RW Kasper Pikkarainen, TPS U20, FIN JR.
When a forward can't put up PPG numbers in Finnish juniors despite a sizable size advantage, he tends to get virtually ignored by much of the draft community. Personally, I initially watched Pikkarainen because he's the son of Ilkka Pikkarainen, whom I remembered from his brief cup of coffee in the NHL with the Devils way back in 2009-10. And I found a lot of things about Kasper Pikkarainen which lead me to believe there may be some very interesting potential.
First off, it's important to note that despite Pikkarainen's man-size (6'3-195) and good strength, he's one of the youngest players in the 2024 draft with an August 2006 birthday. He's still 17. Also, he has that combination of skating and size which cannot be taught. Pikkarainen has multiple plus abilities in his tool kit -- very soft hands, very good mobility, a hard shot. His passing vision is tough to gauge because he's just saw raw -- I've seen him make high-end passes, but I've also seen him make poor and rushed decisions with the puck.
Pikkarainen is not a proactively physical player, but I'd say he's on the physical side and we might see this improve. I've seen him overpower defenders two and three years older, and I think once he realizes how strong he has the capacity to become he'll assert himself more in that respect.
Similarly, though I'd say his compete level is good, his hockey IQ is tough to get a finger on. Although he is an NHL legacy, he plays with a degree of uncertainty as if he's often asking himself if what he's doing is the right thing to do. But again, he's also capable of some plays where, taken out of context, you'd think he will make the pros -- and his combination of skating, hands and size absolutely lends itself to that.
Though this is one of the rawer players in the draft and there's absolutely a chance he does not develop the way you want and never ends up in North America, I'd say the potential pay-off is pretty good with a player like Kasper Pikkarainen. This is definitely the type of player worth swinging for in Rounds 5-7 if he's still on the board.
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