Prospect Info: Miska Kukkonen, RHD (Ilves Jr) #125

Ace

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Oct 29, 2015
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Let's hope Numminen is getting it done. Laaksonen going to the U20 camp this summer is a great sign for that pick.

Last year’s two off the board picks, or at least unranked, both had very good years. Bryson being the other.

All the D baby.
 

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This was a shocking pick. Not in a million years did I expect him to get drafted. I remember he won the award of the best defenseman in Pohjola camp a couple of years back, and at least back then he was described as a puck-carrying defenseman. But I believe that his offensive upside is considered somewhat limited. Again, I don't really know why he was drafted, he wasn't on my radar at all for this draft. I assume they have really enjoyed watching his play recently.

Then again, 5th round is good for a bit of a reach if they see something they like about him.
I wonder if the same scout who recommended Laaksonen(who I considered the worst player at dev camp last year...and it wasn't close), the same scout who pushed for this guy. The quoted post isn't exactly glowing. :(
 

ijuka

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I wonder if the same scout who recommended Laaksonen(who I considered the worst player at dev camp last year...and it wasn't close), the same scout who pushed for this guy. The quoted post isn't exactly glowing. :(
Not saying he's a terrible player or anything but I don't think he actually was rated in top 200 on any public list. His stock's steadily fallen over the past 2 seasons and he's had constant injury issues. But the upside could be there, I'm not that up to date on him. He did have a very good camp in 2015 at Finnish national team level where he was the player of the game on several occasions but that's 3 years ago. He's played just a couple of games this season and looked like he was recovering during them. I guess the next season will be telling.

I didn't expect him to get drafted, definitely, but that doesn't mean it's the wrong move. If he didn't have any injury issues, I think he could have been picked reasonably high. Who knows, right?
 

ijuka

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I'd love to edit my posts instead of constantly posting new ones but the site isn't complying...

Anyway, he switched to Tappara for the 2018-2019 season which is a good sign because they have a very good and reputable development system, considered the best in Finland.
 

Quethas

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Jan 19, 2010
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FinnProspects reports of Kukkonen
Miska Kukkonen | FinnProspects.com

It is a shame that he missed majority of the season due to injury. He seems to have all the tools to become pretty good modern all-round defenceman, but his current level of play is a bit of mystery. You could see from his game that he hadn't played a lot when I saw him at the end of the season.

Based on 2016-2017 I liked him quite a lot so hopefully he will be able to step up next season.
 

debaser66

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The possibility of RJ and rayzor being unable to pronounce the names anymore are growing exponentially. #88K's
I guess if I would be an announcer I would take it as my professional courtesy to learn at least the names of the team I am calling before the game :p
But where would be the fun in that?
 

sabres4ever

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I guess if I would be an announcer I would take it as my professional courtesy to learn at least the names of the team I am calling before the game :p
But where would be the fun in that?

Yeah, but RJ is starting to call players the wrong name more and more. Pretty sure we can all agree RJ is a legend in Sabres history, I just hope he's not forced to retire due to not being able to call games properly.
 

Dirty Dog

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Yeah, but RJ is starting to call players the wrong name more and more. Pretty sure we can all agree RJ is a legend in Sabres history, I just hope he's not forced to retire due to not being able to call games properly.

I think he’s gotten substantially better at pronunciations
 

debaser66

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Yeah, but RJ is starting to call players the wrong name more and more. Pretty sure we can all agree RJ is a legend in Sabres history, I just hope he's not forced to retire due to not being able to call games properly.
I was referring to Rob Ray or younger guys, RJ is excluded!
He called the Amerks games in 04/05 on WGR.
I remember it was like watching TV.
 

Woodhouse

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Dec 20, 2007
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Kukkonen's stats might say he dressed for three Liiga games with Tappara, but that's also misleading in that he got zero TOI in each game. The loan to Lukko, who are without 2019 eligible d-man Ville Heinola for 6-8 weeks, is already paying dividends for him as he got 13:31 TOI in Saturday's 3-0 loss, registering 1 SOG. This team also has Justin Danforth (ex-Amerk, ex-Cyclone), Tarmo Reunanen (2016 NYR 98th), and Linus Nyman (third-year draft eligible) on it.
 

Buffaloed

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Kukkonen seems to be marinating nicely. I could see him being signed in the next couple years.
He kicked the crossword puzzle addiction that was holding him back. Finnish words are so long that the size of typical crossword puzzle is measured in meters and can take weeks to complete.
 

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