RD Topi Niemelä - Kärpät, Liiga (2020, 64th, TOR)

[Erikfromfin]

Right hand defensman with good amount of offensive upside. Good skater with with good hands and moves for defensman. Powerplay quarterback with big shot from the line. Solid defensivily and decent size aswell. Top Finns in my oppinion for 2020 draft
Topi Niemelä at eliteprospects.com

Some plays from U16 4-nations back from February

Click to read more...

 

[MattiasSnall]

The question is how the f*** Finland lost to Sweden 1-7????

Right hand defensman with good amount of offensive upside. Good skater with with good hands and moves for defensman. Powerplay quarterback with big shot from the line. Solid defensivily and decent size aswell. Top Finns in my oppinion for 2020 draft
Topi Niemelä at eliteprospects.com

Some plays from U16 4-nations back from February

 

[JJTT]

Was named to the U18 NT camp roster as underager. Leijonat.fi - U18 Pikkuleijonien kesäopintoviikko käynnistyy ensi maanantaina - Tällä joukkueella Kuortaneelle

Interesting to see how Kärpät will handle all these defenseman from the 00-02 age groups. Loponen, Puutio and Niemelä are all right handed too. All should be promoted to the pro team within the next 2 years.

 

[JJTT]

He has looked fantastic with Kärpät's pro team in the couple of games he has played so far. His skating is suberb. With Ronkainen to start the season, he might end up staying with the pro team.

Haven't really seen him on the draft lists yet, could be a big riser.

 

[FinPanda]

GWG. Not a bad start for his Liiga career. The fact he made Kärpät Liiga team itself was quite an achievement. Looking really worth it.

 

[JJTT]

Looks legit. Needs to bulk up a lot but his skating and offensive skill is among the best in the team. Should shoot up the draft rankings and fight for top15 spot in the draft.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Kärpät tekee maalin
Topi Niemelä's 1st liiga goal.

 

[BKarchitect]

Do the top 2020 Finnish defenders like Niemela, Puutio, etc compare favorably with the 2019 guys? Because Heinola and Thomson have hit the ground running and seem like early “steal” candidates for late 1st rounders.

 

[Ippenator]

Do the top 2020 Finnish defenders like Niemela, Puutio, etc compare favorably with the 2019 guys? Because Heinola and Thomson have hit the ground running and seem like early “steal” candidates for late 1st rounders.

I think the potential is pretty similar. But hard to say how their development continues. Thomson was in fact a bit behind them when the same age, but I would say that Heinola has been slightly ahead of them at the same age. But Thomson has been catching up with Heinola in development, although Heinola himself has been developing very well too.

I would say that each of these four are excellent defencemen prospects with even elite potential in the best scenario. But hard to say how their development will go in the long run. It’s anyway starting to look amazingly good for Finland even with defence, which was still quite a weakness for the Finnish national team in the recent past.

 

[JJTT]

Played nearly 18 minutes today, all on even strength. Seems to be getting more and more trust from the coaching staff.

Gotta love the confidence this kid has with the puck.

 

[Alex Taxman]

https://www.futurescopehockey.com/post/prospect-report-4-topi-niemelä

 

[Svedu]

So, can anyone tell me more about Niemelä? How has he been playing and any signs of development?

 

[JJTT]

No hype, still think he is going first round.

Prospect Deep Dive: Topi Niemelä

UROS Niemelä - Petopodi

 

[LastWordArmy]

Finnish defenceman Topi Niemela has advanced quickly up the ranks, as the 17-year-old defenceman is playing for Karpat in the SM Liiga, Finland’s top men’s league. He’s been eased into the league, with limited minutes each night but still has one goal and six assists for seven points in 43 games this season. Niemela put up two points in four games in the Champions Hockey League. He also played one game in the Finnish junior league, picking up one assist. Last season, Niemela had one goal and six assists for seven points in the Finnish Jr. A league. He added four points in 11 playoff games. Niemela helped the Karpat U-20 team to the league title.

Niemela has also been part of Finland’s teams on the international stage, playing in the summer’s Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, scoring three assists in three games. He also played at last spring’s IIHF Under-18 World Championships with one goal in five games. Karpat was part of Finland’s silver-medal winning team at last year’s Under-17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored an assist in six tournament games.


Our Full Report is here
Topi Niemela Scouting Report: 2020 NHL Draft #48 - Last Word on Hockey

 

[wings5]

He sounds like he's got all the tools to be a great defenceman, skating, offensive game, two way potential etc and he's not that short. Seeing as how the main knock on him is lack of muscle and that can easily be worked on, why isn't Niemela getting more hype?

 

[Intangir]

He sounds like he's got all the tools to be a great defenceman, skating, offensive game, two way potential etc and he's not that short. Seeing as how the main knock on him is lack of muscle and that can easily be worked on, why isn't Niemela getting more hype?

I look at him in much the same way as I look at Lundkvist, except that Lundkvist's skillset in his draft year is a bit more dynamic which lead to him getting nabbed a bit higher than I feel Niemela will. . If he develops 100% of the way, we're probably looking at a first-pairing defenseman in the NHL though some will say that it is unlikely to happen, and they would be right.

Anyways, the team that gets Niemela has the potential to look back on the day he was drafed a couple years later and feel extremely glad their franchise took him. He's simply one of the few players I really took a shine to during the year, alongside the underrated Seeleys, Akhtyamovs, Novaks, Heinemans of the world.

 

[Draft Dynasty]

 

[majormajor]

Thanks Yanic! I get super excited every time your newest video comes out.

 

[Goose of Reason]

Who would you have ahead on your list between Niemela and Powell?

 

[Draft Dynasty]

Niemela, he's much more advance in his development... Easier to project Niemela in the NHL since he already got 1 year in the liiga under his belt. I don't think Powell would have been able to play in the Liiga this year. I do like Powell skating a bit more. I will most likely have Niemeli mid 2nd and Powell Late 2nd-Early 3rd.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Great work as always!

 

[NotProkofievian]

Anyone know why Topi isn't dressed for today's game against Ilves?

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

Anyone know why Topi isn't dressed for today's game against Ilves?

I don't think I have seen him in a single game this pre-season. Must be an injury?

 

[57special]

There are a lot of Dmen projected to go in the late 1st or second round that are great skaters and are bigger(Barron, Wallinder, Grans, Jurmo, etc). A lot of teams will want that size and reach over a player like Niemela or O'Rourke, unless they really are convinced about their game.

 

[wings5]

There are a lot of Dmen projected to go in the late 1st or second round that are great skaters and are bigger(Barron, Wallinder, Grans, Jurmo, etc). A lot of teams will want that size and reach over a player like Niemela or O'Rourke, unless they really are convinced about their game.

Niemela's got higher hockey IQ than pretty much all of them, decent size and can skate . He has pretty high value.