Prospect Info: Roope Hintz 2nd Round 49th Overall 2015 Draft.

[ChicagoBullsFan]

LW / C Roope Hintz 2nd Round 49th Overall 2015 Draft.

Prospect Info
Name Roope Hintz
Position LW / C
Height 187cm ( 6'2)
Weight 83kg ( 183 lbs)
Born 17 Novermber 1996
Birthplace Tampere Finland
Shoots Left

Player Description

A highly intelligent Finn who can play the role of scorer or playmaker; has killer instincts and a keen eye for scoring opportunities.
Very high hockey-IQ and has incredible awareness on the ice; is able to play the puck creatively, all the while creating space for his adjoining teammates.

Creates separation, not through physical play, but through outskating the opposition.
His proactivity, recognizing and taking advantage of scoring chances, makes him a valuable teammate and offensive catalyst for whoever he plays with.
A very good skater that is able to create chances through his speed. Possesses a hard, accurate release on his shot, as well as good hands and overall puckhandling ability.
All-in-all, a prolific scoring threat that continuously plays with jump and provides energy for teammates.

Roope Hintz missed all preseason and 17 regular season games, earlier this autumn because of Back injury.
Hintz came back in end of October, and he's now played 13 regular season games and he's scored 6 points ( 1 goal 5 assists).

After his NHL draft past summer, Hintz signed 2yrs pro contract with HIFK Helsinki FEL team.
Hintz will be locked for, Finland's world junior team.
And he's getting big role, in world juniors.

Hintz is probably Finland's 1st line winger / center in U20 WJC's.
In HIFK Hintz has played for, winger and center.

Also he's got some minutes in powerplay unit.
Hintz's pro contract with HIFK finishing spring 2017.

Click to read more...

 

[masinaLFC]

Thanks for the update.. Hintz was a great pick IMO

 

[OttMorrow]

Thanks for the update.. Hintz was a great pick IMO

I really liked the Hintz pick as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he's our best pick of the 2015 draft when it's all said and done.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TThvgFQps9I

Roope Hintz's 1-1 goal in world juniors semifinal against Sweden.
I'll add more videos of Hintz if / when i found them.

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

I was busy over the holidays so I wasn't able to watch much of Hintz. How did everyone think he did? I heard he had lots of chances, but wasn't able to finish.

 

[OttMorrow]

I was busy over the holidays so I wasn't able to watch much of Hintz. How did everyone think he did? I heard he had lots of chances, but wasn't able to finish.

I didn't see him, but the feedback on the boards was that they had expected more out of him.

 

[Huokaus]

As a random Finnish passerby, I can tell some of my own feelings on Hintz in the WJC:

His line took a long time to get it going, IMO mainly because Rantanen seemed jet-lagged or something. For sure more was expected from him and the whole line, but on a individual level Hintz was decent to good-enough throughout the tournament. Hustled pretty well in both ends of the ice but also had trouble finishing. Never stood out in a negative way (outside of not scoring/not getting points) though.

 

[OttMorrow]

As a random Finnish passerby, I can tell some of my own feelings on Hintz in the WJC:

His line took a long time to get it going, IMO mainly because Rantanen seemed jet-lagged or something. For sure more was expected from him and the whole line, but on a individual level Hintz was decent to good-enough throughout the tournament. Hustled pretty well in both ends of the ice but also had trouble finishing. Never stood out in a negative way (outside of not scoring/not getting points) though.

Thanks for the input! Always good to hear from a first-hand viewer.

 

[Duffeldof]

In my eyes he showed really well his speed. Couple times he just skated the puck into offensive zone all by himself.

 

[kelsier]

As a random Finnish passerby, I can tell some of my own feelings on Hintz in the WJC:

His line took a long time to get it going, IMO mainly because Rantanen seemed jet-lagged or something. For sure more was expected from him and the whole line, but on a individual level Hintz was decent to good-enough throughout the tournament. Hustled pretty well in both ends of the ice but also had trouble finishing. Never stood out in a negative way (outside of not scoring/not getting points) though.

Heh, not sure if he was watching the same games as me. I know this isn't something you'd like to hear but Hintz was by far one of the worst forwards in the team. He had tons of ice time but was unable to create chemistry with anyone and in general was just liability especially in the offensive zone. Haven't seen a guy missing so many open scoring chances for a quite a long time. Rantanen was cursed having to play with him throughout the tournament and must have been frustrated after creating all the opportunies just to see Hintz do anything but to bury'em. With the speed and size he could become a decent 3rd line NHL center one day, but I wouldn't hope for much more.

 

[OttMorrow]

Heh, not sure if he was watching the same games as me. I know this isn't something you'd like to hear but Hintz was by far one of the worst forwards in the team. He had tons of ice time but was unable to create chemistry with anyone and in general was just liability especially in the offensive zone. Haven't seen a guy missing so many open scoring chances for a quite a long time. Rantanen was cursed having to play with him throughout the tournament and must have been frustrated after creating all the opportunies just to see Hintz do anything but to bury'em. With the speed and size he could become a decent 3rd line NHL center one day, but I wouldn't hope for much more.

He projects as a lower line NHLer...so I'm not expecting the moon out of him when it comes to offensive production. Also, it's just one tournament, so you can't necessarily tell much from it anyway. I'm not concerned at this point. I remember liking his game when I watched him last year. Could have been hurt or sick...or just off his game. Who knows?! Sample size.

 

[Mr Misty]

I'm not worried about his WJC because of where we got him. The best players in a peer group aren't usually drafted 49th overall, and if you think about the tournament as drawing from the top 2 rounds in 2015 and the top 2 rounds in 2016, his pedigree doesn't rate very highly. It would have been nice to see him break out there, but the big thing is for him to continue to practice and play against men in a strong league.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

I really liked the Hintz pick as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he's our best pick of the 2015 draft when it's all said and done.

Even i was surprised why Joe McDonnel took Denis Guryanov instead of Roope Hintz in 12th overall last june.
Maybe Guryanov was better prospect or so but Russian prospects has always some factor which could affect draft position.

Let's see which one will be better in few years Hintz or Guryanov

 

[LT]

Even i was surprised why Joe McDonnel took Guryanov instead of Hintz in 12th overall last june.
Maybe Guryanov was better prospect or so but Russian players has always some factor which could affect draft position.

You're not suggesting we should've taken Hintz at 12, are you?

 

[FirstRowUpperDeck]

Not a religious follower of all things prospect, but seem to recall Hintz got drafted pretty near his CSS ranking. DG was another Nuke type player - high ceiling, risky because of no D, Russian factor, etc. Overall, I think both were considered a bit off the board picks by many, not by Nill.

Nill, unlike many other GM's doesn't seem risk averse in the first two rounds. And he sure doesn't care a lot for those CSS rankings, listening to his scouts more than the list. He drafts for speed and talent, sometimes ignoring other factors that scare teams off, like size (Honka) or Russian factor (Nuke and DG). I guess that's how they built the Wings over all those years, and we are becoming a southern suburb to Detroit, hockey wise.

 

[OttMorrow]

Not a religious follower of all things prospect, but seem to recall Hintz got drafted pretty near his CSS ranking. DG was another Nuke type player - high ceiling, risky because of no D, Russian factor, etc. Overall, I think both were considered a bit off the board picks by many, not by Nill.

Nill, unlike many other GM's doesn't seem risk averse in the first two rounds. And he sure doesn't care a lot for those CSS rankings, listening to his scouts more than the list. He drafts for speed and talent, sometimes ignoring other factors that scare teams off, like size (Honka) or Russian factor (Nuke and DG). I guess that's how they built the Wings over all those years, and we are becoming a southern suburb to Detroit, hockey wise.

Both were reaches according to most rankings.

On my rankings I had originally put Guryanov somewhere in the 9-15 range until I found out about his KHL contract and the concerns that he would stay in Russia. I ended up with him ranked #31.

The guy I really wanted with our first was Barzal, who now has 84pts in 54 games in the Juniors. I'm still choked up a bit over missing on him.

Hintz was higher on my list than on all of the scouting outlets. I had him at #39...so I liked getting him with the 49th pick. Hintz has improved on his #'s in Finland significantly year-over-year. That looks to be a good pick.

Though the guy I REALLY wanted with our 49th pick actually wasn't Hintz...it was Bracco, who I had ranked #14 on my list. Bracco has 57 pts in 44 games with the Kitchener Rangers this season. I enjoy keeping track of my own lists after the draft to see if I'm half a scout haha.

 

[Michael Farkas]

The CSS stuff is just a watch list, not a real ranking. No NHL team bases their draft on that list. Everyone has their own, very different lists...

 

[wloff]

Hintz scored a natural hat trick tonight as HIFK crushed Ässät 7-0 (Hintz with the 5-0, 6-0 and 7-0 goals).

Some comments on Roope, having watched him along the season: he was away for quite a bit for his injury, and had a decent start after his return - but then WJC happened, and he's been a different player ever since. Doing well and winning gold must have done wonders for his confidence, or maybe he just finally got 100% fit then, but he's been absolutely wonderful for the last couple of months. He's miles ahead of, say, Nikolay Goldobin (Sharks 1st round pick from 2014) who spent last season with IFK. If anything, Roope looks like a kid who was drafted in top 20, not 49th overall.

I think you guys got a good 'un, and I'm really happy to see him with us for now. Looking forward to seeing how he does in the playoffs.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Roope Hintz scored tonight his first FEL regular season hat-trick when HIFK defeated Porin Ässät 7-0.
After tonight's game Hintz's regular season stats are next.

32 games 7 goals 11 assists = 18 points 4 pim. plus-minus reading +14.
I'll post here Hintz's hat-trick video when i found it.

 

[Mr Misty]

Is he ready to come over to the Texas Stars next year? Short of Gurianov there isn't really any forward left to come to the AHL with Faksa, Ritchie, McKenzie etc headed for Dallas.

 

[OttMorrow]

Is he ready to come over to the Texas Stars next year? Short of Gurianov there isn't really any forward left to come to the AHL with Faksa, Ritchie, McKenzie etc headed for Dallas.

I'd be surprised if Hintz wasn't playing in CP next year. If I'm not incorrect, he is eligible.

 

[Satan]

I'd be surprised if Hintz wasn't playing in CP next year. If I'm not incorrect, he is eligible.

What happens if you are correct

 

[BigG44]

Hintz is eligible, and he's an age that even Canadian junior's typically join the AHL because he's a late birth. That said, while I would expect he attends training camp, and he might even join Texas even in just an observation role this spring, he's probably not playing in Texas next season.

Dallas respects Euro league contracts. Even though he would likely have the ability to get out of the contract, he's signed one more season with HIFK. While there's the off chance you could have a Janmark situation where he forces his way onto NHL team, I think it's more likely he returns to Finland to complete his contract.

On the other hand, because Hintz didn't sign his contract to start this season, he's not eligible for a contract slide. It's not complicated to explain, but it's not exactly short. To be as brief as possible, late births (birth date between September and December) are eligible to slide 2 years if they sign immediately. If they sign one year out from the draft, their contract doesn't slide. That's not true of players in the same draft born from December to September. If they signed a year out from the draft, their contract would slide assuming they didn't play in the NHL.

So just as they haven't blown any ELC years with Honka allowing his contract to slide, I don't see them really wanting to blow an ELC year for Hintz. He could come over still and play in the AHL, but I think they main goal will be to extend his ELC as much as possible considering the number of young forwards they'll likely need to try an integrate into the NHL lineup over the next season or two.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

http://www.ruutu.fi/video/2503887

Here's Roope Hintz's hat-trick video from Tuesday's game against Porin Ässät.
If / when this link not work or video isn't available let me know.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Hintz is eligible, and he's an age that even Canadian junior's typically join the AHL because he's a late birth. That said, while I would expect he attends training camp, and he might even join Texas even in just an observation role this spring, he's probably not playing in Texas next season.

Dallas respects Euro league contracts. Even though he would likely have the ability to get out of the contract, he's signed one more season with HIFK. While there's the off chance you could have a Janmark situation where he forces his way onto NHL team, I think it's more likely he returns to Finland to complete his contract.

On the other hand, because Hintz didn't sign his contract to start this season, he's not eligible for a contract slide. It's not complicated to explain, but it's not exactly short. To be as brief as possible, late births (birth date between September and December) are eligible to slide 2 years if they sign immediately. If they sign one year out from the draft, their contract doesn't slide. That's not true of players in the same draft born from December to September. If they signed a year out from the draft, their contract would slide assuming they didn't play in the NHL.

So just as they haven't blown any ELC years with Honka allowing his contract to slide, I don't see them really wanting to blow an ELC year for Hintz. He could come over still and play in the AHL, but I think they main goal will be to extend his ELC as much as possible considering the number of young forwards they'll likely need to try an integrate into the NHL lineup over the next season or two.

HIFK won FEL regular season and they made playoffs.
Hintz is big part of HIFK's team and he won't come to Texas this season.

Also Hintz's pro contract with HIFK finishing spring 2017.
If / when Hintz will come over to Texas it'll happen autumn 2017 not earlier.