supermann_98
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- May 8, 2002
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Prospect Info: 2020 3rd Rd Selection - #64 OA (via OTT) - RD Topi Niemela (Karpat) - 6'0 163
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nuck
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- Aug 18, 2005
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Its an odd trend with all the Finns, like they only got one scout's report from Europe. They only had the one high pick to work with so all the picks are sort of gambles but the only real reach is the Russian goalie and that was 106. I definitely prefer it to the previous binging on D+1s and D+2s. I do wish they had more early picks to work with. Agree with the trade down, atlhough I was hoping for Gunler for a while.
supermann_98
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- May 8, 2002
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Brother I think you just gave him his new nickname
hopefully Sloppi makes the Leafs sometime down the road
Racer88
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- Sep 29, 2020
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weems
Registered User
- Jul 3, 2008
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None at all.
Good prospects always drop in every single draft tho.
I'm no expert just like everyone else on this board.
Racer88
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- Sep 29, 2020
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I haven’t watched these players that closely but isn’t Schneider a lot better than Niemela?
stickty111
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- Jan 23, 2017
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One of my favorite picks. Solid skater and puck mover who is good defensively too. Height is pretty decent too at 6 feet. Just not flashy but I don't worry about that too much. It was either him or Cormier so I was happy. Would have taken him at 44 so getting him at 64 is fantastic.
Had him 23rd.
Had him 23rd.
Minty Cowboy
Slaw Bunnies
It’s settledBrother I think you just gave him his new nickname
hopefully Sloppi makes the Leafs sometime down the road
The Iceman
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- Sep 22, 2007
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The Anaheim Ducks jump at the opportunity to draft Kärpät defenceman Topi Niemelä, a two-way blue-liner who spent all of last year playing against men in the Finnish Liiga. The NHL has a tonne of time for this kid, and I suspect he’ll go much higher than the public expects, even if it’s not the Ducks who draft him.
kerk
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- Apr 27, 2009
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and if he's 5'11" it's a bad pick? what difference does an inch make?
5'11 is an okay pick. Any smaller and he'd be a longshot. Hardly any dmen in the NHL at that height or lower that are any good.
Canada4Gold
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- Dec 22, 2010
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I'd say Miettinen has a shot as well being a late 2001.
Judging from his junior stats it would probably be a good idea for them to take him.
Minty Cowboy
Slaw Bunnies
Don't let the size fool you. Such a small size he can defend well and hardly lose 1on1 battles.
His hockey IQ is top notch. Reason why you see him one step ahead of others and always right place, noting he isnt the fastest guy in the ice. Positional awareness and flow the game. He always finds away to be open and creates room for others.
Weakness is power of shot, but he has ability to find away hit the net, tho it hasnt showed at produce wise yet. Skating needs work.
You cant teach hockey IQ, but you improve your skating and strength.
You guys picked gem on 3rd round.
Hard to predict when he could be ready for NA, but if he has already played vs men and manage to handle it, I don't see it should take year(s) him to transit to NHL level.
Sad Blues fan, but happy for you guys.
His hockey IQ is top notch. Reason why you see him one step ahead of others and always right place, noting he isnt the fastest guy in the ice. Positional awareness and flow the game. He always finds away to be open and creates room for others.
Weakness is power of shot, but he has ability to find away hit the net, tho it hasnt showed at produce wise yet. Skating needs work.
You cant teach hockey IQ, but you improve your skating and strength.
You guys picked gem on 3rd round.
Hard to predict when he could be ready for NA, but if he has already played vs men and manage to handle it, I don't see it should take year(s) him to transit to NHL level.
Sad Blues fan, but happy for you guys.
kb
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- Aug 28, 2009
- 15,355
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Leafs 2020 draft pick Topi Niemela: Confidence, smarts and ‘big fights’ with dad - The Athletic
It’s not uncommon to find Topi Niemela and his father Tapio engaged in a heated argument following a game.
“Big fights,” said Topi, the 18-year-old Finnish defenceman the Maple Leafs chose with their third-round pick (64th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft. “He thinks differently than I do.”
Like the time a 13-year-old Topi was passed over for a spot on a select team for a tournament in Italy. Tapio had warned his son that the competition would be “fierce.”
“It will intensify as you get older,” Tapio recalls telling him. He wanted his son to play with a more competitive, physical edge in his games. Topi disagreed with his father’s assessment back then and the two of them continue to disagree today: about how often Topi should shoot the puck, how active he should be in the offensive zone, and on the quality of his skating.
“I tell him I’m a good skater,” Topi said, “and to shut up.”
..................
At the core of Tapio’s tutelage is a simple mantra: play without fear. It’s a lesson Tapio wished he’d learned earlier himself during his own pro career in Finland.
“I think if you are afraid of playing you cannot achieve (success),” said Tapio, now an area sales manager for a tool company and a former Finnish youth national team player who played five seasons for Karpat as a grinding defenceman. “I didn’t play that way, but I learned later. Life teaches.”
The result is a confident two-way player.
“I like to try different things and take little risks,” Topi said. “Sometimes I take stupid risks, and (my dad) would ask me, ‘Why did you take that risk?’ And I’d say, ‘I just wanted to try it.’”
The Leafs believe he is gifted with a special feel for the game.
“For us, (Niemela) has some of the best defensive instincts in the entire draft,” said Maple Leafs director of amateur scouting, John Lilley, who cited Niemela’s defensive instincts five times in the span of 42 seconds during a post-draft conference call with reporters.
Confidence and high hockey IQ are vague terms and impossible to quantify, but they are qualities that will likely play a large role in whether the 6-foot, 163-pound, smooth-skating, two-way defenceman can prove to be one of the better value picks from his draft class.
It’s not uncommon to find Topi Niemela and his father Tapio engaged in a heated argument following a game.
“Big fights,” said Topi, the 18-year-old Finnish defenceman the Maple Leafs chose with their third-round pick (64th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft. “He thinks differently than I do.”
Like the time a 13-year-old Topi was passed over for a spot on a select team for a tournament in Italy. Tapio had warned his son that the competition would be “fierce.”
“It will intensify as you get older,” Tapio recalls telling him. He wanted his son to play with a more competitive, physical edge in his games. Topi disagreed with his father’s assessment back then and the two of them continue to disagree today: about how often Topi should shoot the puck, how active he should be in the offensive zone, and on the quality of his skating.
“I tell him I’m a good skater,” Topi said, “and to shut up.”
..................
At the core of Tapio’s tutelage is a simple mantra: play without fear. It’s a lesson Tapio wished he’d learned earlier himself during his own pro career in Finland.
“I think if you are afraid of playing you cannot achieve (success),” said Tapio, now an area sales manager for a tool company and a former Finnish youth national team player who played five seasons for Karpat as a grinding defenceman. “I didn’t play that way, but I learned later. Life teaches.”
The result is a confident two-way player.
“I like to try different things and take little risks,” Topi said. “Sometimes I take stupid risks, and (my dad) would ask me, ‘Why did you take that risk?’ And I’d say, ‘I just wanted to try it.’”
The Leafs believe he is gifted with a special feel for the game.
“For us, (Niemela) has some of the best defensive instincts in the entire draft,” said Maple Leafs director of amateur scouting, John Lilley, who cited Niemela’s defensive instincts five times in the span of 42 seconds during a post-draft conference call with reporters.
Confidence and high hockey IQ are vague terms and impossible to quantify, but they are qualities that will likely play a large role in whether the 6-foot, 163-pound, smooth-skating, two-way defenceman can prove to be one of the better value picks from his draft class.
Last edited:
LeafChief
Matthew Knies Enthusiast
It's fun to see so many of our prospects trending in the right direction.
Topi Niemela - 2020 Draft
Oct 7, 2020 • 04:11
Toronto Maple Leafs third-round draft pick Topi Niemela speaks with members of the media.
It says 6 ft 163 lbs and he is 17? He could easily grow an inch and put in 20 lbs at that age. Todd Gill was 6 ft 1 about 180 lbs and not many enjoyed fighting him. Clark was 5 ft 11. We have trainers can help him bulk up.
Rants Mulliniks
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- Jun 22, 2008
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