Prospect Info: 122nd Overall 2024 Draft, LHD Aron Kiviharju

[ChicagoBullsFan]

What would be best development environment for Kiviharju next season.
CHL, SHL or SM liiga`? i'm not so sure staying to HIFK is good idea.

Ville Peltonen is coach who loves to bench junior players after one mistake
and doesn't allow juniors to learn for mistake. Also HIFK prefers 30-39 yrs old veteran players.

HIFK has also been most injury prone SM liiga team last 10-12 yrs.
So maybe it should be better for Kiviharju to go SHL or CHL route.

HIFK is totally wrong team for him right now
if Kiviharju is serious with his goal to became biggest steal 2024 NHL draft

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

What would be best development environment for Kiviharju next season.
CHL, SHL or SM liiga`? i'm not so sure staying to HIFK is good idea.

Ville Peltonen is coach who loves to bench junior players after one mistake
and doesn't allow juniors to learn for mistake. Also HIFK prefers 30-39 yrs old veteran players.

HIFK has also been most injury prone SM liiga team last 10-12 yrs.
So maybe it should be better for Kiviharju to go SHL or CHL route.

HIFK is totally wrong team for him right now
if Kiviharju is serious with his goal to became biggest steal 2024 NHL draft

The Wild org has a ton of ties to HIFK, and the player just yesterday was raving about his development opportunity at home. Seems like a no brainer to stay there for a few years and really round out his game while bulking up.

 

[BagHead]

What would be best development environment for Kiviharju next season.
CHL, SHL or SM liiga`? i'm not so sure staying to HIFK is good idea.

Ville Peltonen is coach who loves to bench junior players after one mistake
and doesn't allow juniors to learn for mistake. Also HIFK prefers 30-39 yrs old veteran players.

HIFK has also been most injury prone SM liiga team last 10-12 yrs.
So maybe it should be better for Kiviharju to go SHL or CHL route.

HIFK is totally wrong team for him right now
if Kiviharju is serious with his goal to became biggest steal 2024 NHL draft

Kind of ironic with how well Granlund played for HIFK as his teammate.

 

[saywut]

What would be best development environment for Kiviharju next season.
CHL, SHL or SM liiga`? i'm not so sure staying to HIFK is good idea.

Ville Peltonen is coach who loves to bench junior players after one mistake
and doesn't allow juniors to learn for mistake. Also HIFK prefers 30-39 yrs old veteran players.

HIFK has also been most injury prone SM liiga team last 10-12 yrs.
So maybe it should be better for Kiviharju to go SHL or CHL route.

HIFK is totally wrong team for him right now
if Kiviharju is serious with his goal to became biggest steal 2024 NHL draft

I would like him to play the next 3-4 seasons in Europe. If his situation is not ideal in Liga perhaps he could move to another league after his contract expires.

 

[StateofCelly]

I watched him at dev camp the other day and he looked pretty good, has a way better shot than I expected. Buried 4 one timers from just above the goal line at a tight angle and one of the coaches got super jacked up, they ended up talking for about 30 min after as this was when practice was winding down. Seems to have had some good chemistry and him and Zeev played together a bit in the 2 on 2 drills and could have fooled me that they weren’t forwards. Definitely looked like a kid with a chip on his shoulder, never saw him really coast through a drill.

 

[Jbcraig1883]

I watched him at dev camp the other day and he looked pretty good, has a way better shot than I expected. Buried 4 one timers from just above the goal line at a tight angle and one of the coaches got super jacked up, they ended up talking for about 30 min after as this was when practice was winding down. Seems to have had some good chemistry and him and Zeev played together a bit in the 2 on 2 drills and could have fooled me that they weren’t forwards. Definitely looked like a kid with a chip on his shoulder, never saw him really coast through a drill.

Appreciate your insight - any chance you could do a summary for us hockey starved people (especially being out of state) in the main prospects thread of as many guys you observed, please? Thanks!

 

[StateofCelly]

Appreciate your insight - any chance you could do a summary for us hockey starved people (especially being out of state) in the main prospects thread of as many guys you observed, please? Thanks!

Absolutely can write something up!

 

[StateofCelly]

Appreciate your insight - any chance you could do a summary for us hockey starved people (especially being out of state) in the main prospects thread of as many guys you observed, please? Thanks!

Posted!

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

The Wild org has a ton of ties to HIFK, and the player just yesterday was raving about his development opportunity at home. Seems like a no brainer to stay there for a few years and really round out his game while bulking up.

Based on what exactly?
HIFK is absolutely wrong place to Kiviharju's development.

SM liiga is not a real hockey league
and game in there is more soccer on the ice than actual hockey.

HIFK gives icetime only 30-39 yrs old veteran players
they hate junior players and that's why guys like Halttunen,
Salin and Teissala didn't get much games what their development would've required.

Ville Peltonen is a clown coach who benches juniors after one mistake.
HIFK has also been last 10-12 yrs most injury prone SM liiga team.

That injury history what Kiviharju already has
he is not ready to play against men's in SM liiga
because repeating injuries have hurt a lot his development as a hockey player.

If Kiviharju has brains left he should go to Moncton Wildcats
and play there next 2 yrs years before AHL. CHL is best development league in the world.

World's best junior hockey coaches works there so why Kiviharju should stay to HIFK.
Even San Jose Sharks took Kasper Halttunen out of HIFK last year and look Halttunen now.

He started to developing and getting better hockey player
after his leaving from HIFK and he had very good season 2023-2024 in London Knights.

Even Brad Lambert is now totally different player after playing 1 year in WHL.
If Kiviharju wants to play winning hockey this coming season he goes to QMJHL
because HIFK will be one the worst and weakest teams in SM liiga season 2024-2025.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Kind of ironic with how well Granlund played for HIFK as his teammate.

Unfortunately being legendary hockey player
doesn't guarantee jack-shit to become good and succesfull hockey coach.

 

[AKL]

If Kiviharju wants to play winning hockey this coming season he goes to QMJHL

Might be the first time in history someone has said this about the Q

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

I would like him to play the next 3-4 seasons in Europe. If his situation is not ideal in Liga perhaps he could move to another league after his contract expires.

Moncton Wildcats

chl.ca

If Kiviharju should play next 3-4 years in Europe
then what a heck he does Moncton's preseason roster.
Something is going on behind the closed doors and this proves it.

 

[AKL]

Moncton Wildcats

chl.ca

If Kiviharju should play next 3-4 years in Europe
then what a heck he does Moncton's preseason roster.
Something is going on behind the closed doors and this proves it.

That list is meaningless. Cole Eiserman is on it too. Looks like it's just everyone they hold the rights to.

 

[BagHead]

That list is meaningless. Cole Eiserman is on it too. Looks like it's just everyone they hold the rights to.

You're saying they don't plan on running 10 and a half defensive pairings?

 

[Circulartheory]

Moncton Wildcats

chl.ca

If Kiviharju should play next 3-4 years in Europe
then what a heck he does Moncton's preseason roster.
Something is going on behind the closed doors and this proves it.

That list is meaningless. Cole Eiserman is on it too. Looks like it's just everyone they hold the rights to.

Really doesn't prove anything.

In fact...
Sounds like Loke Johansson is coming over to the Moncton and no reason for they move on from Sumpf. That's their 2 import slots max and based on the video, its just a conversation with Kiviharju.

 

[Wabit]

Moncton Wildcats

chl.ca

If Kiviharju should play next 3-4 years in Europe
then what a heck he does Moncton's preseason roster.
Something is going on behind the closed doors and this proves it.

CHL teams to just list all the players they have the rights to for their league. It's similar to the reserve lists for NHL teams. You'll see NHL teams with 30+ yo KHL players they holds the rights to still listed on their rosters.

Lots of players drafted in the CHL import draft never come over to play in the league. Then there are some that play a year and leave for the AHL, NHL, or back to their home Euro league.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/latest-news/wild-prospect-will-play-in-liiga-despite-being-drafted-in-chl

Hopefully this decision won't bite Kiviharju and Minnesota wild straight into ass
next 3-5 yrs. I don't know where and how Brad Bombardir has said
those words how ''HIFK develops NHL prospects'' etc etc.

Last former HIFK players who have became good / very good NHL players
are Granlund, Heiskanen and Lundell and that's it clearly Bombardir
hasn't noticed that how crap development league SM liiga is today.

Game in SM liiga is slow passive trap and the pressure for defencemans there is not
even close to NHL / AHL / CHL and it doesn't prepare Finnish dmans
to north american hockey at all because ice space etc are bigger
and there's time to stand 2-3 minutes behind your own net and
think where to play the puck and how it should be done
in NHL, AHL, CHL you don't have that time.

Hockey in SM liiga is more soccer than actual real pro NHL start, stop and go NHL hockey.
And thanks for that belongs to Finnish hockey association who allowed Team Finland
play slow and passive trap so many years now that brilliant brainfart is destroying
SM liiga and Finnish junior development and NHL prospect production.

Sure HIFK is ''legendary'' team in SM liiga.
But that is based on HIFK's glory-days in 1980's and that was basically 40 yrs ago.,

Today HIFK is a synonym for mediorcrity because those resources what HIFK has
1 championship title once in 13-15 yrs sucks asses and it's embarrassing as hell.

And if you wanna know why i'm not high on SM liiga
helping Finnish prospects to developing to NHL stars watch Kaapo Kakko.
Kakko hasn't lived up of all that hype to secure being no-brainer 2nd overall pick 2019 draft.

You don't draft about 30-50 point 3rd line player using TOP3 lottery pick on him.
If you want player who's able to score 30-50 points per season
you can draft player in rounds 2-7 but absolutely not in TOP3.

 

[Wabit]

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/latest-news/wild-prospect-will-play-in-liiga-despite-being-drafted-in-chl

Hopefully this decision won't bite Kiviharju and Minnesota wild
straight into ass next 3-5 yrs. I don't know where and how Bombardir
has said those words how ''HIFK develops NHL prospects'' etc etc.

Last former HIFK players who have became good / very good NHL players
are Granlund, Heiskanen and Lundell and that's it clearly Bombardir hasn't noticed that how crap development league SM liiga is today.

Game in SM liiga is slow passive trap and the pressure for defencemans there is not
even close to NHL / AHL / CHL and it doesn't prepare Finnish dmans to north american hockey at all because ice space etc are bigger and there's time to stand 3-5 minutes behind your onw net and think where to play the puck and how it should be done in NHL, AHL, CHL you don't have that time.

Hockey in SM liiga is more soccer than actual real pro NHL start, stop and go NHL hockey.
And thanks for that belongs to Finnish hockey association who allowed Team Finland
play slow and passive trap so many years now that brilliant brainfart is destroying
SM liiga and Finnish junior development and NHL prospect production.

Sure HIFK is ''legendary'' team in SM liiga.
But that is based on HIFK's glory-days in 1980's and that was basically 40 yrs ago.,

Today HIFK is a synonym for mediorcrity because those resources what HIFK has
1 championship title once in 13-15 yrs sucks asses and it's embarrassing as hell.

There isn't anything in the CHL for him. He already knows how to put up points as a d-man, and the CHL players don't get paid more than a minor monthly stipend.

For all the complaints about Liiga not getting players ready for the pros the CHL really isn't any better. The CHL products of Lambos (d+4 season), Hunt (d+5 season), and ROR (d+5 season) aren't turning into NHL players. This is the same window you're talking about.

Trap hockey is a part of every NHL team system, some are active and some are passive. Knowing how to play in that system is miles ahead of the systems in the CHL; which is more reactionary, individual skill, and counterattack

I do agree Liiga is a step below the AHL, KHL, and SHL in quality of play; but it is above the CHL, ECHL, USHL, and college hockey in quality of play.

 

[57special]

Both Leagues have developed players that end up in the NHL. IMO, it doesn't really matter. You go to the place that works best for the individual, and in this case Kivi has decided that's in Finland. Pretending that his career is now finished, or that it would be made if he went to the Q, is silly, and hysterical. Is Kumpulainen now going to bust because he has gone back to Finland after a year in the CHL?

Most times, players that are going to make it will do no matter where they develop. Talent will not be denied.