tukonen, nokelainen, korpikoski vs. canada

[Omniscient Gadfly]

offensively, who was the best of the three first-rounders vs canada? maybe state your guy and then say why...

korpikoski. why?
i think he was the most involved of the three in terms of puck possession. he was looking to make things happen, and displayed some nifty one on one play. tukonen looks like he can play with poise, but outside his one break early in the first where he hit the post, he wasn't very noticeable in the offensive zone. nokelainen seems to be the solid two-way player as billed, doing the little things right but without a lot of panache.

that said, i think korpi looks like he needs to gain some lower body strength to fully utilise the tools he has. he had some nice looks and was shifty enough to make plays out of nothing at times, but more strength might lead to more possession & more time to control the play the way he wants. somtimes looked a little selfish too, holding on to the puck in the netural zone instead of hitting the outlet option up ice.

overall, i think the line was pretty ineffective. maybe canada's defence is just that good, but they really looked to struggle for possession. i did notice they were frequently matched with the crosby or carter line in defensive zone face-offs, so that sometimes limited their efforts to take control, as they were playing not to get scored on it seemed.

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[LaLaLaprise]

Tukonen was of the best of the 3. He seemed to create something every shift...or at least come close to with that smothering defense.

 

[BuppY]

korpikoski - he was working hard every shift.

 

[NYRangers]

good to hear. If anyone else can give another analysis on Korpikoski it'd be great. Us Ranger fans didnt get to see the game. Thanks.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

Korpikoski played well...he plays a simple style, will be a good one.

But like i said Tukonen i felt played better. But it was just 1 game.

 

[The Slap Shop]

good to hear. If anyone else can give another analysis on Korpikoski it'd be great. Us Ranger fans didnt get to see the game. Thanks.

Same with us Kings Fans on Tuk.

 

[Eb0la11]

Im a huge Tukonen fan an I watched the game and my opinion of him was that he was alot faster than what I thought he was going to be and didnt look as big as some sites have him, though I guess 6 2 isnt overly big. He was very smooth at skating and played both pp and pk. He didnt have any moves that stook out but did manage to break through once to hit the crossbar/post (somewhere near the top corner short side on Glass) He impressed me alot with his overall speed and should develop quite nicely. Afterall this isnt really his year to shine, Team Canada has too many returnees for the 86s to really have a big impact in this tournament. Tukonen will be lucky to get 4 points in the tournament, him Korpikoski and Nokelainen will be a force to reckon with in the 2005 Tournament.

 

[GoM]

This was the first time I've seen Tukonen play, and I was quite impressed

 

[Levitate]

that said, i think korpi looks like he needs to gain some lower body strength to fully utilise the tools he has. he had some nice looks and was shifty enough to make plays out of nothing at times, but more strength might lead to more possession & more time to control the play the way he wants.

yeah he definatly seems like he needs to put on some muscle...dont' think he's really transitioned "into a man" or however you want to put it, yet

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

Korpi looked a little more dynamic to me, making a few moves that really stood out. One inside-out move in particular at full speed in the 2nd period, was really something (even though it was a tight situation, he still got a shot off). He showed off a few other moves late in the game and in typical Finn-fashion, plenty of fiesty-ness.

Tukonen was very smooth, and does seem to have decent size and speed. He handled the puck well, but didn't do anything overly breath taking. He certainly doesn't have a problem with the physical style of the game. But too limited of a viewing in a tough situation to really get a read on him, but he made his breakaway look very easy (he spun backwards to receive the pass and quickly slipped back into to forward gear to maintain is space for the breakaway). Nice flick of the wrist to hit the post top corner too.

Both looked good, although I was surpised their unit as a while didn't sustain more pressure. But a tough task playing Team Canada in Winnipeg.

 

[Levitate]

that's the other thing i'm hearing about korpikoski...he really seems to have the talent and ability to pull some nice moves and all, but it seems he's still learning how to score goals with those moves, at least in the finnish elite league...kind of tough since he's a rookie there playing on the 3rd line or so, but it's good experience

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

I really liked how Korpikoski is playing. Looks like he has a lot of drive. IMO with seasoning and if he improves his frist steps, he's gonna be a good one.

 

[Levitate]

I really liked how Korpikoski is playing. Looks like he has a lot of drive. IMO with seasoning and if he improves his frist steps, he's gonna be a good one.

good deal...i think most ranger fans are completely willing to let him develop for a few years in finland before bringing him over to develop some more in the AHL...not expecting him to step in right away, just let him develop

one reason the rangers said they picked him is he has a great work ethic so i think he has a good shot at reaching his potential or coming close

 

[chicpea*]

Tukonen was fine, but Korpikoski really stood out with the chances he got. And that was really the problem: Finland simply didn't have ample possession for anyone to see what he could do. I'm not sure if there was even a series of two or three successive passes last night, outside the pp. That said, Korpikoski seems like a very smart player, maybe a bit too flashy, but effective inside the blueline. I think it was Phaneuf that he embarrassed in the first period with a very nifty move.

 

[NYRangers]

This isn't the first time people have been very impressed with Korpikoski, so thats a great sign.

Thanks to everyone who said something about him, I really wish I could have seen it.