , (As a Canadian)I’m blown away by the quantity of top end prospects being developed by small countries like Finland. Without seeing stats I’m guessing Finland is likely top producer (per-capita) of first round talent in last three combined NHL drafts.
My question ...what does development look like for Finnish kids at the very young ages ..say U12 and younger. Is it mostly skill sessions and small sided games for 8..9 and 10 yrold kids? Over here I’m seeing the top 10 yrolds playing over 100 game seasons -from Sept to late June and the evidence is pretty clear that this is far far from ideal for producing truly skilled players . Most kids will touch the puck for no more than total of 40 to 60 seconds in a 1 hour game...it’s brutal for development and yet??....

I'm looking at a fairly normal weekly schedule for TPS juniors - a fairly high calibre development group for Finland(Kakko, Rantanen, Ristolainen etc.) - here: https://www.tps-juniorit.net/materiaalipankki/?download=20320

What we see is for 5-7yo skaters, 2 training sessions per week, no matches. For 8-11 yo skaters, an hour and a half of gym and 2 1-hour training sessions, as well as 1-2 league matches. For 12-14yo, one more training session, though it varies. For 13+, there are almost no days off, especially for the competitive teams.

One thing about the Finnish system is that there indeed are very few matches played. The amount of games Finnish minor players play has constantly been reduced. Looking at last season's E2-juniors(born 08) for TPS as an example, they played 20 games in total, and that's the entire season including both fall and spring. Additionally, the Finnish minor teams tend to participate in 2-3 tournaments per year that tend to have multiple short games per day over the course of a weekend or so. Those would generally be in the fall, the Christmas break and the spring.

Other than that, there's a significant focus on skills training, far moreso than actual matches. And you can clearly see it, too. Most of even the dime-a-dozen players in the highest Finnish minor leagues have very good stickhandling ability and you can also notice this when these players start entering Liiga, even the non-NHL, Liiga tier prospects entering Liiga at 20 or 21 tend to be quite skilled. Finnish players' skating also has gone up quite a bit in the recent years. TPS at least has specific skating courses throughout, that are separate from the club team action.


Indeed, the approach is very different from how it seems to be in Canada, where they can have 100 games a season. In Finland you only start approaching a significant amount of games played upon entering the B-SM(u18) level, or somewhere thereabouts. Though even then it's just around 50 matches and playoffs.

 

[BigHitter67]

I'm looking at a fairly normal weekly schedule for TPS juniors - a fairly high calibre development group for Finland(Kakko, Rantanen, Ristolainen etc.) - here: https://www.tps-juniorit.net/materiaalipankki/?download=20320

What we see is for 5-7yo skaters, 2 training sessions per week, no matches. For 8-11 yo skaters, an hour and a half of gym and 2 1-hour training sessions, as well as 1-2 league matches. For 12-14yo, one more training session, though it varies. For 13+, there are almost no days off, especially for the competitive teams.

One thing about the Finnish system is that there indeed are very few matches played. The amount of games Finnish minor players play has constantly been reduced. Looking at last season's E2-juniors(born 08) for TPS as an example, they played 20 games in total, and that's the entire season including both fall and spring. Additionally, the Finnish minor teams tend to participate in 2-3 tournaments per year that tend to have multiple short games per day over the course of a weekend or so. Those would generally be in the fall, the Christmas break and the spring.

Other than that, there's a significant focus on skills training, far moreso than actual matches. And you can clearly see it, too. Most of even the dime-a-dozen players in the highest Finnish minor leagues have very good stickhandling ability and you can also notice this when these players start entering Liiga, even the non-NHL, Liiga tier prospects entering Liiga at 20 or 21 tend to be quite skilled. Finnish players' skating also has gone up quite a bit in the recent years. TPS at least has specific skating courses throughout, that are separate from the club team action.


Indeed, the approach is very different from how it seems to be in Canada, where they can have 100 games a season. In Finland you only start approaching a significant amount of games played upon entering the B-SM(u18) level, or somewhere thereabouts. Though even then it's just around 50 matches and playoffs.

Wow! Thanks for this! This is what I sort of expected to hear but even more so!! 08s playing 20 game season is incredible!! If Hockey Caanada tried to mandate that over here the no-it-all parents would riot. It’s sad to see

 

[HockeyDBspecialist]

Anyone Watching Ikonen come back this season ?
Wanted to know if it was a fluke or he just step up to the next level

 

[Mildan]

Are anyone of you actives able to come up with a finnish prospect talent ranking top 20 or so? So not according to draft year but general talent. Of course I would appriciate if draft year would be next to their rank.. Anyone up for it? Would make it easier to follow them for non finns and less actives and potentially enojoyable to come back to check where they were in 2019 as a prospects.