U18: Who are the top prospects to watch for in the IH U-18 Tournament?

[Filthy Dangles]

Now that the WJSS is over, who are the top U-18 Players to watch for at the Ivan Hlinka tournament that starts today?

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[93LEAFS]

Joe Veleno, Jared MacIssac, Ty Smith, Jet Woo, Jack McBain, Merkley, Jacob Oloffson, Jesper Kotkaneimi, Kupari and Adam Boqvist for the 2018 draft.

Personally, I'm very curious about the 2001 Fins Mikko Kokkenen and Leevi Aaltonen. Some people are touring Kokkenen as a top pick for 2019. I also really like Nolan Foote in regards to 2019 players.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Adam Boqvist one of the most skilled D in the tournament

*fixed

 

[ijuka]

Adam Boqvist most skilled D in the tournament

Mikko Kokkonen.


The other player I'll be paying special attention to is Leevi Aaltonen but am not quite as optimistic.

 

[Luddowich]

Mikko Kokkonen.


The other player I'll be paying special attention to is Leevi Aaltonen but am not quite as optimistic.

Kokkonen probably has more potential but Boqvist is no doubt better at this point since he's a year older.

 

[ijuka]

Kokkonen probably has more potential but Boqvist is no doubt better at this point since he's a year older.

Well, while I appreciate such a refreshing perspective, he's 5 months older. And both are 16 years of age.

 

[Goodman68]

Jakub Lauko from Czech. Good speed, shot and agility.

 

[Thebesthockey]

Joe Veleno, Jared MacIssac, Ty Smith, Jet Woo, Jack McBain, Merkley, Jacob Oloffson, Jesper Kotkaneimi, Kupari and Adam Boqvist for the 2018 draft.

Personally, I'm very curious about the 2001 Fins Mikko Kokkenen and Leevi Aaltonen. Some people are touring Kokkenen as a top pick for 2019. I also really like Nolan Foote in regards to 2019 players.

Foote should not be there. thats the reality.

 

[VictorLustig]

Ruslan Ishakov, what a player.

 

[alko]

Ruslan Ishakov, what a player.

Believe or not, this guy played last season in Slovak U 18 league. Destroyed it. 104 points in only 44 games.
That makes me wonder, if our league will be interesting for other quality players.

Yeah, i know, Just kidding.

 

[duga]

For Switzerland:
Defensman Nico Gross,
Goalkeeper Akira Schmid,
among the forwards, there's missing a real Topshot. Valentin Nussbaumer looks like the most promising at the moment.

 

[Tormentor]

Personally, I'm very curious about the 2001 Fins Mikko Kokkenen and Leevi Aaltonen. Some people are touring Kokkenen as a top pick for 2019.

Mikko Kokkonen is 5'11'' tall, isn't growing anymore, and has mediocre skating and foot speed. There's no reason to think he's a top prospect.

Leevi Aaltonen looks a lot like Toni Rajala at that age. Rajala may have had slightly more talent, but otherwise these two are almost identical. Of course Aaltonen could end up having a different kind of development path from Rajala, but I certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility that he's just another stupendously overhyped Finnish prospect.

 

[FinnishSniper]

Mikko Kokkonen is 5'11'' tall, isn't growing anymore, and has mediocre skating and foot speed. There's no reason to think he's a top prospect.

Leevi Aaltonen looks a lot like Toni Rajala at that age. Rajala may have had slightly more talent, but otherwise these two are almost identical. Of course Aaltonen could end up having a different kind of development path from Rajala, but I certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility that he's just another stupendously overhyped Finnish prospect.

Mikko Kokkonen looks a lot bigger and "plays a lot bigger" than 5'11" kid. When have you actually seen him play? Because it really seems like you only know the concerns about his skating from about 1 year ago. His skating is for sure above average, but yeah I'd say his footspeed is mediocre. Skating is one thing you can actually work on so that is a positive.

Oh yeah I almost forgot. The exact same thing was said about a kid called Patrik Laine in his Draft-1 year. His skating and foot speed were "mediocre". But last year he was an animal in the NHL.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Zavgorodniy and Denisenko looked very good in the MHL as 16 year old, and they looked good vs Canada. It's just Denisenko couldn't score, but Zavgorodniy scored 2 goals.

 

[Tormentor]

Mikko Kokkonen looks a lot bigger and "plays a lot bigger" than 5'11" kid. When have you actually seen him play? Because it really seems like you only know the concerns about his skating from about 1 year ago. His skating is for sure above average, but yeah I'd say his footspeed is mediocre. Skating is one thing you can actually work on so that is a positive.

Oh yeah I almost forgot. The exact same thing was said about a kid called Patrik Laine in his Draft-1 year. His skating and foot speed were "mediocre". But last year he was an animal in the NHL.

The first time I saw Kokkonen, Aaltonen and Nikkanen was when they still played together in Jukurit and I've followed their progress ever since. Kokkonen's skating and mobility have never been above average, and I doubt that's going to change.

Take a closer look at Rasmus Dahlin and you'll understand how a game changing defenseman moves and plays nowadays. Kokkonen doesn't even come close to that, because he lacks the athletic ability and skill of a proper high-end talent.

Laine was a lanky, growing kid recovering from a serious injury when his mobility looked bad. Kokkonen has none of those excuses, he's done growing and already has good leg strength.

And the reason why Laine did well in NHL was because he has excellent hands, shot, vision and size. Kokkonen on the other hand is more like an average Joe and he's going to be lucky if he manages a decent career in Liiga.

 

[FinnishSniper]

The first time I saw Kokkonen, Aaltonen and Nikkanen was when they still played together in Jukurit and I've followed their progress ever since. Kokkonen's skating and mobility have never been above average, and I doubt that's going to change.

Take a closer look at Rasmus Dahlin and you'll understand how a game changing defenseman moves and plays nowadays. Kokkonen doesn't even come close to that, because he lacks the athletic ability and skill of a proper high-end talent.

Laine was a lanky, growing kid recovering from a serious injury when his mobility looked bad. Kokkonen has none of those excuses, he's done growing and already has good leg strength.

And the reason why Laine did well in NHL was because he has excellent hands, shot, vision and size. Kokkonen on the other hand is more like an average Joe and he's going to be lucky if he manages a decent career in Liiga.

This. There are plenty of slow D-men who are doing great in the NHL. He is going to be a stud

 

[wings5]

Imo Kostin wouldn't have been a first rounder if not for his Ivan Hlinka tournament. I wonder which prospect will get a similar rise from this tournament

 

[ijuka]

The first time I saw Kokkonen, Aaltonen and Nikkanen was when they still played together in Jukurit and I've followed their progress ever since. Kokkonen's skating and mobility have never been above average, and I doubt that's going to change.

Take a closer look at Rasmus Dahlin and you'll understand how a game changing defenseman moves and plays nowadays. Kokkonen doesn't even come close to that, because he lacks the athletic ability and skill of a proper high-end talent.

Laine was a lanky, growing kid recovering from a serious injury when his mobility looked bad. Kokkonen has none of those excuses, he's done growing and already has good leg strength.

And the reason why Laine did well in NHL was because he has excellent hands, shot, vision and size. Kokkonen on the other hand is more like an average Joe and he's going to be lucky if he manages a decent career in Liiga.

I think that you're being pretty unfair to Kokkonen. Dahlin didn't even make the Swedish Hlinka team when he was the same age.

While I agree that he isn't nearly as flashy, you don't have to be an Erik Karlsson to make a good career in NHL or even be a #1 defenseman.

And I don't really buy that Kokkonen has reached his physical limit and will never improve. That's something I've heard since he was like 14 years old.

Heck, already he's comparing pretty favorably among this team's defense. I'd at least wait and see how he does this season because claiming him a prospect who's "lucky if he manages a decent career in Liiga".

 

[VictorLustig]

I think that you're being pretty unfair to Kokkonen. Dahlin didn't even make the Swedish Hlinka team when he was the same age.

While I agree that he isn't nearly as flashy, you don't have to be an Erik Karlsson to make a good career in NHL or even be a #1 defenseman.

And I don't really buy that Kokkonen has reached his physical limit and will never improve. That's something I've heard since he was like 14 years old.

Heck, already he's comparing pretty favorably among this team's defense. I'd at least wait and see how he does this season because claiming him a prospect who's "lucky if he manages a decent career in Liiga".

Dahlin definitely made the Swedish team as an underager.

 

[ijuka]

Dahlin definitely made the Swedish team as an underager.

That's true, who was I thinking of? Liljegren? Ugh.

 

[alko]

How is this Rotenberg kid doing? Is he a legit prospect?

 

[Tormentor]

While I agree that he isn't nearly as flashy, you don't have to be an Erik Karlsson to make a good career in NHL or even be a #1 defenseman.

Kokkonen is a stocky, not particularly tall defenseman with less than spectacular mobility. In a sense you could compare him to Ville Pokka. When all said and done their mobility and defensive game will probably round out at roughly the same level. Aspects of the game where I see Kokkonen having a disadvantage compared to Pokka are vision and play at the point, from these two he's the less talented player with the puck.

Pokka looks to be a career tweener and I'm not expecting Kokkonen to outdo him in the future, quite the opposite.

And I don't really buy that Kokkonen has reached his physical limit and will never improve. That's something I've heard since he was like 14 years old.

Kokkonen certainly hasn't reached his physical limit, but he's very much an early developer and has less room for improvement compared to most of his peers.

Heck, already he's comparing pretty favorably among this team's defense. I'd at least wait and see how he does this season because claiming him a prospect who's "lucky if he manages a decent career in Liiga".

Kokkonen certainly isn't the worst D on that team, but not much is required for achieving that. Anttoni Honka may have some long-term upside, but overall our D-core looks rather dreadful and uninspiring.

 

[Atas2000]

How is this Rotenberg kid doing? Is he a legit prospect?

At this level he is no passenger, but I doubt he will develop into a noteable pro. But let's give him the benefit of a doubt and see how he fares until the u20 level at least.

 

[93LEAFS]

Mikko Kokkonen is 5'11'' tall, isn't growing anymore, and has mediocre skating and foot speed. There's no reason to think he's a top prospect.

Leevi Aaltonen looks a lot like Toni Rajala at that age. Rajala may have had slightly more talent, but otherwise these two are almost identical. Of course Aaltonen could end up having a different kind of development path from Rajala, but I certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility that he's just another stupendously overhyped Finnish prospect.

Thanks for your input. I haven't seen either kid until this tournament, and it is foolish to make strong judgments off summer hockey. On first glance, Kokkonen hasn't wowed me like you expect a smaller defender with top 5 draft pick aspirations to do at this tournament if he is highly touted. I know he's a year younger but he isn't dynamic when compared to guys like Merkley and Boqvist, who both are elite skaters.

 

[mrmouse]

can anyone tell me about barrett hayton? future considerations doesn't even rank him as a top 100 for 2018 but he was a top 3 forward on canada imo in the games i watched... does anyone think this kid could maybe even go first round?