To be honest, Julius Nättinen is(or would be) ahead of Hotakainen, Kanninen and Virtanen in JYP's center depth.
They will probably go with Joonas Nättinen 1st, Löfman 2nd, Lahti 3rd and Topi Nättinen 4th. Julius Nättinen would be the first guy to replace injured forwards. Most likely he would get more than 50% of the games played in the regular season of Liiga-team.
Is there a requirement to have a surname Nattinen to play C on that team?
Anyway - i rather have Nattinen playing constantly in C position all season rather than be the guy who would jump in (very likely) at any forward position during the year.
We know exactly what he will get in Barrie. The coach there said he would be the top center there (i have no idea about the situation there, what is his competition? I figure he will be top6 center for sure).
Plus he will adjust to North American style, start living more independently (further away from family) and our staff will be closer to him. Guys like Marchant can visit him during the year, i figure.
PS
Finn friends - what does ''Nattinen'' means in Finnish?