When you hear people talk project picks, Pikkarainen is the exact type of player they’re typically referring to. His game is very raw, and I can’t stress that enough, but he brings a ton of desirable attributes to the table, and we just have to hope they can combine to form a really solid, yet also unique, middle 6 winger.
Characterizing Pikkarainen’s game is difficult. On one hand, coming in at 6’3” 197lb and as the son of Ilkka, he’s exactly what you’d expect: mean, physical, and annoying. Pikkarainen loves to play the body and get under the opposition’s skin. He’s chippy, competitive, and very aggressive. He’s more than willing to duke it out with other tough guys, and he loves to mix it up after the whistle.
That said, there’s a different side of him, too. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, Pikkarainen can flash some incredibly high-end playmaking vision and ability. Again, this is only at times, and I don’t mean to imply every viewing has these moments, but Pikkarainen is capable of threading cross-ice passes through traffic with near perfect timing and placement. He’s also very good at drawing defenders toward him and making quick, small ice passes to facilitate play in transition. His vision, even while under pressure, is impressive, and although he’s overzealous with what he attempts at this point, I think it’s unfair to the player to only project him as a bottom 6 energy option.
Consistent across all viewings was his defensive contributions. Pikkarainen displays a great willingness to support his defenders and drop back to take away lanes and pressure puck carriers. He’s effective in puck battles, willing to dig pucks out of the corner, and great at supporting along the boards. His defensive stick placement and ability to identify and cut off lanes are both very good. I don’t mean to imply he’s elite in his own zone, there are definitely moments when he can be caught drifting out of position, but generally speaking he’s a safe enough 200ft deployment.
Let’s go back to the word raw for a minute. To me, raw basically just means not good, but you like the idea of what you’re seeing. In Pikkarainen’s case, I think that’s pretty true for a lot of viewings. It’s important to keep in mind he’s one of the younger players in the class, which by no means explains everything, but is certainly a component of things. That said, he does have his fair share of deficiencies to discuss.
First, and probably more aggravating for me than an outright issue, is the player will definitely float around and spectate play at times. I don’t mean to suggest he isn’t engaged or that I doubt his intensity, both of those are actually strengths of his game, but he’s not moving his feet nearly enough at times, and I think it takes away from how consistently effective he can be. He also doesn’t always have his stick on the ice in these instances either, only furthering the problem.
Hand-in-hand with the aforementioned issue, his forechecking game, while still likely a long-term strength, is not always consistently applied. At his best, he employs a lot of proactive contact and stickchecks to pressure defenders into turnovers. His small area play along the boards is effective, and he displays a surprising level of evasion in the corners. The problem, though, is there are definitely times when he’s content to let play come to him, and his positioning isn’t always offering his linemates the greatest passing options. Additionally, even when he is forechecking, his handling can be sloppy, and he seems to struggle to move his feet and stick at the same time.
His skating is a bit weird, too, but it’s not necessarily bad for his size. He can make cuts along the boards, and he’s more explosive than his frame would suggest, but he doesn’t always generate enough power in his stride, he somewhat lacks balance and can be pushed off the puck, and he isn’t particularly agile. The greater problem is that, in order to project his game up the lineup, and again I do believe there’s enough underlying skill that it could happen, he’ll need to be huffing it pretty much at all times, as well as much better on his edges than he currently is.
While this probably sounds more negative than I intended for it to be, it’s important to define just how much work needs to go into the player for him to hit. His shot is heavy and reasonably accurate, his decisions with the puck are fine, his interior focus is typically good, but as has been a theme in this write-up, his viewings can fluctuate from extremely bland and passive, to dominant and capable of influencing the game in a multitude of ways.
With skating improvements and a bit more consistency, I think it’s possible Pikkarainen can play in a bottom 6 role, but I think it sells the player short to suggest that’s his ultimate upside. He shows very impressive playmaking vision that I trust can keep up with higher end, elite level talent. I don’t think it’s out of the question Pikkarainen could serve as the big body/dirty worky guy on a scoring line, I just don’t think we’re anywhere close to that being a likely outcome right now. I had Pikkarainen ranked exactly in this range, in fact only 3 picks back of where he was taken, and while there were a number of other swings I would have taken in this position, I’m completely on board with the project.
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