D Vili Saarijärvi (2015, 73rd, DET; traded to ARI)

[SoundAndFury]

Currently leading the Liiga in points by a defenseman, and it look like EP is reporting him to be on Finland's national team roster. Breakout season or good luck 12 games in?

Well that Finland's (s)crap roster so it doesn't mean all that much. Nor does scoring in Liiga. I think he can be a very offensively productive D in Liiga but that means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Currently leading the Liiga in points by a defenseman, and it look like EP is reporting him to be on Finland's national team roster. Breakout season or good luck 12 games in?

I would not say it's just luck, but he plays in one of the best teams in Liiga. Their roster is great with much firepower so they are scoring a lot and some of that is due to Saarijärvi. Returning back to Finland should get his confidence back up and he used the corona break training, clearly. I am still skeptical about his potential on NHL level. Seems like a player who performs well in a bigger rink. Although I don't think he got a good shot in North America yet and I think he'll give it another try. He's still quite young so who knows.

That national team is very random at the moment and far from best possible lineup. They didnt choose any players out of Liiga and I image that if they had, Saarijärvi wouldn't be on it. So I wouldn't think of it too much.

 

[Pavels Dog]