Prospect Info: 2020 3rd Rd Selection - #64 OA (via OTT) - RD Topi Niemela (Karpat) - 6'0 163

[hockeeyyy]

Can we agree that there's been an uptick in the projected quality of our picks outside of the the top 10 the past two drafts?

Sorry but no. We’re trading them all for Newhook and Lundell.

 

[JSn0w93]

Can we agree that there's been an uptick in the projected quality of our picks outside of the the top 10 the past two drafts?

I truly think our 2019 and 2020 drafts have been amazingly good for the picks we've had.

 

[Fogelhund]

Sorry but no. We’re trading them all for Newhook and Lundell.

I wouldn't do that, but I tell you what I would do... I'd trade our Russian prospects Amirov and Ovchinnikov for Lundell and Puutio, then draft Helenius and Piiroinen (

I mean, we'd have a full lineup of Finns...

Hirvonen Lundell Miettinen
Kossila Helenius xxx
Lehtonen Niemala
Loponen Kokkonen
Puutio Kivihalme
Piiroinen

What's not to like about that?? The Toronto Maple Leafinens.

Might need Kapanen back for that open RW spot, unless others have better ideas... Maybe we trade Kerfoot for a first in 2022, and it magically ends up being a lottery pick and we pick Lambert???

Ok this joke is Finnished.

 

[Funk21]

My review on Niemela
Man what a revelation he is. He was good already but he is already so polished for a teenager. Very good 4 way skater in transition. Rarely did he make a mistake. He always made good decisions in all 3 zones, and broke the puck efficiently and effectively. He just knew when to skate and when to pass. He showed some offensive tools too. He got his shot through from the point too.
Overall the best defender in the tourny. I think he needs a couple years to develop and get stronger, but there is 2 way top 4 upside here.

Agree and he also knew when to pinch and when to stay back. I think he likely needs another two years. Hopefully he maybe grows another inch and adds some serious muscle.

He has all the tools and from the looks of it the toolbox too.

 

[Twine Tickler]

He surprised me aswell.. I think he stood out the most to me.. even more so than Amirov (although I can see his skill set he just wasn't much of a difference maker for Russia) and the other 2 Fins. I wouldn't go as far as to call him the best defender in the tourney but being the top producer as a defender definitely puts him in that conversation now.

this pretty well sums it up for me as well. Massively impressed by his play. Really was the highlight of the tournament for me. I really cant recall him making too many dumb decisions with the puck on his stick. So encouraging to see how much he was utilized on that team. Clearly had the trust of his coach. As for him being the best defenseman in the tournament, im not sure I agree with it. To me, Bowen Byram is an NHL defenseman right now. Man is that guy a stud. He is my defenseman of the tourney. nonetheless, the fact that Topi put himself in the company of byram, york, heinola is amazing. These are high end 1st round players that he held court with. Not to mention the other first rounders I would say he clearly outperformed (broberg, mukhamadullin, sanderson, schnieder etc...). Thats not to Say Topi is a higher rated player then the names above, but these names are now the company he keeps in my opinion. Fantastic work by the leafs scouting staff

 

[The Iceman]

Since 2008 the following players have won the World Juniors Directorate Award for Best Defenceman of the Tournament...
Doughty
Karlsson
Pietrangelo
Ellis
Gormley
Trouba
Ristolainen
Gavrikov
Werenski
Chabot
Dahlin
Romanov
Sandin
Niemela

 

[The Iceman]

If Niemela can turn into a Ristolainen caliber with a little more polish I would be happy.

 

[Canada4Gold]

The thing is Niemela is still very young and is eligible to play for Finland next year. How many players won in the first year in the tournament?

I can see Dahlin on the list so maybe it is common??

edit: Doughty, Karlsson, Gormley, Dahlin, Romanov and Niemela won Dman of the tournament their first year in the tournament. I didn't look at the ages when they won, mainly because I am too lazy for that (for example I'm pretty sure Dahlin was 16 when he won)

Dahlin was in his 2nd year, was 17 at the time.

Doughty, Karlsson, Romanov was 18, Gormley was 19. Romanov was the only one of those you listed to play another year after winning it, not getting it twice in a row after Sandin won it last year.

 

[RoadWarrior]

F8ck i saw it last night too ... OMG what a defender ... he changed game for us in 2nd period ... a man amongst men ... he has GAME in best on best big time game environments ... not many guys elevate like that in games that matter ... to bad our coach saw it too late

I think this was supposed to be sarcastic but ..... doesn’t really work.

Schneider and Drysdale were probably the best D men on the ice for Canada. Harley was ok as well.

The rest were a disaster.

Amirov was disappointing in the last couple of games against tougher competition. Didn’t see the motor or intensity that was referenced in scouting reports. He was simply a non factor up against better players.

 

[TopChedder]

Man Topi gets shit on pretty hard on the main board for winning too D.

I honestly think if it was any other teams prospect it would be acceptable.

I am super happy to have him in the pipeline.

 

[The Iceman]

I think this was supposed to be sarcastic but ..... doesn’t really work.

Schneider and Drysdale were probably the best D men on the ice for Canada. Harley was ok as well.

The rest were a disaster.

Amirov was disappointing in the last couple of games against tougher competition. Didn’t see the motor or intensity that was referenced in scouting reports. He was simply a non factor up against better players.

Byram was Canada's best D and I would have voted for best D in the tournament.
Not sure how anyone can crap on a D that allowed ZERO regular strength goals until the gold medal game and 2 all tournament.

Amirov was decent against Canada.

 

[Twine Tickler]

Man Topi gets shit on pretty hard on the main board for winning too D.

I honestly think if it was any other teams prospect it would be acceptable.

I am super happy to have him in the pipeline.

you know, to be fair I think it was a bit of a suprise for me as well. Probably was for other leaf fans as well. He did lead the tournament in Pts for defenseman, but I'm not sure how he could be classified as the best D-man of the tournament. I know some people were picking apart heinola, but i was really impressed with him. sure he made some errors, but they all did. EXCEPT Bowen Byram. To me, this was the slam dunk winner of the award, and I am not particularly sure it was even close. This kid has a doughty level game. I could not believe how good he was. To me, him and Trevor Zegras were clearly a cut above everyone in the tournament. Yes Cozens had a great tournament, but I'm not sure i put him in the same group as those 2. As for the D-man of the tourney, I would have had:

1.Byrom
2A.Heinola
2B.Neimola
3.York

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I think this was supposed to be sarcastic but ..... doesn’t really work.

Schneider and Drysdale were probably the best D men on the ice for Canada. Harley was ok as well.

The rest were a disaster.

Amirov was disappointing in the last couple of games against tougher competition. Didn’t see the motor or intensity that was referenced in scouting reports. He was simply a non factor up against better players.

I like Byram too ... da kid has heart and bleeds Canada ... sure he makes some bad defensive reads and one helped cost us a goal but he makes up for it with amazing offensive support ... to me pairing him with Drysdale was a mistake once everyone saw how USA was going game plan us with forecheck early on and centre ice control ... coach was likely thinking about it in 1st period but lets admit it it was a shocker what USA did ... to me Byram with Schneider would have helped earlier but it is what it is and it is real easy to be a QB after game is over ... we played hard and USA was better team and deserved to win that game ... and Z decided to be da man in that game and he did what he said he was gonna do ... I won't under appreciate him again

 

[I am Canadian]

Byram was Canada's best D and I would have voted for best D in the tournament.
Not sure how anyone can crap on a D that allowed ZERO regular strength goals until the gold medal game and 2 all tournament.

Amirov was decent against Canada and scored a nice goal that was waved off because of an offside 30 seconds previous.

That was Abramov for the waived off goal

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

Since 2008 the following players have won the World Juniors Directorate Award for Best Defenceman of the Tournament...
Doughty
Karlsson
Pietrangelo
Ellis
Gormley
Trouba
Ristolainen
Gavrikov
Werenski
Chabot
Dahlin
Romanov
Sandin
Niemela

Only ones younger than Niemela on that list were Dahlin/Doughty/Werenski/Karlsson in that order.

Trouba was the only other 18 year old but was about a month older than Niemela. Romanov won on his 19th birthday.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

6 points (2+4) in 6 games, led the entire WJSS in +/- +11.
- also led all d-men in points

Another great pick from you guys.

 

[zeke]

6 points (2+4) in 6 games, led the entire WJSS in +/- +11.
- also led all d-men in points

Another great pick from you guys.

Yep.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

if he can show this level of play somewhere else besides the world juniors, I'd have him right up there with Sandin/Liljegren. he's a star at this level, and now just has to show it against men

 

[LeafChief]

This kid could go back-to-back top defenceman wt the WJC. Has it ever been done?

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

This kid could go back-to-back top defenceman wt the WJC. Has it ever been done?

Fetisov won the first two times it was awarded in 1977 and 78, but not since then. That would be decent company, although it's probably a long shot. Voters will be highly motivated to pick someone else

 

[Artorius Horus T]

The lack of interest to your own pick with this quality, is super weird.

 

[Morgs]

The lack of interest to your own pick with this quality, is super weird.

We talk about him in the Marlies & prospects thread almost daily. He also ranked #5 in our prospect voting behind only Sandin, Robertson, Liljegren, and Amirov with some people (including me) thinking he's the only guy in our pool with a real shot of being in that top-4 tier.

 

[ponder]

We talk about him in the Marlies & prospects thread almost daily. He also ranked #5 in our prospect voting behind only Sandin, Robertson, Liljegren, and Amirov with some people (including me) thinking he's the only guy in our pool with a real shot of being in that top-4 tier.

I personally prefer him to Liljegren. Liljegren is bigger/stronger, has better physical tools, and a better shot, but Lily’s hockey IQ is mediocre at best, while Topi’s is terrific. That makes all the difference IMO. Topi almost never makes a mistake with the puck, his decision making on both zone exits and zone entries is unreal. NHL coaches love dmen who can take you consistently from smooth zone exit to controlled zone entry, and that’s Topi to a t.

My personal top 5 is:

1. Sandin
2. Robertson
3. Amirov
4. Niemela
5. Liljegren

But honestly, they’re all fairly close.

 

[Morgs]

I personally prefer him to Liljegren. Liljegren is bigger/stronger, has better physical tools, and a better shot, but Lily’s hockey IQ is mediocre at best, while Topi’s is terrific. That makes all the difference IMO. Topi almost never makes a mistake with the puck, his decision making on both zone exits and zone entries is unreal. NHL coaches love dmen who can take you consistently from smooth zone exit to controlled zone entry, and that’s Topi to a tee.

Tough to compare forwards to D, but I have our top 3 D prospects as Sandin, Topi, Lily, in that order.

I think if people tracked anything besides points and +/- in the AHL, Liljegren would be viewed in a completely different light. He's been a dominant play driving defenseman since his d+2 and he's only gotten better. Imo he's got maybe a slightly lower ceiling then Sandin, but I think he's got by far the highest floor of the three. He will be a top-4 defenseman.

Liljegren
Sandin
-
Niemela

But I think Niemela is creeping closer into the top group every day.