Finnish Top Prospects part II

Eyelanders

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Jan 9, 2011
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Which Finnish players do you guys think will be drafted in 2014?

My list of potential players with rounds included would be:

Kasperi Kapanen (1st round)
Julius Honka (1st-2nd round)
Kaapo Kähkönen (2nd-3rd round)
Ville Husso (2nd-3rd round)
Juho Lammikko (3rd-5th round)
Alex Lintuniemi (3rd-5th round)

I have limited viewing on Eetu Sopanen and Joni Tuulola, who are good prospects but I haven't seen them lately. Miro Keskitalo is a defenseman who I have seen many times this year. Excellent without the puck, gives a solid first pass, but offensive upside might not the be the greatest. Plus, he's not a really mobile skater. I like his d-zone awareness nonetheless.

My sleeper pick for the draft would be Sebastian Moberg. A smallish defenseman who looks very skinny, but he can skate and has some very nice puck skills. He's not the most physical defenseman from what I've seen, but he's able to control the game with the puck and has some two-way potential. He needs to become stronger, but the skills are definitely there.
 

JJTT

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Jan 18, 2013
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Which Finnish players do you guys think will be drafted in 2014?

Joni Nikko, Lukko is a long shot due his bad skating and two way play. Has put up some good numbers this year so he might be a 5th-7th round pick.

Antti Kalapudas, Kärpät U20 has great numbers in u20 league this year and has decent height with 6'0. Late round pick?

Julius Vähätalo, TPS has great size with 6'5 and good numbers with TPS U20 team this year. He was recently promoted to the senior team and has played a few games as 3rd line center for them. Late round pick?

Teemu Lämsä, TPS U20, has a good size: 6'3 and has produced with u17 national team before but haven't really put up good numbers this year. U18 WC will be important for him. Long shot.

It might be better to think this after U18's wc.
 
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bebl

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Jul 5, 2008
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This year every drafted player from europe maintains rights 4 years. So Nikko with 6-7th pick is not bad deal.
 

JJTT

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Was really impressed with Mikko Rantanen tonight. Looks like he has improved a lot in the past few months.

2015 is looking amazing for forwards. And three of them are 188cm+ tall

1.Saarela
2.Nättinen
3.Rantanen
4.Hintz
5.Aho

Then we have good goalies in Vehviläinen and Viksten and promising defenders in Vainio and Niku. Looking good so far.
 

JJTT

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First -99 born players selected for Huippu Pohjola Camp (bolded some well known guys)

Goalies:

Erno Gerlander, Jokerit
Kasperi Kotkaniemi, Ässät
Daniel Lebedeff, HIFK
Leevi Nikkinen, Tappara

Defenders:

Aleksi Akkanen, SaiPa
Aleksi Anttalainen, TPS
Hans Hastio, Tappara
Miro Heiskanen, HIFK C
Jesse Holopainen, SaiPa
Bernard Isiguzo, Blues C ak.
Henri Jokiharju, Jokerit C
Olli Kaskinen, TPS
Einari Luhanka, HIFK
Juuso Nieminen, JYP
Antti Palojärvi, KooKoo
Valtteri Purhonen, HPK
Roope Reini, TPS
Joona Riekkinen, KalPa
Saku Salminen, Tappara
Santeri Sila, Ilves
Eero Teräväinen, Jokerit C
Urho Vaakanainen, Blues B

Toni Vuorinen, Blues C ak.
Elias Vuorio, Blues C ak.

Forwards:

Aleksi Halme, Ässät
Aleksi Heponiemi, Ilves
Joni Ikonen, Blues C

Joel Kerkkänen, HIFK C

Oliver Kinnunen, Blues C
Jesse Koskenkorva, Kärpät
Oskari Levänen, KooKoo
Aatu Luusuaniemi, Kärpät
Sami Moilanen, Jokerit C
Miro Nalli, Ilves
Jesse Nieminen, TPS
Valtteri Nikkilä, Tappara
Tommi Niskanen, JYP
Linus Nyman, Jokerit C

Niko Nyrhinen, Blues C ak.
Lauri Pajuniemi, TPS
Markus Raita, TuTo
Jesse Ruotsi, Saipa
Jesse Saarinen, Kärpät
Erkka Seppälä, HPK
Aarne Talvitie, Blues C ak.
Jussi Tammela, KalPa
Eeli Tolvanen, Blues C

Olli Valtola, TPS
Kristian Vesalainen, HIFK C

Petteri Villanen Blues C ak.
Santeri Virtanen TuTo
Jesse Ylönen Blues C ak.
 

Korkki

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Mar 6, 2002
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That's only the first half of selections. Some names I think notable are still missing.

Is Henri Jokiharju relative to the diver-Juha?
 

sinettiseura

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Aug 2, 2011
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Tormentor, how good are Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi in your mind? How do you see them compared to our recent top prospects Barkov, Armia, Granlund? Also which one you see better right now and which one has more potential?

Obiviously both have still a long way to become professionals but based on stats and few clips they seem to be very promising. Both have also good size regarding NHL potential.

Others are of course free to answer these questions but I just know that Tormentor has some real insight regarding our prospects. :)
 

Tormentor

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Tormentor, how good are Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi in your mind? How do you see them compared to our recent top prospects Barkov, Armia, Granlund? Also which one you see better right now and which one has more potential?

Obiviously both have still a long way to become professionals but based on stats and few clips they seem to be very promising. Both have also good size regarding NHL potential.

Both have size, confidence and enough offensive talent to become very good players. Decisive factor might be how well the rest of their game rounds out. At the highest level hockey is a gruelling game, you need to be feisty, ultra competitive and play a committed 200-foot game. This is where the biggest questions are with Laine and Puljujärvi. They’ll never become the most well-rounded players out there, but even top scorers need to do an okay job away from the puck.

Barkov and Granlund are centre forwards that took pride on their two-way game from an early age onward, Laine and Puljujärvi are offensively minded scoring wingers. Different type of players.

Armia can be compared to Laine and Puljujärvi as there are several similarities; size, handedness, position, high skill level and the fact that they are offence first type of players. I’d say that Puljujärvi is the top skater from these three. Laine could develop into most physical from these players. I’d say that Armia and Laine have a bit better hands than Puljujärvi, all three shoot the puck very well. Hockey sense is a more difficult aspect to evaluate, especially at this point when two of the players are still 15.

At the moment I see Laine as a better and more promising player than Puljujärvi, but this doesn’t mean that my opinion couldn’t alter down the line, the difference isn’t that significant. As an example Laine can completely undress two defensemen in front of him with few sudden moves and rifle the puck to the roof of the net. He can change the game in a blink of an eye, he obviously has high level game breaking skills. This is an area where I give Laine an edge and it’s the reason why I see him as a bit more special player/prospect. Puljujärvi is scoring more in Jr.A at the moment, but he has the benefit of playing with other skilled players (especially now that he’s playing with Kalapudas and Aho).

And just as a reminder, Lauri Tukonen scored 11 points in 23 Mestis games as a 15 year old, he was a prodigy of his age group but failed to make an impactful career internationally. In the end it was Lauri Korpikoski who became the most successful player from that 86-born age group. It can be difficult to predict these, there are so many factors that impact the end result.
 

Keke

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Dec 6, 2011
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Now that we are talking about Laine and Puljujärvi, how do you see the line up of that age group (-98 born)?

I am thinking of going to see some U18 and U16 games so it would be cool to know who to follow
 

Eyelanders

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Jan 9, 2011
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I watched few matches at the Philips Cup that included eight U20 teams.

Here are some of my thoughts:

- Defensemen Veeti Vainio and Sebastian Moberg (Blues) have some serious skill. Vainio is an outstanding skater with excellent first pass and strong wrist shot. His defensive zone work was pretty good, although he can improve on that. Moberg is also great skater whose understanding of the game is at a very good level. In addition, forward Timi Lahtinen and skilled defenseman Erik Autio played well for Blues.

- Czech goaltender Dominik Hrachovina (Tappara) looked very solid in nets. Aggressive, good puck handling goalie with solid techical skills to work with. Patrik Laine has some tremendous skill and he is also a good defensive player when he wants to. Great mix of size and skill, and some physical game. Tried to do sometimes too much himself, but he is a very dangerous offensive player if given any space.

- Winger Sebastian Repo and defenseman Ville Väinölä played quite well when I saw Pelicans. Repo is a quick forward with good hands, while Väinölä is a pretty good puck moving defenseman with a decently good shot. Both are 2014 Draft eligibles. Another draft eligible player Eetu Sopanen didn't play when I saw Pelicans.

Now that we are talking about Laine and Puljujärvi, how do you see the line up of that age group (-98 born)?

I am thinking of going to see some U18 and U16 games so it would be cool to know who to follow

Some other good 1998 born players include Otto Mäkinen (Tappara U20), Markus Niemeläinen, Pete Niemi (both Tappara U18), Oliver Felixson, Juha Jääskä (HIFK U18), Tarmo Reunanen (TPS U18), Olli Juolevi (Jokerit U20/U18) and Juuso Välimäki (Ilves U18). It looks like a good age-group with a lot of skilled players that have size.
 

JJTT

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Sebastian Aho will play his first game on Saturday with Kärpät if Huml is suspended for kicking Tikkanen.
 

bebl

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Jul 5, 2008
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Sebastian Aho will play his first game on Saturday with Kärpät if Huml is suspended for kicking Tikkanen.

I read this from jatkoaika
Nuorten SM-liigassa on kautta aikain ainoastaan yksi pelaaja (muuan MG) tehnyt enemmän pisteitä alle 17-vuotiaana, ja Aholla on vielä mahdollisuus laittaa tämäkin ennätys uusiksi. Granlund 57 pistettä ja Aho 54.

Translated: There is only one player who has done more points at under 17 years of age and he is Mikael Granlund, and Aho has change to chance that. Granlund's record is 57 points and Aho has 54.

:handclap:
 

JJTT

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0+1 +1 for Aho in his first game. Only played about five minutes on the fourth line but was solid. Really good skater and strong fore check also to go with some nice offensive tools. His size is an obvious issue. Listed as 180cm but looked closer to 175cm.
 

LoveHateLeafs

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Jul 7, 2009
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Has anyone seen Janne Kuokkanen (2016-eligible) from Karpat play? Understandably, most of the attention is being paid to Laine, Puljujarvi, and to a lesser degree, Juolevi, but Kuokkanen seems to have quietly put together a good season in the B-juniors, scoring 53 (26G+27A) points in 44 games. While this scoring rate may not seem all that impressive, it makes him the 3rd-leading scorer, 2nd-highest goal scorer in B juniors and also places him fairly high in points per game. The only guys ahead of him are two years older. Also, his point production is better than that of Teuvo Teravainen, Artturi Lehkonen and Kasperi Kapanen at the same age and level. The difference is that none of the these players led their teams in scoring and had quite a few teammates who produced similar numbers of points.

Kuokkanen, on the other hand, leads his team in scoring by a huge margin. His next closest teammate has 21 fewer points. The gulf in goal-scoring between Kuokkanen and his teammates is even wider, with the next highest-scoring teammate scoring just 11. Kuokkanen scored 17% of his teams goals and assisted on the same percentage. Eliteprospects lists him at 176cm, 65 kg, but I don't know if these are up to date, as the heights/weights for Karpat players aren't listed on any of the game sheets. I've managed to find a couple of video clips of him, but not enough to get a good feel for his style as a player. The most that can be said from them is that his skating is not noticeably bad. Anyone seen him first hand?
 

Tormentor

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Kuokkanen has been a regular on the 1st line while playing with the U16 national team. You could say that at the moment him and Otto Mäkinen are the most advanced 98-born Finnish forwards after Laine and Puljujärvi. He's not blazing fast, but skating isn't a problem. Good skill level, vision and scoring touch. I've seen him listed at 179cm/69kg, but there might be a bit of air in those measurements. Anyways, he's not a small player for his age, slightly taller than Granlunds, Teräväinen or Lehkonen at that age. Competes, but I wouldn't say that he's particularly aggressive or physical. He can play all forward positions. As far as style or skill set goes, Jussi Jokinen might be a decent comparable for Kuokkanen.
 
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JJTT

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Players rewarded in Pohjola camp (-00 born)

Most promising goaltender Henri Härkönen, Sapko
Most promising defenceman: Aaro Leinonen, TPS
Most promising forward: Valtteri Ojantakanen, Jokerit
 

LoveHateLeafs

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Jul 7, 2009
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Thanks for the detailed response. Just for clarification purposes, when I think of Jussi Jokinen, I think of someone who's succeeded in the NHL because he's so often in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the chances his teammates create. I've never thought of him as someone who drives the play. Is that sort of what you're saying about Kuokkanen?

Also, what do you think will happen will happen with the glut of Karpat forward prospects in the next few years? Right now they have Kalapudas, Aho, Ruotsalainen, Puljujarvi and Kuokkanen in the '96-98 age group, all of whom are scoring well for their age and will likely have outgrown the junior team within two years at most. Can Finnish junior players be traded like CHL players can?
 

Jussi

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Thanks for the detailed response. Just for clarification purposes, when I think of Jussi Jokinen, I think of someone who's succeeded in the NHL because he's so often in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the chances his teammates create. I've never thought of him as someone who drives the play. Is that sort of what you're saying about Kuokkanen?

Also, what do you think will happen will happen with the glut of Karpat forward prospects in the next few years? Right now they have Kalapudas, Aho, Ruotsalainen, Puljujarvi and Kuokkanen in the '96-98 age group, all of whom are scoring well for their age and will likely have outgrown the junior team within two years at most. Can Finnish junior players be traded like CHL players can?

There's a rule in SM-Liiga that players can't be traded to a team outside their economic area without heir consent. Meaning that only players in Helsinki and Tampere can be traded without the players's consent. Junior players under the age of 18 on the other hand fall under their parents care and they can't be traded. Players do sometimes move if their family moves to another town for work related reasons.
 

Makis

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Feb 28, 2014
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Also, what do you think will happen will happen with the glut of Karpat forward prospects in the next few years? Right now they have Kalapudas, Aho, Ruotsalainen, Puljujarvi and Kuokkanen in the '96-98 age group, all of whom are scoring well for their age and will likely have outgrown the junior team within two years at most. Can Finnish junior players be traded like CHL players can?
I think Kärpät will make space for those who are good enough to play in the league. There are some candidates for players who won't be at the club in two years time and I think one or two will train with the senior team this summer already.
 

JJTT

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I think Kärpät will make space for those who are good enough to play in the league. There are some candidates for players who won't be at the club in two years time and I think one or two will train with the senior team this summer already.

True. Only 3 forwards under contract for 15/16 season so plenty of room if all of them develop into quality players.
 

Tormentor

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Thanks for the detailed response. Just for clarification purposes, when I think of Jussi Jokinen, I think of someone who's succeeded in the NHL because he's so often in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the chances his teammates create. I've never thought of him as someone who drives the play. Is that sort of what you're saying about Kuokkanen?
Some of the similarities between Jokinen and Kuokkanen; both of them have good hockey IQ, pretty strong puck skills, some deadly shootout moves, and are capable of playing either centre forward or wing. Neither of them is a rocket on skates or super aggressive. In addition both of them are from Northern Finland and moved to Kärpät at Jr.C age.

Jokinen might not have the tools to drive the play shift after shift at NHL level, but that’s the case with most hockey players on this earth. When Jokinen played in Finland during the lockout some aspects of his game naturally looked quite a bit different.

Also, what do you think will happen will happen with the glut of Karpat forward prospects in the next few years? Right now they have Kalapudas, Aho, Ruotsalainen, Puljujarvi and Kuokkanen in the '96-98 age group, all of whom are scoring well for their age and will likely have outgrown the junior team within two years at most. Can Finnish junior players be traded like CHL players can?
I would presume that Kalapudas, Aho and Puljujärvi will train the summer with the men’s team. What happens after the pre-season depends largely on their performance, but getting a permanent roster spot isn’t going to be easy, or at least that’s the case if they decide to stay with Kärpät. Not only are they competing against each other, there’ll be several other youngish forwards challenging them.

What happens in the long run is difficult to predict, but it’s not the first time that Kärpät has had several rather promising youngsters in their junior ranks. A bit over a decade ago Mika Pyörälä (’81), Lasse Kukkonen (’81), Janne Pesonen (’82), Pekka Rinne (’82), JP Haataja (’82), Jussi Jokinen (’83), Joni Pitkänen (’83) and Topi Jaakola (’83) among several others were entering the first team pretty much at the same time. All of them played for Kärpät at least for a few years before moving on.

Few years ago something fairly similar could’ve happened with Mikael Granlund (’92), Joonas Donskoi (’92), Miikka Salomäki (’93), Markus Granlund (’93) and Ville Pokka (’94), but the Granlunds bolted to Helsinki early on.
 

Tormentor

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The Hockey News Top-50 Prospects from their new Future Watch issue:

3. Teuvo Teräväinen
7. Rasmus Ristolainen
24. Sami Vatanen
(54.) Joel Armia


Top-10's for individual NHL teams:

Anaheim Ducks:
2. Sami Vatanen

Buffalo Sabres:
1. Rasmus Ristolainen
4. Joel Armia

Calgary Flames:
6. Joni Ortio
8. Markus Granlund

Chicago Blackhawks:
1. Teuvo Teräväinen

Colorado Avalanche:
6. Sami Aittokallio

Detroit Red Wings:
9. Teemu Pulkkinen

Montreal Canadiens:
5. Artturi Lehkonen

Nashville Predators:
6. Miikka Salomäki
9. Juuse Saros

New York Islanders:
5. Ville Pokka

San Jose Sharks:
9. Harri Säteri
 

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