C Aleksander Barkov - Tampere Tappara, FEL (2013 Draft) - Part II

[Oan]

I agree that Barkov looks good from what I've seen, but so did some other Finnish players that never made it.

That's the understatement of the year. Barkov now has the best season any 17-year old has ever had in Finnish Elite League. He is the most promising Finnish skater since Selanne and S. Koivu.

But none of that matters, because he is Finnish. Do you have some other stereotypes to share with us?

 

[Dumpster Flyers]

So just because there is a gap between 2004-10 it's impossible for Finland to produce early 1st round picks/skaters anymore, ever? Game over?

No, it's just that if it were a toss up between a player developed in Finland and one developed in Canada, the advantage would go to the Canadian based on the track record. Of course a superstar can come out of Finland again, but it's a factor to consider

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Holy views on this thread.

 

[Gaps]

He's promising, but hasn't really made it yet. He only has 13 games under his belt, and is still

It's not so much his nationality, as much as it is the hockey program in Finland no longer developing top players. I agree that Barkov looks good from what I've seen, but so did some other Finnish players that never made it. Maybe some things things they are teaching kids in Finland don't translate to higher levels of play

Or maybe you don't know much about Finland the way we developed and develop players. The gap is partly due to natural reasons (lack of superstar talent, which is normal for a country this size) and partly due to the mistakes that were done with the development of these players (notice the past tense). They realized they were doing things wrong and changed it some years ago. Now there are Finnish 1st round picks again, but due to the changes having taken place only some years back, they're still very young and haven't had a chance to make it in the NHL yet. I think some NHL organizations share your prejudice, but I believe that when it comes to certain players (like Chicago's Teuvo Teräväinen), they'll end up regretting it. The same could happen with Barkov, but in that case some team will be very lucky.

 

[Jussi]

Holy views on this thread.

I just noticed that, Connor McDavid's thread is the closest with 123K views.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

It's not so much his nationality, as much as it is the hockey program in Finland no longer developing top players. I agree that Barkov looks good from what I've seen, but so did some other Finnish players that never made it. Maybe some things things they are teaching kids in Finland don't translate to higher levels of play

As Gaps already pointed out there are going to be some drought years regarding the player development for a country of the size of Finland. However, that has more to do with the lack of naturally talented players coming out of the hockey program than the program itself being incapable of producing future stars (although there are some flaws I agree).

From 2005 to 2009 NHL drafts there were not a single Finnish skater drafted in the first round and since then there have been Granlund, Armia and Teräväinen (didn't include Määttä because he basically came out of the OHL). This year we might even have three first round picks in Barkov, Ristolainen and Lehkonen. Remains to be seen whether those players will make it but it's not like Finland has developed first round busts on a yearly basis. During the development drought there simply weren't talented enough players to be produced. Drought years happen for smaller hockey nations. For instance Sweden was struggling with developing high end talent in the early 2000's and look at how they are doing right now. We are undergoing a similar transition as Sweden was almost a decade ago. Remains to be seen how it will turn out but it sure does look better.

Btw, since 2002 there are more Finnish first round picks (skaters) that did make it (Begenheim, Nokelainen, Korpikoski, Pitkänen) than those who didn't (Niinimäki, Tukonen).

 

[RaskY]

Barkov amazed couple scouts again today, when he scored against Pelicans goalie Myllyniemi with a nifty move.

 

[SimplySensational]

Shootout or penalty shot?

 

[RaskY]

Shootout or penalty shot?

Shootout.