Player Discussion Aatu Raty

[tradervik]

so related to r2 d2?

r2 ra2?

Too bad #22 is retired.

 

[krutovsdonut]

It should be R2-C2 for those of us who hope he projects as a matchup 2nd line center.

hopefully he is the droid we're looking for

 

[Rehabguy]

If bears reminding people that Raty was just 17 when he fell flat on his face in the pro Finnish Liga during his draft year. Playing against men he struggled, and then plummeted down the draft board. No way he should have dropped to 52nd overall in the second round, but that's how much scouts soured on him.

But looks like that one season was just an anomaly....a young player who got elevated too fast and too soon. If he'd stayed in junior, he probably would have been a top-10 pick.

Gives you some hope for Lekkerimaki, who is also struggling as a teenager in a professional league. Sometimes they just aren't ready as 17-18 year olds. That's just the way it is.

The Isles barely played him when he was called up and I oftened wondered why. Most games he played with an enforcer as his linemate and barely saw any ice time. It just didn’t make any sense. The Isles struggled with offense and they keep their #1 offensive minded prospect under wraps especially one who was used to playing against men. I think Lou had this kid as potential trade bait all season long and didn’t want his mystique ruined by too many minutes on the ice and possibly nothing to show for it. I think he played his cards very clever. Keep the mystery going for as long as possible and then unload when the opportunity is there. That said Raty can turn out to be one heck of a player. Haven’t seen enough of him to tell what kind of player he will turn out to be.

 

[Diversification]

hopefully he is the droid we're looking for

R2-F7 is not the droid we're looking for.

 

[Hit the post]

It should be R2-C2 for those of us who hope he projects as a matchup 2nd line center.

The owner would demand Alvin use E4-C5 as the opening moves though. Classic Sicilian Defense.

 

[On Edge]

Old Isle fan here who watched as much of Raty the past couple of years as I could. Moving him could bite us but you have to give to get I guess. Skating needs some work but he has a nose for the net, a great shot, plays a mature 2-way game, strong on his skates, drives to net between the dots - I think he has the whole package to be a #1C or #2. Upside is a 70 pt type player. I really love his game and will watch from afar now. By 22 or 23 he could be a beast. I would be very excited to have him.

Beau (Tito) - well, I hope he gets his game together a little bit. He is a great skater although insanely frustrating. I believe a change of scenery will do him good and wouldn’t be surprised to see him as a 20g/20a type guy at some point. Very likable - was loved on the Island but he is the classic guy who needs a change to mature and learn to get more consistent. When he is “on” he is a very exciting player. It was his droughts that made us nuts. Tendency to squeeze stick when things don’t go well but that is not unique. Wishing him and the ’nucks well with both of them.

Cheers.

 

[timw33]

Old Isle fan here who watched as much of Raty the past couple of years as I could. Moving him could bite us but you have to give to get I guess. Skating needs some work but he has a nose for the net, a great shot, plays a mature 2-way game, strong on his skates, drives to net between the dots - I think he has the whole package to be a #1C or #2. Upside is a 70 pt type player. I really love his game and will watch from afar now. By 22 or 23 he could be a beast. I would be very excited to have him.

Beau (Tito) - well, I hope he gets his game together a little bit. He is a great skater although insanely frustrating. I believe a change of scenery will do him good and wouldn’t be surprised to see him as a 20g/20a type guy at some point. Very likable - was loved on the Island but he is the classic guy who needs a change to mature and learn to get more consistent. When he is “on” he is a very exciting player. It was his droughts that made us nuts. Tendency to squeeze stick when things don’t go well but that is not unique. Wishing him and the ’nucks well with both of them.

Cheers.

Appreciate the insight. Hope you guys treat Bo well on Long Island.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

He'd definitely lost confidence in the NHL.

To me the AHL stint has worked to get his confidence back ... but unfortunately a confident Hoglander is playing an extremely individualistic game of the sort that doesn't work well within the framework of a good line and a good system. And he's talented enough that he'll produce points in the AHL playing like this. But I can't project this sort of play back into being an effective middle-6 winger if the team calls him back up.

Podkolzin, on the other hand, is looking more confident and skating better and has cleaned up some of the slop in his game that was obvious when he first got to Abbotsford, and does look like someone who you could put on an effective NHL 3rd line right now.

I haven't seen Hoggy in Abbotsford, but this speaks to what I was seeing.

People were apoplectic that he wasn't getting more opportunities up here, but he was being selfish and incredibly untrustworthy.
I still remember a play, microcosmic of his problems, where we were hemmed in our zone for a minute. Eventually, through hard work by all, they worked the puck to him with space and he skated it to the red line.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief because the only NHL play there was to take the unobstructed dump-in that he had.

Instead, he did a blind drop pass in the neutral zone, that wouldn't have been helpful even if it had worked. It was predictably intercepted, and we were in our zone for ages longer.

I also notice when Alvin talks about our guys in the minors he sort of gushes about Podz and his development and then throws in, 'and hoggy exists too' kind of vibes. So I'm disappointed but not surprised by your assertion.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

The Isles barely played him when he was called up and I oftened wondered why. Most games he played with an enforcer as his linemate and barely saw any ice time. It just didn’t make any sense. The Isles struggled with offense and they keep their #1 offensive minded prospect under wraps especially one who was used to playing against men. I think Lou had this kid as potential trade bait all season long and didn’t want his mystique ruined by too many minutes on the ice and possibly nothing to show for it. I think he played his cards very clever. Keep the mystery going for as long as possible and then unload when the opportunity is there. That said Raty can turn out to be one heck of a player. Haven’t seen enough of him to tell what kind of player he will turn out to be.

You genuinely think that other teams don't have scouts watching the AHL?

This would fool fans, not GMs.

 

[MS]

I haven't seen Hoggy in Abbotsford, but this speaks to what I was seeing.

People were apoplectic that he wasn't getting more opportunities up here, but he was being selfish and incredibly untrustworthy.
I still remember a play, microcosmic of his problems, where we were hemmed in our zone for a minute. Eventually, through hard work by all, they worked the puck to him with space and he skated it to the red line.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief because the only NHL play there was to take the unobstructed dump-in that he had.

Instead, he did a blind drop pass in the neutral zone, that wouldn't have been helpful even if it had worked. It was predictably intercepted, and we were in our zone for ages longer.

I also notice when Alvin talks about our guys in the minors he sort of gushes about Podz and his development and then throws in, 'and hoggy exists too' kind of vibes. So I'm disappointed but not surprised by your assertion.

It's been hard to get a read on Hoglander for the last two seasons up here because his icetime has been so chopped up and his linemates so all over the place and it's been like seeing only part of the picture. You could see some bad habits but maybe that's just a lack of confidence and a guy pressing to impress in limited minutes, and you could also see some flashes of skill and actually not-terrible production in those limited minutes.

Seeing Hoglander play 15 games in the AHL at 18 minutes/game just lays it out really plain and really ugly. Huge flaws, and a player who needs to be totally rebuilt if he wants to be a competent NHL player.

He's a guy with some pretty explosive skating and puckhandling abilities but not a lot of vision and hockey sense and he just needs to keep it simple, work his ass off both ways, chip and chase, get in hard on the forecheck and try to drive possession. Instead he's playing like a dimestore undersized JT Miller making hotdog high-risk plays that don't come off with a very inconstent motor, really only playing in bursts. And just no real chemistry with some pretty talented linemates - extremely individualistic and zigging while his linemates are zagging.

If we were in a playoff position right now and adding at the deadline, my first two young players out the door would be Hoglander and Linus Karlsson, before their value crashes.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

What I do know is that if he doesnt work out, he better not become the next Markus Granlund and hang around for ages

On the right contract, I have no problem with having a Markus Granlund on your 4th line.

The Isles barely played him when he was called up and I oftened wondered why. Most games he played with an enforcer as his linemate and barely saw any ice time. It just didn’t make any sense. The Isles struggled with offense and they keep their #1 offensive minded prospect under wraps especially one who was used to playing against men. I think Lou had this kid as potential trade bait all season long and didn’t want his mystique ruined by too many minutes on the ice and possibly nothing to show for it. I think he played his cards very clever. Keep the mystery going for as long as possible and then unload when the opportunity is there. That said Raty can turn out to be one heck of a player. Haven’t seen enough of him to tell what kind of player he will turn out to be.

If that was the plan they f***ed up big time burning a ELC year.

 

[Nucklehead Supreme]

I don't know what's so controversial about that statement. It's actually a compliment, really.

Raty was considered a potential #1 overall pick and future star at age 16-17. Then his stock absolutely crashed in his draft year. Since then, he's built himself back into a pretty good prospect with a substantially lower upside than originally thought but has added some physicality and defensive play and improved work rate to project into a different sort of player.



This is pretty much a pure rebuild trade, no? Biggest asset was a draft pick. Other asset was a young AHL prospect.



Yeah, I'll grant that Raty might have a bit more offensive upside as a north-south winger where his skating is a bit less of a thing and his shot might play up. His skillset is actually fairly similar to a young Tanner Pearson.

From what I've read and what most isles fans have said, he had a bad draft year and then lit up the Finnish mens league after being traded from a dumpster fire to an actual team with quality players. He didn't re-invent himself as a bottom sixer and literally no one has said that except you, it's not controversial it's inaccurate. What different sort of player? He's projected as a guy with a ceiling of 2C and a floor of bottom sixer, your acting like he tops out as a bottom sixer as 20 year who is no where near finishing developing.

 

[MS]

From what I've read and what most isles fans have said, he had a bad draft year and then lit up the Finnish mens league after being traded from a dumpster fire to an actual team with quality players. He didn't re-invent himself as a bottom sixer and literally no one has said that except you, it's not controversial it's inaccurate. What different sort of player? He's projected as a guy with a ceiling of 2C and a floor of bottom sixer, your acting like he tops out as a bottom sixer as 20 year who is no where near finishing developing.

Again, I don't know what you're taking offense to here.

- at age 16-17 he was considered a gamebreaking talent and future #1C, and was at one point the favourite to go #1 overall in the 2021 draft.

- at age 18, he had one of the biggest draft falls in NHL history starting the season at potentially #1 overall and finishing at #52.

- at age 19-20, he's rebuilt his stock with a substantially lower upside than what was thought a few years ago as maybe a #2C, maybe a #3C depending on your take but a lot more focus on his work rate/defensive play/physicality.

I don't see where saying he's re-invented or re-profiled himself is remotely controversial. He was considered a massive upside prospect, crashed and burned in his draft year, and has rebounded but is projected as a different, lower-upside player than originally.

 

[gringo]

Raty in a vacuum is not enough of a return for Horvat. If he tops out as a good 3C, that is one that this organisation has tried to acquire for a long time. and one on a ELC. I just hope the fans wont clutter his value as the prime return for Horvat, the prize is the pick. I am looking forward to watching if Raty will be the long term solution to our checking line center with adequate offense, the tools are there, just need to improve his plodding skating right now.

Yup the canucks are clearly thinking that puck will be 13-17. Juicy.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Again, I don't know what you're taking offense to here.

- at age 16-17 he was considered a gamebreaking talent and future #1C, and was at one point the favourite to go #1 overall in the 2021 draft.

- at age 18, he had one of the biggest draft falls in NHL history starting the season at potentially #1 overall and finishing at #52.

- at age 19-20, he's rebuilt his stock with a substantially lower upside than what was thought a few years ago as maybe a #2C, maybe a #3C depending on your take but a lot more focus on his work rate/defensive play/physicality.

I don't see where saying he's re-invented or re-profiled himself is remotely controversial. He was considered a massive upside prospect, crashed and burned in his draft year, and has rebounded but is projected as a different, lower-upside player than originally.

One thing I would add is, when he entered the league here in Oulu where I live, he was scrawny and the coach at the time did not have a clue how to utilize him.

In Jukurit he got to work under Olli Jokinen, who has previously ran one of the more prestigious hockey skill schools in the USA. Jokinen built Räty's confidence back up. OJ coaching him was probably the best case scenario for Räty.

Olli Jokinen is a very similar build and player. Was similarly extremely highly touted prospect at one point then fell flat on his early years. For him it was entering the NHL too soon where for Räty it was entering the Liiga before he was ready.

 

[Hoglander]

On the right contract, I have no problem with having a Markus Granlund on your 4th line.



If that was the plan they f***ed up big time burning a ELC year.

This is a non-issue. Playing in the AHL counts towards burning the ELC year as well.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

This is a non-issue. Playing in the AHL counts towards burning the ELC year as well.

 

[sting101]

The last 30yrs the top 10 teenagers in scoring PPG in Liiga that played C are...

Olli Jokinen 1.30 ppg
Michael Granlund 1.13
Saku Koivu 1.13
Sebastian Aho 1.00
Anton Lundell .96
Alexander Barkov .91
Tuevo Teravainen .90
Aatu Raty .87
Rasmus Kupari .77
Juuso Parssinen .76

This looks pretty good

I might just take the bag off

 

[Nucklehead Supreme]

Again, I don't know what you're taking offense to here.

- at age 16-17 he was considered a gamebreaking talent and future #1C, and was at one point the favourite to go #1 overall in the 2021 draft.

- at age 18, he had one of the biggest draft falls in NHL history starting the season at potentially #1 overall and finishing at #52.

- at age 19-20, he's rebuilt his stock with a substantially lower upside than what was thought a few years ago as maybe a #2C, maybe a #3C depending on your take but a lot more focus on his work rate/defensive play/physicality.

I don't see where saying he's re-invented or re-profiled himself is remotely controversial. He was considered a massive upside prospect, crashed and burned in his draft year, and has rebounded but is projected as a different, lower-upside player than originally.

At 19-20 he lit up a Finnish mens league, how that was reinventing himself with substantially lower upside as more of a bottom sixer is beyond me, last time I checked it's not easy to score in that league and even less easy to do so as a 19-20 year old.

I'm not taking offense to anything, I just think your assessment as him projecting a a bottom sixer is false. Again the people that have watched him develop say he has the upside of a 2C, and his floor is that of a bottom sixer, your acting like his ceiling is a bottom sixer and that's what he is.

Maybe I'm splitting hairs here and who knows for sure, perhaps he is a 3C perhaps he's a 2C, I'm happy he's in the Canucks system regardless.

 

[Rehabguy]

You genuinely think that other teams don't have scouts watching the AHL?

This would fool fans, not GMs.

The AHL is one thing the NHL another. He was barely given any minutes once up with the club. A shift or two here and there but averaged 6 min a game. He has an impressive wrister in the slot but needs someone to feed him the puck. I think he can be an impact 3rd liner from what I saw, but it is possible they limited his minutes on purpose anticipating a trade. Wish they did the same for Kieffer Bellows.

 

[FinProspects]

Aatu will be good, trust me. The reason for him falling in draft was due to Oulun Karpat not giving him proper chance/environment to play - in Jukurit he was basically a ppg center.

Potential: At least a 3rd line center but very much likely a 2nd line center, with some upside to be a all around 1st line center. I dont see him scoring over ppg seasons but somewhere around 0.8/0.9ppg should be doable.

 

[ChilliBilly]

Aatu will be good, trust me. The reason for him falling in draft was due to Oulun Karpat not giving him proper chance/environment to play - in Jukurit he was basically a ppg center.

Potential: At least a 3rd line center but very much likely a 2nd line center, with some upside to be a all around 1st line center. I dont see him scoring over ppg seasons but somewhere around 0.8/0.9ppg should be doable.

Agreed. And if he ever ends up as your "doable", thats a WIN.

 

[nucks88]

hopefully he is the droid we're looking for

 

[PuckMunchkin]

At 19-20 he lit up a Finnish mens league, how that was reinventing himself with substantially lower upside as more of a bottom sixer is beyond me, last time I checked it's not easy to score in that league and even less easy to do so as a 19-20 year old.

Räty was considered a generational offensive talent.

He is now considered a solid two prospect with question marks about his skating.

MS isn't saying something bizarre here, maybe you have issue with the term reinvented? But he projects to something completely different than he initially did.

 

[Nucklehead Supreme]

Räty was considered a generational offence talent.

He is now considered a solid two prospect with question marks about his skating.

MS isn't saying something bizarre here, maybe you have issue with the term reinvented? But he projects to something completely different than he initially did.

Fair enough, I totally get that he has fallen in terms of what he was projected to be as a teen until now, but completely different? That seems like a stretch, perhaps I'm not aware enough of how much hype he had pre-draft, but to say completely different I dunno, he projects to be a 2nd line C, he was projected to be a 1st line C, not sure how one is completely different then the other.