Prospect Info: Rasmus Kumpulainen, C, 53rd Overall, 2023 NHL Draft

[thestonedkoala]

That would be fun., I'm in.

Too bad the wife may or may not have kicked me in the shin and said no when I asked nicely if I could go.
My follow up with "Woman, I'm a grown ass man and I can do as a I please." May or may not have gotten my other shin kicked, an eyeroll, and a "Yep, you do you and see what happens."

Business trip?

 

[Digitalbooya]

In Joe Smith’s article it said he will be in the CHL but not a sure thing yet.

His article also said that Kumpulainen is a winger. Can anyone confirm his position?

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

His article also said that Kumpulainen is a winger. Can anyone confirm his position?

He’s a forward

 

[Wasted Talent]

His article also said that Kumpulainen is a winger. Can anyone confirm his position?

The same sentence that calls him a winger also says Kumpulainen models his game after Barkov, which wouldn't make as much sense for a winger.

 

[Circulartheory]

His article also said that Kumpulainen is a winger. Can anyone confirm his position?

The same sentence that calls him a winger also says Kumpulainen models his game after Barkov, which wouldn't make as much sense for a winger.

I think its a mistake - he is also listed as a winger on Eliteprospects but from all the scouting reports, Central Scouting, reports from his play in the WJC U18, he has played center.

 

[Wabit]

Business trip?

Unless there is a fighter jet or hot air balloon involved the business trip wouldn't work. Those are the 2 things the wife knows I'm not turning down a chance to work on no matter what she says. Needless to say, but I don't get to go on business trips.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Unless there is a fighter jet or hot air balloon involved the business trip wouldn't work. Those are the 2 things the wife knows I'm not turning down a chance to work on no matter what she says. Needless to say, but I don't get to go on business trips.

Too bad; there are a lot of airplanes around here and my daughter would talk your ear off. She loves planes.

 

[StateofCelly]

Forgot to mention an update on him from the dev camp in the prospect thread. He’s a mammoth dude but skates very fluid. Wasn’t very impressed by his shot but he was pretty timid. He was very good on the dot in the faceoff drills they were putting guys through. On both strong and weak sides he was winning the draws with force and probably had only one correction, many others had multiple. He was hard to knock off the puck and he made some good passes, was weird.. looked like my 7 year old’s face on a grown man’s body.. kid is going to be a lot different than what we have had come through no matter if he is C or a wing.

 

[Wabit]

Too bad; there are a lot of airplanes around here and my daughter would talk your ear off. She loves planes.

Well here's a phrase I got from one of my instructors to use when talking about aircraft with people: PFM (pure friggin magic).

Q: How does a plane fly? A: PFM
Q: How does a plane know how fast it's going? A: PFM
Q: How does the plane know it's altitude? A: PFM
Q: How do you remember what all those switches do in a cockpit. A: PFM

In reality, most people can't wrap their heads around air being a fluid and lots of things require a fluid dynamics in the explanation. I know helicopters fly/work and they still seems like it's a bunch of PFM to me.

 

[Circulartheory]

From Brock Otten's blog. Great OHL source and all round hockey knowledge

2023 CHL Import Draft Review

A large, rangy center who plays with some artistic flair, Kumpulainen’s star has been rising steadily this winter. Strong on his edges and a master at entering the offensive zone against similarly aged peers, Kumpulainen likes to establish the play and get things set up. Great posture and effortless strides make this seem like kids play and he has a knack for slowing down the game to fit his schedule. Interestingly, his powerplay spot on the right face-off circle benefits from such play-inducing puck control, but also because he’s shown a knack for taking accurate one-timers. Some strong showings for the national team throughout the winter led to a showcasing at the U18 Worlds, where his five points and +5 in five games didn’t quite reflect how he, at times, played for the Leijonat. What we saw was a player with a quick release who was noticeable in his economic movement in a number of situations, coming out of corners with pucks, and placing considerable emphasis on backchecking while maintaining his assignments in the defensive zone, time and again ready to get his big body involved. A number of opposition plays ended with Kumpulainen pinning a puck-carrier against the boards or him poke-checking the puck away and furthering it to his teammates. Had he learned from the situations back home that had garnered him that team-worse -9 rating? At the end of the day, players his size who can masterfully weave on their edges and glide around the ice with the puck so effortlessly will always leave suitors with visions of grandeur. - McKeen's Draft Guide 2023

 

[57special]

I don't want him anywhere near the CHL. It's the wrong league for a player his size.

I'd like him in a men's Euro league next season. The AHL could work, but I don't trust the team to develop prospects.

The ECHL team has been a tire fire, and really no point in him leaving Finland to play in that league.

I prefer Europe for a European, and maybe even for some North Americans, depending on their open mindedness. The AHL and ECHL are good leagues, but chippy( refs let a lot go), and a young player spends a lot of time protecting himself rather than working on his skills. The CHL is far less rough than it used to be, and would also allow him to work on said skills, but overall, either Finland or Sweden would be the easiest fit for him, unless he really wants to get away.

For anyone, let alone a very late birthday, the minor pro leagues here are very tough deal to adjust to in the first season after the draft. Even guys coming in after 4 years of college have a hard time for a while.

 

[Wabit]

I prefer Europe for a European, and maybe even for some North Americans, depending on their open mindedness. The AHL and ECHL are good leagues, but chippy( refs let a lot go), and a young player spends a lot of time protecting himself rather than working on his skills. The CHL is far less rough than it used to be, and would also allow him to work on said skills, but overall, either Finland or Sweden would be the easiest fit for him, unless he really wants to get away.

For anyone, let alone a very late birthday, the minor pro leagues here are very tough deal to adjust to in the first season after the draft. Even guys coming in after 4 years of college have a hard time for a while.

The only NA option I would like for him is the college route.
-I think he's too big for the CHL and will pick up bad habits. I also can't stand the CHL or NHL under-20 rule.
-The USHL could work, if he wants to get used to NA ice. I see it as a downgrade from Sweden or Finland pro leagues.
-The Wild ECHL team is a tire fire, but the league is tougher/older than the USHL.
-The AHL could work, but I think he's a year too young and I don't trust Iowa to develop FWDs.

 

[Ziperia]

Kumpulainen commits to Oshawa: NHL 2nd round pick, Rasmus Kumpulainen, commits to Generals – Oshawa Generals
He also signed with Pelicans to a two-year contract (2024-26, both years are option).

 

[BagHead]

Kumpulainen commits to Oshawa: NHL 2nd round pick, Rasmus Kumpulainen, commits to Generals – Oshawa Generals
He also signed with Pelicans to a two-year contract (2024-26, both years are option).

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the OHL is a good place for him to work on the puck skills and shooting parts of his offensive game. On the other hand, Liiga (or Allsvenskan) was a better place to work on his defensive game, battles, face-offs, and crash-and-bang offensive game.

I really just hope he develops well, and I would presume he knows more about himself than I know about him.

 

[Ziperia]

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the OHL is a good place for him to work on the puck skills and shooting parts of his offensive game. On the other hand, Liiga was a better place to work on his defensive game, battles, face-offs, and crash-and-bang offensive game.

I really just hope he develops well.

I would rather see him play in Liiga but there is no room for him without injuries. He would play either U20 sm-sarja or Mestis. Good thing is that he is only commiting to Oshawa for one year.

 

[BagHead]

I would rather see him play in Liiga but there is no room for him without injuries. He would play either U20 sm-sarja or Mestis. Good thing is that he is only commiting to Oshawa for one year.

Well, that'd be a concern then. I definitely want him to get plenty of playing time. Thanks for posting about that!

 

[AKL]

Coming out of Europe, he would have been free to sign in the AHL at any time right? Does the two year contract mean he can't sign a contract with an AHL team now until 2026-27, or can he opt out of the Pelicans deal to sign with Iowa?

 

[Wabit]

Coming out of Europe, he would have been free to sign in the AHL at any time right? Does the two year contract mean he can't sign a contract with an AHL team now until 2026-27, or can he opt out of the Pelicans deal to sign with Iowa?

I don't think he can sign with an AHL contract at all since a NHL team holds his rights.

 

[BagHead]

Coming out of Europe, he would have been free to sign in the AHL at any time right? Does the two year contract mean he can't sign a contract with an AHL team now until 2026-27, or can he opt out of the Pelicans deal to sign with Iowa?

I'd be lying if I said I was well versed on the workings of contracts between leagues. The CHL-NHL transfer agreement restricts players under 20 (by New Years) to play for a minor pro league (like the AHL), but I found this in regards to the CHL - NHL transfer agreement:

Another exception is if an NHL club drafts a player out of a European league, and then the player joins one of the CHL leagues after the NHL draft. Since he was property of an NHL team before he joined the CHL, he isn't bound to the transfer agreement. This is a rare occurrence though, as most players drafted out of European leagues continue to develop in the European league before moving to North America.

So it sounds like he can move up to the AHL whenever he's deemed ready.

 

[TaLoN]

I'd be lying if I said I was well versed on the workings of contracts between leagues. The CHL-NHL transfer agreement restricts players under 20 (by New Years) to play for a minor pro league (like the AHL), but I found this in regards to the CHL - NHL transfer agreement:

So it sounds like he can move up to the AHL whenever he's deemed ready.

The only way he couldn't would be if he had already been playing in the CHL prior to being drafted.

 

[AKL]

I'm more wondering about the contract with the Pelicans next season. The poster said both years are options. If both years are options, can he choose to go to the AHL after this CHL season, if the Wild wanted him to? I've never heard of signing a contract a year in advance with both years being options though.

 

[Wabit]

I'm more wondering about the contract with the Pelicans next season. The poster said both years are options. If both years are options, can he choose to go to the AHL after this CHL season, if the Wild wanted him to? I've never heard of signing a contract a year in advance with both years being options though.

It basically just covers his slide years. Looking into is a little more it seems like it's a standard contract clause for an already drafted import player. Something similar to a European Assignment clause some players get for their ELCs.

The CHL has a subset of rules for import players. If they sign before they are drafted they are treated like NA prospects where it's CHL or NHL. If are signed after they are drafted it's up the the NHL team to decide where the player plays CHL, AHL, or NHL. Only 2 imports allowed per team, and if I read it correctly, they pass their picks once that quota is met.

 

[Ziperia]

I'm more wondering about the contract with the Pelicans next season. The poster said both years are options. If both years are options, can he choose to go to the AHL after this CHL season, if the Wild wanted him to? I've never heard of signing a contract a year in advance with both years being options though.

Those option years are up to Kumpulainen whether he wants to play in Liiga for a one year or two years or go straight to AHL after next season. I hope that he spends at least one year in Liiga after OHL season.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Those option years are up to Kumpulainen whether he wants to play in Liiga for a one year or two years or go straight to AHL after next season. I hope that he spends at least one year in Liiga after OHL season.

That would seem backwards. Are you saying OHL -> LIIGA -> AHL?

I'd see it as OHL -> AHL

 

[57special]

That would seem backwards. Are you saying OHL -> LIIGA -> AHL?

I'd see it as OHL -> AHL

Bolded is correct. Men's vs. Boys. As was stated above, there is some concern that Kumpu would not get enough TOI in Liiga.