Finnish Top Prospects part II

[Flameshomer]

Hey Guys,
Eetu Tuulola has impressed the heck out of many of us flames fans during prospect camp this week. Honestly didn't think he would have much skill but he's got excellent hands for such a big kid. Can anyone who watched him last year give us a bit more of a lowdown? Thanks!!

 

[FiLe]

Can anyone who watched him last year give us a bit more of a lowdown?

What you see is what you get: A big power forward with decent scoring touch. When last season began, he actually seemed like a viable candidate to spend his entire season with HPK's Liiga team - and if I'm perfectly honest, wasn't even all that many steps behind the "big two" of Puljujärvi and Laine in my book.

Then an injury happened and after his return he ended up spending most of his season in juniors. Ended the spring on a high note though, being part of that U18 gold winning squad.

Definitely has an upside and NHL potential. We'll see how he fares this season.

 

[JJTT]

So anybody know what this Selänne "scoring" Academy thing is? Seems quite serious since all of the top 01 born forwards were there.

http://selanne.com/selanne-academy-puts-goal-scoring-first/
http://liiga.fi/videot/2016/08/10/teemu-selanne-aloitti-uudessa-tyossaan

Is it becoming like a regular thing or something?

 

[qmjhlisles]

What can anyone tell me about defensemen Saku Vesterinen drafted by Charlottetown in the CHL import draft?

 

[Erikfromfin]

U17 matches against Russia will be streamed
http://www.leijonat.fi/maajoukkueet/u17/201617/item/16957-leijonat-live-tarjoaa-alle-17-vuotiaiden-venaja-maaottelut.html

roster
http://www.leijonat.fi/maajoukkueet/u17/201617/item/16921-u17-kohtaa-ensi-viikolla-venajan-talla-joukkueella-vierumaelle.html

 

[kelsier]

U17 matches against Russia will be streamed
http://www.leijonat.fi/maajoukkueet/u17/201617/item/16957-leijonat-live-tarjoaa-alle-17-vuotiaiden-venaja-maaottelut.html

roster
http://www.leijonat.fi/maajoukkueet/u17/201617/item/16921-u17-kohtaa-ensi-viikolla-venajan-talla-joukkueella-vierumaelle.html

Who are the guys from Finnish roster you'd keep an eye on in particular?

 

[JJTT]

Updated roster for the U17s

http://www.tilastopalvelu.fi/ih/serierosterlist/?tid=558326533&sid=1462&lang=en

Lineup from first game http://www.tilastopalvelu.fi/ih/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&gid=7481

First game on demand http://livestream.com/leijonat/events/6111585/videos/132659708

 

[HockeyHistorian]

Wasn't that impressed by anyone but I liked Kupari, Honka, Ranta, Maccelli and Tanus. Salonen is a monster physically, but I didn't see much skill or awareness.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

Today I was most impressed with Maccelli. He has great hands and is a very agile skater and seems to have good offensive awareness.

 

[Eyelanders]

Wasn't that impressed by anyone but I liked Kupari, Honka, Ranta, Maccelli and Tanus. Salonen is a monster physically, but I didn't see much skill or awareness.

Kupari could eventually develop into a pretty good two-way player. Really excels at face-offs, even at the international level, and has shown some nice finesse to his game at times with club teams. He also did some good things away from the puck and on PK last season, although consistency was a bit of an issue in some of my viewings.

 

[dkollidas]

Vaakanainen
OFD with good size and is solid in his own end. Draft pick expectation: 10-20.

Välimäki
Smart and poised TWD with good size. Top 4 potential. Draft pick expectation 15-40.

Heiskanen
Smallish, skilled and smart OFD with good upside. Draft pick expectation: 25-50.

Salo
Another smart and poised TWD. Has also a good shot and seems quite strong. Draft pick expectation: 3rd-5th round pick.

Jokiharju
Small and skilled OFD with upside. A late round pick.

Kotkansalo
I have no clear opinion about him as he seems to have no clear strengths or negatives. Might not get picked.

My pick expectations are very premature of course, but this is how I see things today. Situations can and will change a lot in one season though. EDIT: Earlier I had Heiskanen over Välimäki because of higher ceiling, but Välimäki is undoubtedly less risky. It also must be said that I'm much better at evaluating offensive skills and forwards than defensemen.

As a Buffalo Sabers fan, I'm very excited for the talent of Finnish defenseman in next year's draft. Hoping to see Buffalo select one of Vaakanainen or Valimaki, as I believe both are left shot defenseman an would fit nicely in a few years next to Ristolainen.

 

[JJTT]

00 born players who started their season with their A Junior teams:

C/LW Otto Kivenmäki, Ässät
RD Juuso Ketola, Ässät
C Jesperi Kotkanniemi, Ässät (injured)
LD Toni Utunen, Tappara
RD Miska Kukkonen, Ilves
RW Eetu Mäki, Sport
LD Tobias Ã…kerman, Sport
LD Santeri Salmela, KooKoo

01's in B Juniors

LW Veeti Miettinen, Blues
C Antti Saarela, Lukko
RW/C Mikko Petman, Lukko
LW Rasmus Elo, Lukko
LD Ville Heinola, Ässät
LW Leevi Aaltonen, Kalpa
C Henri Nikkanen, JYP
LD Aapo Holtinkoski, Kärpät
RD Kalle Loponen, Kärpät
LW Patrik Puistola, Tappara
LD Iivari Räsänen, Tappara
C Kaapo Kakko, TPS
C Santtu Hakanen, HPK
LD Santeri Hatakka, Jokerit
LW Marcus Kallionkieli, HIFK
C Anton Lundell, HIFK
RW Wiljami Myllylä, Sport

02's in CSM

C Aatu Räty, Kärpät
RD Kasper Puutio, Kärpät
RW Oliver Suni, Kärpät
LW Matias Kauraniemi, Ilves
C Jonne Toivonen, Ilves
G Joonas Valtonen, Ilves
G Niko Lappi, JYP
LD Christoffer Sedoff, HIFK
LW Ville Rekola, HIFK
LD Aapeli Väyrynen, HPK
RW Kasper Simontaival, Tappara
RW Niilo Paananen, Lukko
C Lauri Raitanen, Lukko
LW Patrik Nevanpää, Lukko
C Sami Jokinen, KalPa
LW Veikka Hahl, KalPa
LD Arttu Kaunisto, KalPa
C Veeti Korkalainen, KooKoo
LD Luka Nyman, Jokerit
LW Niki Korpialho, TPS
LD Nikolas Ketonen, TPS
LW Eemeli Kestola, SaiPa
RD Aleksi Saarinen, SaiPa
LW Roni Hirvonen, Blues
RW Patrick Iziguzo, Blues
LW Kaius Forsell, Blues

Probably missed a few but some names to keep on eye on.

 

[LoveHateLeafs]

2003 born D-man Kalle Ervasti also played two games for HIFK Ch (which I assume is their B-team), but they probably won't make it to the next level.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

00 born players who started their season with their A Junior teams:

C/LW Otto Kivenmäki, Ässät
RD Juuso Ketola, Ässät
C Jesperi Kotkanniemi, Ässät (injured)
LD Toni Utunen, Tappara
RD Miska Kukkonen, Ilves
RW Eetu Mäki, Sport
LD Tobias Ã…kerman, Sport
LD Santeri Salmela, KooKoo

01's in B Juniors

LW Veeti Miettinen, Blues
C Antti Saarela, Lukko
RW/C Mikko Petman, Lukko
LW Rasmus Elo, Lukko
LD Ville Heinola, Ässät
LW Leevi Aaltonen, Kalpa
C Henri Nikkanen, JYP
LD Aapo Holtinkoski, Kärpät
RD Kalle Loponen, Kärpät
LW Patrik Puistola, Tappara
LD Iivari Räsänen, Tappara
C Kaapo Kakko, TPS
C Santtu Hakanen, HPK
LD Santeri Hatakka, Jokerit
LW Marcus Kallionkieli, HIFK
C Anton Lundell, HIFK
RW Wiljami Myllylä, Sport

02's in CSM

C Aatu Räty, Kärpät
RD Kasper Puutio, Kärpät
RW Oliver Suni, Kärpät
LW Matias Kauraniemi, Ilves
C Jonne Toivonen, Ilves
G Joonas Valtonen, Ilves
G Niko Lappi, JYP
LD Aapeli Väyrynen, HPK
RW Kasper Simontaival, Tappara
RW Niilo Paananen, Lukko
C Lauri Raitanen, Lukko
LW Patrik Nevanpää, Lukko
C Sami Jokinen, KalPa
LW Veikka Hahl, KalPa
LD Arttu Kaunisto, KalPa
C Veeti Korkalainen, Pelicans
LD Luka Nyman, Jokerit
LW Niki Korpialho, TPS
LD Nikolas Ketonen, TPS
LW Eemeli Kestola, SaiPa
RD Aleksi Saarinen, SaiPa
LW Roni Hirvonen, Blues
RW Patrick Iziguzo, Blues
LW Kaius Forsell, Blues

Probably missed a few but some names to keep on eye on.

Great stuff, thanks!

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Why Miro Heiskanen didn't play in two HIFK's A juniors match past weekend.
Is he injured or assigned to Kiekko-Vantaa or is he going to play only HIFK's liiga team?

 

[hockeypoika]

Some interesting info on B-juniors this season. http://finnishjuniorhockey.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/previewing-2016-2017-season-u18-league/

 

[JJTT]

Aapeli Räsänen, Santeri Virtanen, Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi, Jesper Kokkila, Severi Isokangas, Eero Teräväinen, Kasper Kotkansalo, Daniel Lebedeff, Aleksi Halme and Sampo Ranta are the new names who will play in USHL next season.

Eric Embrich and Emil Oksanen were also listed in the traning camp rosters but both have contracts in Finland.

 

[Quethas]

Aapeli Räsänen, Santeri Virtanen, Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi, Jesper Kokkila, Severi Isokangas, Eero Teräväinen, Kasper Kotkansalo, Daniel Lebedeff, Aleksi Halme and Sampo Ranta are the new names who will play in USHL next season.

Eric Embrich and Emil Oksanen were also listed in the traning camp rosters but both have contracts in Finland.

Embrich seems to be moving to USHL and his name is already added to the roster of Musketeers in their web page.

I think Ässät will most likely give more information during the next few days.

 

[wings5]

Aapeli Räsänen, Santeri Virtanen, Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi, Jesper Kokkila, Severi Isokangas, Eero Teräväinen, Kasper Kotkansalo, Daniel Lebedeff, Aleksi Halme and Sampo Ranta are the new names who will play in USHL next season.

Eric Embrich and Emil Oksanen were also listed in the traning camp rosters but both have contracts in Finland.

So these guys are willing to move to NA , many are legitimate NHL prospects, they couldn't have come to an agreement with a CHL team?

 

[SoupyFIN]

So these guys are willing to move to NA , many are legitimate NHL prospects, they couldn't have come to an agreement with a CHL team?

They're all long-term projects that are probably looking to take the NCAA route, or at least get to keep that option open.

 

[JJTT]

Kasper Simontaival scored 4 goals today so him 11+2=13 points in 5 games in CSM.(2.6 PPG)

 

[LoveHateLeafs]

Kasper Simontaival scored 4 goals today so him 11+2=13 points in 5 games in CSM.(2.6 PPG)

There's a lot of video of Simontaival on Youtube from the late spring world selects invite tourney. Here's his page. Click on the games and you'll see the youtube link.

He's also listed as being 5'6" rather than 5'3" which I guess is good although that's still pretty small especially given that he seems heavy for his age.

Having watched a certain amount of the linked games, his skating sticks out as a weak spot. He seems to have heavy feet and his stride seems to be ugly. On the other hand, he never appears to be trying to go that fast, so maybe he could be a bit faster than he appears now if he took more strides.

His success appears to stem from his high hockey IQ. He always places himself in the best position to get the puck and get a shot off. His shot isn't heavy, but it's quick and accurate. His stickhandling is also very good. Overall he appears to play a very mature game, by which I mean it's fairly straightforward, without a lot of dipsy-doodling and junior-type stuff that rarely works at higher levels.

He's just started C-junior's so we can't yet know how much the skating will hold him back, though he appears to mainly compensate at this point with his brains. Hopefully he can work on it in the future.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

There's a lot of video of Simontaival on Youtube from the late spring world selects invite tourney. Here's his page. Click on the games and you'll see the youtube link.

He's also listed as being 5'6" rather than 5'3" which I guess is good although that's still pretty small especially given that he seems heavy for his age.

Having watched a certain amount of the linked games, his skating sticks out as a weak spot. He seems to have heavy feet and his stride seems to be ugly. On the other hand, he never appears to be trying to go that fast, so maybe he could be a bit faster than he appears now if he took more strides.

His success appears to stem from his high hockey IQ. He always places himself in the best position to get the puck and get a shot off. His shot isn't heavy, but it's quick and accurate. His stickhandling is also very good. Overall he appears to play a very mature game, by which I mean it's fairly straightforward, without a lot of dipsy-doodling and junior-type stuff that rarely works at higher levels.

He's just started C-junior's so we can't yet know how much the skating will hold him back, though he appears to mainly compensate at this point with his brains. Hopefully he can work on it in the future.

Thank you for this. I have watched about 10 minutes of his play and based upon what little I have seen, I agree with your assessment. He appears to be quite heavy for his age which suggests that he is either close to physical maturity or that he carries some excessive weight. If he is indeed 5'6 he will probably end up as somewhere between 5'8 and 6'0. He could grow more, he could grow less. Intriguing prospect, hopefully he will continue to develop.

EDIT: Size-wise there's not a lot to look forward to if you look at his brothers (presumably) Matias and Niklas. The other one is 5'9 and the other one is 5'7. Still, size is only an obstacle if you want to become an NHL player and even then it's only an obstacle he must face ways down the road.

 

[Eyelanders]

Daniel Lebedeff announced on Twitter that he has committed to University of Wisconsin. '99 goalie who will play for Madison Capitols in the USHL this season. I liked his game while he was playing in Finland. Could develop into a good goalie, it will be interesting to see how he does this season.

 

[ChadS]

Embrich seems to be moving to USHL and his name is already added to the roster of Musketeers in their web page.

I think Ässät will most likely give more information during the next few days.

I know you follow Ässät closely, so was wondering if you have any thoughts on Roope Elo? Looks like he has pretty good size and his stats seem to indicate some offensive skill. Appears to have started the season in BSM.