Speculation: Atro Leppänen / Liiga - Could some team take a chance on him?

[jonlin]

Very late bloomer. Defenseman 3rd in points in Liiga and 1st on his team my a mile. He is 26yrs old and his team lies 10th in the table. He is moving to Switzerland probably soon and next year to SHL. Could be a very cheap tryout.
Fun fact - He will probably become the leading scorer in a season of a Liiga season history soon. That means Brian Rafalski and Pekka Rautakallio will fall behind him and this on a bad team.

His stats the last years:

2020-21	KeuPa HT	Mestis	29	4	11	15	4	5	Playoffs	3	1	2	3	0	3
2021-22	KeuPa HT	Mestis	29	7	16	23	14	13	Playoffs	7	2	3	5	2	-7
2022-23	Kiekko-Espoo	Mestis	51	23	35	58	20	32	Playoffs	10	1	4	5	2	0
2023-24	Sport	Liiga	55	12	16	28	18	-3	Playoffs	2	0	0	0	0	0
	Finland (all)	International	10	0	1	1	2	1
2024-25	Sport	Liiga	42	14	33	47	24	10

Click to read more...

 

[Pablo El Perro]

What side does he play?

 

[Icejoker]

Last game 3+3 white shirt golden helmet

Maalikooste: KooKoo - Sport

Suosituimmat uutisvideot koti- ja ulkomailta. Katso suosituimmat urheiluvideot sekä pidetyimmät lifestyle- ja viihdevideot silloin kun sinulle sopii!

www.mtvuutiset.fi

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDo]

Pittsburgh needs cheap good players.

 

[LaineBOOM]

He needs to come to NA. Atro.. that just screams a nickname like "Atrocious". Sounds more like an MMA nickname though. Can he fight? How big is he? I feel like he could slide into 3rd pair as a fighter who can move the puck when needed.

What Im saying is that it would be quite an exciting Cinderella-story but the day this bloke plays in the NHL is the day I donate my left nut to a group of female researchers (with the condition that they research it while its attached to my body).

What I mean is that he is having an unbelievable season but theres most likely no way that any NHL GM gets a boner for him. Not due to his stats in any case.

 

[Treb]

Is rumored to play in the SHL next year for Orebro and apparently his agent offered him to Swiss teams to finish the year.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Would not be surprised if the Kraken take a swing at him. They have a decent scouting group in Finland and do target them.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Like I've said many times before, NHL teams have an interest in virtually any higher-tier European pro. It's those guys who maybe don't want to play for 1/3 of the salary (at best) they would get in Europe. So it's up to him, but signing a reasonably rich contract in Europe is just a much safer option—especially so for a guy who didn't make much money thus far in his career.

 

[paragon]

Guys like Atro don't really get a chance in the NHL. It's clear he's the type of guy who needs to play PP and with the best forwards, but if he comes over he would get at most 3rd pairing minutes and a role that does not suit him. It would probably end up like it did with Mikko Lehtonen.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Hockeydb's got him listed as a forward.......is he a winger/blueliner hybrid, a la Brent Burns or something?

Anyways, Finnish, so Dallas probably kicking the tires if they haven't already.

 

[montreal]

Atro Leppänen - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Atro Leppänen, 1998-12-14 Mänttä, FIN Finland. Most recently in the Liiga with Sport. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[Icarian]

I can see someone take an interest in him, but I don't really see him to make much of an impact in NHL. Finnish Liiga is not what it used to be. There're just too many crappy teams and players. It's barely a Top 5 league in Europe anymore.

Last season Sami Niku was on pace to make a new Dman record, but he had a falling out with the coaches and management and was basically kicked out of the team.

 

[FinPanda]

Broke the record for most points scored in a season by a defenceman in Liiga tonight. Over 50 year old record.

Se on siinä! Atro Leppänen, 26, teki huiman SM-liigaennätyksen

Vaasan Sportin puolustaja Atro Leppänen teki uuden liigaennätyksen lauantain kierroksella ottelussa Rauman Lukkoa vastaan.

www.mtvuutiset.fi

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I’m sure he could fill in on an AHL team’s second pairing somewhere.

I wish him the best of luck.

 

[Kahvi]

There was a story about him in Finland’s biggest newspaper few weeks ago. When he was 20, he was playing with his local team in the 4th tier league just for fun, and working at a sawmill and tire store.

Some of his teammates convinced him that he should call the local Mestis team for a try-out. He did, and really, the rest is history even if he didnt do anything more in his career.

 

[jaa]

I think he could actually make it in the NHL. Mainly because his IQ is obviously there, and he is well above average skater. Also he is really good in tight places, does not fumble when opponent gives pressure. I think these properties would fit NHL, even if he would not get top pair minutes.

Especially on some team with lesser depth on D.

 

[Sampe from the 2000s]

Broke the record for most points scored in a season by a defenceman in Liiga tonight. Over 50 year old record.

Se on siinä! Atro Leppänen, 26, teki huiman SM-liigaennätyksen

Vaasan Sportin puolustaja Atro Leppänen teki uuden liigaennätyksen lauantain kierroksella ottelussa Rauman Lukkoa vastaan.

www.mtvuutiset.fi

Both previous co-holders of the record scored 5+9=14 points in the playoffs and later played in an NHL All-Star Game. They were even close in age: Rautakallio was 7+ months and Rafalski 9+ months younger than Leppänen. No pressure, Atro!

That said, in Rautakallio's time 2nd assists were rarely rewarded. Ässät scored 207 goals in 36 games in the 1978-79 regular season, and their players totaled 230 assists. Sport has now scored only 152 goals in 53 games, yet their players have 261 assists.