Prospect Info: LW Eetu Pakkila

[devilsblood]

As a Swede I find it somewhat unclear how the NCAA eligibility works? It's relativity common in Sweden with "junior" contacts where the player does not get paid, mainly plays for the junior team but is eligible to play for the men's team. Would that player be ineligible to play in the NCAA? Or does it require actually being paid for playing?

We do know Talvitie played in that same Finnish league and was still eligible. So that league, like the US juniors are OK.

The CHL kids are not eligible because they get a stipend of some sort which equates to being paid.

The question with Pakkila is the one game he played in Liga. Did he get paid for that? If he did can he pay it back and still be eligible?

Although that Tweet above looks like it's from last summer so I'm not sure if this hasn't already been concluded in the negative. I would think if he was going to the NCAA we would have heard about it by now.

 

[devilsblood]

did anyone post this before

Looks like that is from last summer?

 

[OmNomNom]

Looks like that is from last summer?

yeah, but idk if his NCAA eligibility was discussed at length, if at all

 

[BenedictGomez]

I think it goes hand in hand with the rise of successful US hockey. As US players got better, more and more players came out of the NCAA, which made it a desirable destination for foreign players, which made it even stronger.

That does sound logical.

And for women's hockey the NCAA is the premier league; globally they all go there as I think it's the only real game in town.

 

[Dafp]

Hopefully he gets a chance to move up to Liiga next year to continue his development.

 

[FinnishDevil]

In case he cant get to the NCAA, I wouldnt be totally against him switching teams in Liiga. His club Kärpät is so stacked with talent each year, he'd really have to earn that spot and what he really needs now is playing time against men.

 

[devilsblood]

In case he cant get to the NCAA, I wouldnt be totally against him switching teams in Liiga. His club Kärpät is so stacked with talent each year, he'd really have to earn that spot and what he really needs now is playing time against men.

Is there no intermediate Finnish league? Similar to the Swe-1.

 

[FinnishDevil]

Is there no intermediate Finnish league? Similar to the Swe-1.

There is, Mestis and I was thinking in theory he could play for Hermes (partners with Kärpät) or probably any team really.

Worst case scenario for him is to play bottom line minutes, in which case top 6 minutes in Mestis might not be a bad idea.

Kärpät are a world class organisation though and good at player development but its interesting to see what they do with Pakkila.

 

[FinnishDevil]

Devils prospect Eetu Päkkilä’s development is right on track

Not sure whether this was linked here yet, but interesting piece on Pakkila and his season.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

Ill be damned, Päkkilä just signed with my local team Ilves in the Finnish Liiga. Ilves is a young team that has one of the best Finnish coaches. Youngsters get a lot of responsibility and compete against each other, excellent team to gain some name.

Heres the link, in Finnish Ilves solmi sopimukset Aleksi Elorinteen ja kolmen nuoren lupauksen kanssa − Pohjois-Amerikan juniorisarjoista tulivoimaa

 

[MartyOwns]

Ill be damned, Päkkilä just signed with my local team Ilves in the Finnish Liiga. Ilves is a young team that has one of the best Finnish coaches. Youngsters get a lot of responsibility and compete against each other, excellent team to gain some name.

Heres the link, in Finnish Ilves solmi sopimukset Aleksi Elorinteen ja kolmen nuoren lupauksen kanssa − Pohjois-Amerikan juniorisarjoista tulivoimaa

joining future devil lassi thomson i believe

 

[RangerDoggo]

Devils prospect Eetu Päkkilä’s development is right on track

Not sure whether this was linked here yet, but interesting piece on Pakkila and his season.

I saw this on the Devils subreddit. Definitely will write his name down for the future, if he keeps this up he could be here in a couple of seasons.

 

[FinnishDevil]

Ill be damned, Päkkilä just signed with my local team Ilves in the Finnish Liiga. Ilves is a young team that has one of the best Finnish coaches. Youngsters get a lot of responsibility and compete against each other, excellent team to gain some name.

Heres the link, in Finnish Ilves solmi sopimukset Aleksi Elorinteen ja kolmen nuoren lupauksen kanssa − Pohjois-Amerikan juniorisarjoista tulivoimaa

Its kinda crazy that I thought about this just few messages ago.

They're definitely a young and upcoming team with not the biggest budget, so I hope he finds his game and gets lots of ice time.

Like mentioned, their coach is good with young players, coached our country to gold in 2014 World Juniors.

NYI prospect Otto Koivula played for him in Ilves the last couple seasons and is doing great in the AHL. I also expect Suomi and Ruotsalainen to gather some NHL interest if they have similar or better seasons.

Kind of off-topic but it gives you the idea of what sort of organisation he's going to.

 

[Figgie]

Päkkilä scored his first Liiga goal!!

 

[Figgie]

Here is the goal:

 

[FinnishDevil]

This kid has been great as of late.

After signing with Ilves, he made the team but struggled early on in September along with his team, only had 1 goal in 7 games with -11 and was sent down to Mestis. He got called up in December and so far has 4-1-5 in 6 games after a wonderful game tonight with 2-1-3. He's been getting around 11 minutes per game (had season high 15 min TOI today) but if he keeps this up, he will get some more ice time for sure. I haven't seen the games, so I cant tell you anything specific about him, just giving an update. He plays for my teams rival aswell, thats a bummer.

SHG at 0:30


GWG at 2:21


I will post highlights from tonight as soon as there is one available on YT, as I'm not sure if the Finnish pages work for you guys.

 

[FinnishDevil]

I will post highlights from tonight as soon as there is one available on YT, as I'm not sure if the Finnish pages work for you guys.

Päkkilä show goes from 2:27 to 4:13 with a goal, secondary assist and goal in that order. Ilves lost 5-6.

 

[MartyOwns]

Päkkilä show goes from 2:27 to 4:13 with a goal, secondary assist and goal in that order. Ilves lost 5-6.

awesome, glad to hear it! hope he keeps it up and continues developing

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

I'm going to forget he is a prospect until summer 2021 and see where he is at. He looks to have pretty good straight away speed and has the NHL 20 glitch goal down to a science.

 

[Blackjack]

Päkkilä show goes from 2:27 to 4:13 with a goal, secondary assist and goal in that order. Ilves lost 5-6.

Why did the announcer say "Hockey is a momentum game!" in English at 2:40. Is that an expression that Finns use in English like when we say "c'est la vie"?

 

[glenwo2]

Like how they pronounce his name :

PAH-KEY-LLAAAH!

 

[Emperoreddy]

So we got him, Smith, Bahl, and I think one or two of the Russians to watch at WJC?

 

[Blackjack]

So we got him, Smith, Bahl, and I think one or two of the Russians to watch at WJC?

Misyul and Pasic (Swedish)

 

[Figgie]

Why did the announcer say "Hockey is a momentum game!" in English at 2:40. Is that an expression that Finns use in English like when we say "c'est la vie"?

He said "Some wise guy have said that hockey is a momentum game"

Yeah, sometimes announcers use some english words in sentences. For example "one timer" is very popular and "play offs".

Some people use also in normal situations sometimes english sayings or words when they speak.

 

[MNDevilsfan]

Appreciate the updates, he's an interesting prospect.

One of the few things I've really appreciated about Castron and co.'s drafting is their affinity for snagging guys like him in the later rounds. They have some good European scouts identifying players in these secondary leagues with reasonable upside.