RD Henri Jokiharju (2017, 29th, CHI; traded to BUF)

[Keke]

Had to make a thread for after seeing him twice against HIFK in U18 (-97 born) playoffs. As two years younger he has been the best player on the ice in both those games and he's shown a great overall package for a small defenseman. And what makes his play exceptional is that both (Jokerit and HIFK) are loaded with Finnish NT players.

His skating is great and he is also a very skilled player. Not only is he good offensively he is great defensively too. He has that similar mean streak that Ristolainen has and it's very hard to play against him. He has always produced a lot but now I've been really seen him play and I'm impressed.

I wouldn't put him yet above Urho Vaakanainen and Juuso Välimäki (other talented 2017 Draft eligible dmen) but he is closing in on them and his development curve is going to the right direction.

Next season I think every North American scout will love him in the U17 WHC. Of course there is the possibility that he is with the U18 group but I would love to see him there. Very exciting prospect.

Henri Jokiharju

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[Eyelanders]

Jokiharju has been excellent in my viewings as well. He's a swift-skating defenseman with excellent offensive capabilities. Fluid on his edges with smooth lateral movement. Does an excellent job of moving the puck, whether it be on the breakout or at the offensive blueline. He doesn't have the best size, but he can really shoot the puck, he has a versatile shot selection too. Able to throw dangerous wristers from the blueline. He's very offensive and moves the puck with composure. Defensively, has also displayed an active stick and strong compete level.

Jokiharju has a ton of upside and will very likely be a well-known prospect in the near future.

 

[TheFinnishTrap]

He seems rather small, especially for a defender. But he's young, and could easily grow to be over 180 cm. 2017 is shaping up to be a good year for defensemen.

 

[JJTT]

He seems rather small, especially for a defender. But he's young, and could easily grow to be over 180 cm. 2017 is shaping up to be a good year for defensemen.

Julius Honka was under 170cm at the same age. Plenty of time to grow.

 

[LoveHateLeafs]

An update: Jokiharju has moved to the Tappara organization. In the first two junior A games so far he has two points and has averaged 23:30 minutes of ice time. The game sheets list him as 174cm/65kg, which I believe were the same numbers as last year. The Finnish roster for the Ivan Hlinka listed him as 180cm/75kg, so take that for what it is (I don't want this to turn into a repeat of the Eeli Tolvanen thread). Either way, he seems to have put a lot of shots on net so far, according to the game sheets.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

He seems rather small, especially for a defender. But he's young, and could easily grow to be over 180 cm. 2017 is shaping up to be a good year for defensemen.

He's listed at 5"11 165 pounds now which is small for a defender, but it's not something to worry about as he's only 16. Certainly has plenty of time to fill out

 

[Jack DiBiase]

His father was listed 5'8" (173cm) and his older brother is now listed 5'10". Chances are he is not going to be above 6 feet.

But please, let's not turn this into an Eeli Tolvanen topic.

Luckily we also now have some dmen prospects with size also.

 

[IceHockeyDude]

There are plenty of examples of dmen with smaller sizes that have achieved a lot. If you are small then you have to have other features that compensate the disadvantage of small body.

 

[kelsier]

Vatanen is exceeding the expectations most of the hockey viewers set up on him. Honka was drafted #12 overall in 2014 and there are plenty of other examples out there. Size cannot stop you from becoming a great player, even when your position is in the back end. You maybe need to work a bit harder than the rest, but in the end it's about how determined you are and how much natural talent runs in your vains.

From national perspective, Finland will have atleast two very skilled defenders in the future and a team can only have a few of them. So down the road, the kid will have to work hard if he wants to compete for a spot in the Finnish line up in Olympics or World Cups.

Interesting player to keep an eye on regardless.

 

[JJTT]

Looks like he will report to Portland.

 

[BarDownBobo]

I was really impressed with him as an underager at the u18s this year. I could see him shooting up the rankings this year, especially if he does get the added exposure in the WHL.

 

[ijuka]

#5 overall Juolevi 6+26=32 in 44 games.

Jokiharju in the same league 9+20=29 in 47 games. However, Jokiharju was +17 while Juolevi was +/- 0.

Jokiharju's team finished 10. this season with +8 goal differential. Juolevi's team finished 7th during his season with +15 goal differential.

Wouldn't be surprised if we saw his stock rise next season.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

#5 overall Juolevi 6+26=32 in 44 games.

Jokiharju in the same league 9+20=29 in 47 games. However, Jokiharju was +17 while Juolevi was +/- 0.

Jokiharju's team finished 10. this season with +8 goal differential. Juolevi's team finished 7th during his season with +15 goal differential.

Wouldn't be surprised if we saw his stock rise next season.

Jokiharju is an interesting prospect, but I think he is much more one-dimensional and offensive than Juolevi. He is a bit small as well, but as I always, I hope for the best for him. I have only seen Jokiharju on the national team, so I haven't seen much, but his numbers sure look promising. If he keeps his current trajectory he might go as early as the third round, but at the moment I wouldn't count on it.

 

[ijuka]

The +/- stats argue against him being only about offensive even though I haven't seen him outside of u-18s.

His next season will be interesting to follow for sure.

 

[WannabeFinn]

love the name

 

[Quethas]

I think the size is the issue with Jokiharju. He is pretty small and even though his positioning and defensive game with stick is sound, his size can be problem against the bigger opponents.

But really, good mobility and offensive skills are the two factors which makes Jokiharju intriguing.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

I think the size is the issue with Jokiharju. He is pretty small and even though his positioning and defensive game with stick is sound, his size can be problem against the bigger opponents.

But really, good mobility and offensive skills are the two factors which makes Jokiharju intriguing.

Then again, he is 5'11 or 180 cm. He's practically the same size as Vatanen and Honka and a little bigger than Saarijärvi. The size is a small issue, no pun intented, but he needs to bring more offense if his defensive play is suspect. At this point in time I haven't seen much NHL upside, but I would have said the same thing about Saarijärvi before his draft season as well. Early days.

 

[Keke]

Has anyone seen him play and if so how has he looked? It seems he has 3 points on 4 games.

Could a mod update his current team?

 

[FinPanda]

Has anyone seen him play and if so how has he looked? It seems he has 3 points on 4 games.

Could a mod update his current team?

You can do it by yourself. Edit -> go advanced.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

You can do it by yourself. Edit -> go advanced.

That updated his team on his first post but not on the header.

 

[FinPanda]

That updated his team on his first post but not on the header.

Ok, interesting. Worked for me when I tried.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QZXX42irRc
Henri Jokiharju U18 WJC 2016 highlights video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdg7vOYXns
Shorter highlights video of Henri Jokiharju

 

[leaflover]

Has anyone seen him play and if so how has he looked? It seems he has 3 points on 4 games.

Could a mod update his current team?

I'll be at the Hawks games vs Kelowna January 21 & 28.
He'll be one of the kids i pay special attention to. I'll try and remember to give a quick summary.

 

[Keke]

I'll be at the Hawks games vs Kelowna January 21 & 28.
He'll be one of the kids i pay special attention to. I'll try and remember to give a quick summary.

That's great! Looking forward to it

 

[leaflover]

Well, i only got to see the January 21st game vs the Rockets but Henri played a strong game. Terrific mobility and sound defensive positioning really stood out. Kelowna shut down the neutral zone and minimized most rushes and limited any stretch passes out of the d-zone. The Hawks failed to adjust which impacted their speed game and in turn affected Jokiharju's transition skills. So while it wasn't a great opportunity for him to utilize his strengths he did show defensive elements to his game that impressed and more importantly he showed he can stand up physically.
Unfortunately he was injured(against Kamloops i believe) a few days later and didn't dress for the January 28th rematch against Kelowna.
10 years ago his size might have pushed him well down the draft rankings but there is enough talent there and the mindset of NHL executives has changed so he should have a good chance to develop into an NHL defenseman.