Finnish Prospect Update Thread

[karhukissa]

I like this trend where Finnish hockey is going and actually has been for past few years. Top talent production is incredible, i'd rather take one top-3 guy in his draft class over 2-3 guys with lower 1st or higher 2nd pick.

We've always had these 3rd and 4th line grinders, players that can be trusted in almost any situation but still lacks that final touch. And we always will have these guys which is good. But now true star power is coming, guys that you can put next to any NA or Russian star player of their age and will match them in each aspect of the game.

Throwback to the days where Mikael Granlund was the next messias of Finnish hockey, now this caliber of players are developing and coming up each year. Thanks Erkka!

 

[JabbaJabba]

We've always had these 3rd and 4th line grinders, players that can be trusted in almost any situation but still lacks that final touch. And we always will have these guys which is good. But now true star power is coming, guys that you can put next to any NA or Russian star player of their age and will match them in each aspect of the game.

This is so true. I remember those games back in the day when Finland was down by a goal and it took like 30 minutes of bombarding the goalie with shots until someone managed to fight the puck in. Now, if Finland is down by a goal or two, I am more hopeful that they'll be able to come back because there are players like Aho, Laine, Rantanen etc. Finns can score when it matters and it doesn't come down to hacking the puck in or Selänne scoring it on a powerplay. The one more thing that I am happy is that those elite Finns don't act like primadonnas, but they play defence and play as a team, not as individuals.

 

[Erikfromfin]

U16 National team camp rosters named Leijonat - U16 Vierumäelle tällä joukkueella – "Nollavitosten" ensimmäinen testileiri!
Only change from initial selection is Topias Kosola replaced by Eetu Kankkunen. Noteworthy that both Jimi Junkkari and Emil Kuusla missed Pohjola-leiri, but Junkkari was named to the team anyway and Kuusla not

Scouted the 2023 draft class while back and I like these players upside the most at 3 years mark before theyre draft

Wingers
1. Jesse Nurmi
2. Emil Järventie
3. Otso Ylitalo
4. Kasper Halttunen
5. Emil Kuusla
6. Valtteri Lehtosaari
7. Elias Jansson

Centers
1. Aatu Karjalainen
2. Arttu Alasiurua
3. Rasmus Kumpulainen

Left Defensemen
1. Arttu Kärki
2. Emil Pieniniemi
3. Niklas Moberg
4. Peetu Kiukas
5. Janne Peltonen

Right Defensemen
1. Niklas Talvikunnas
2. Jussi Kähkönen
3. Arttu Tuhkala

Goalies
1. Henri Karppinen
2. Manu Lukkarinen


Also I would make U16 national team roster like this in autumn

Jesse Nurmi - Aatu Karjalainen - Emil Järventie
Otso Ylitalo - Topias Hynninen - Kasper Halttunen
Emil Kuusla - Arttu Alasiurua - Valtteri Lehtosaari
Elias Jansson - Rasmus Kumpulainen - Emil Ristiharju
Tuomas Uronen
Santeri Elo

Emil Pieniniemi - Niklas Talvikunnas
Niklas Moberg - Jussi Kähkönen
Peetu Kiukas - Arttu Tuhkala
Joona Karvonen - Janne Peltonen

Emil Vinni
Henri Karppinen
Mico Laaksonen

 

[ijuka]

Sigh, naming both Roni Piilinen and Vili Paloluoma but not Aron Kiviharju even though Kiviharju completely outperformed both on the same team. Like, u-16s spring:

Kiviharju 19 points
Paloluoma 6 points
Piilinen 5 points

Yawnity yawn

Also, naming Mico Laaksonen to the team over Noa Vali is complete lunacy unless Vali is injured. Vali's been the top 05 goalie in Finland.

 

[Erikfromfin]

Jea was considering Noa Vali he was really good in world selects year ago already other players I liked that did not make the team include Joonas Eronen, Lauri Eskola, Eero Prihti, Oliver Kuntonen, Joel Tuomola to name a few

 

[passive voice]

Anyone know anything about Joni Loukkojarvi?

 

[wings5]

Aatu Jämsen (02) has had a strong start to U20 SM-sarja with 8pts in 2 games, is he a draftworthy prospect?

 

[NJ Fan 12]

Aatu Jämsen (02) has had a strong start to U20 SM-sarja with 8pts in 2 games, is he a draftworthy prospect?

Doesn't seem likely at this point.

Yet to play in Liiga nor has he played for Finland U18 or U20 teams and is his first season at A Juniors. Unless there are other factors he's likely not on the radar yet.

 

[LoveHateLeafs]

Is there any chance that Aatu Raty and Tuukka Tieksola will get any ice time for Karpat this year? I think between them they've played maybe one preseason game.

 

[JJTT]

Is there any chance that Aatu Raty and Tuukka Tieksola will get any ice time for Karpat this year? I think between them they've played maybe one preseason game.

Räty should be a regular on top 9 or even top 6. Outside the first line of Pyörälä-Kunyk-Puljujärvi the team has been really poor offensively.

Tieksola is coming off a surgery, he should get a shot with a big club if Koblizek and Kristof continue not to produce points.

Goalie Leevi Meriläinen seems like kinda dark horse from Kärpät for 2020 draft. August 02 birthdate so he is still very young for this draft. Has played for the Liiga team instead of Blomqvist on some pre-season games

 

[Mysteric1000]

Anyone knows whats up with Aron Kiviharju?

Played first 2 B-SM games last week, but now hasnt been either with them or C-SM roster.

Injured maybe?

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

Has there been any updates on Kupari? It's been 9 months since the ACL injury so I've been expecting him to return to Liiga on loan

 

[JustAPleb]

Has there been any updates on Kupari? It's been 9 months since the ACL injury so I've been expecting him to return to Liiga on loan

Rehabilitates with Marko Yrjövuori.

 

[SwissMountaineer]

Injured maybe?

Just speaking on a general level here, people who like to hype their child progidys, tend to go quiet when things suddenly are not that "amazing-unbelievable-incredible-youngest-ever".

Let's hope all is well with that kid.

 

[John Mandalorian]

I found this write-up. Does anyone know about this guy?

2020 NHL Draft Sleepers Roundtable - Smaht Scouting

Rami Määttä, Left Handed Defenseman

Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects/EP Rinkside: “An interesting Finnish player who should be available late in the draft based on the lack of attention on him is Rami Määttä. He had a very good first season in the Finnish U20 league, often playing on Ässät’s top defensive pairing together with Detroit Red Wings prospect Antti Tuomisto, logging over 20 minutes on most nights. Määttä was also a stable feature on Finland’s U18 team at international events. While I’d say he’s not the flashiest player and is likely not going to wow you with end-to-end rushes, Määttä is without a doubt one of the smartest players in this crop of draft-eligible Finns. What stands out to me about Määttä’s game is that he’s excellent at making his defence partner succeed, and I think that he played a major role in Tuomisto winning the league MVP award this season. Määttä’s poise with the puck is very noticeable and you almost never see him make catastrophic mistakes when his team has the possession. His zone exit success percentage was the highest among all players I’ve tracked in the U20 league last season, which speaks volumes about how reliable he is on the breakout. Määttä is also very effective defensively and I often found myself admiring his work ethic off the puck. He plays a tight gap in transition and does a good job at funneling opponents away from the middle of the ice towards the boards. Määttä is not the fastest skater for a 5-foot-10 defenceman but his first steps are fine and he closes gaps quickly. He’s not very proactive offensively and doesn’t possess high-end vision or shot. Määttä’s floor seems to be high – I have a hard time seeing a scenario where he doesn’t become at least a top defenceman in Liiga. His offensive upside is a major question mark, but there’s a lot to like defensively and in transition.”

 

[ijuka]

I found this write-up. Does anyone know about this guy?

2020 NHL Draft Sleepers Roundtable - Smaht Scouting

Rami Määttä, Left Handed Defenseman

Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects/EP Rinkside: “An interesting Finnish player who should be available late in the draft based on the lack of attention on him is Rami Määttä. He had a very good first season in the Finnish U20 league, often playing on Ässät’s top defensive pairing together with Detroit Red Wings prospect Antti Tuomisto, logging over 20 minutes on most nights. Määttä was also a stable feature on Finland’s U18 team at international events. While I’d say he’s not the flashiest player and is likely not going to wow you with end-to-end rushes, Määttä is without a doubt one of the smartest players in this crop of draft-eligible Finns. What stands out to me about Määttä’s game is that he’s excellent at making his defence partner succeed, and I think that he played a major role in Tuomisto winning the league MVP award this season. Määttä’s poise with the puck is very noticeable and you almost never see him make catastrophic mistakes when his team has the possession. His zone exit success percentage was the highest among all players I’ve tracked in the U20 league last season, which speaks volumes about how reliable he is on the breakout. Määttä is also very effective defensively and I often found myself admiring his work ethic off the puck. He plays a tight gap in transition and does a good job at funneling opponents away from the middle of the ice towards the boards. Määttä is not the fastest skater for a 5-foot-10 defenceman but his first steps are fine and he closes gaps quickly. He’s not very proactive offensively and doesn’t possess high-end vision or shot. Määttä’s floor seems to be high – I have a hard time seeing a scenario where he doesn’t become at least a top defenceman in Liiga. His offensive upside is a major question mark, but there’s a lot to like defensively and in transition.”

Well I figured it was going to be Lassi Alanen, I think he's the only person who's ever mentioned this player.

I wouldn't consider him a draft prospect or anything, but if these players end up performing in Liiga at 19 or 20, they could get drafted as overagers.

 

[JJTT]

Don't think I've seen him even mentioned here but winger Ville Koivunen(2021 Draft) is having a great start to the season. 6+3 in 6 games for Kärpät U20, outproducing some of the much more highly touted prospects on the team.

He was the MVP/leading point scorer of the U18 league last season and was the top scorer the year before in the U16 league as well.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Don't think I've seen him even mentioned here but winger Ville Koivunen(2021 Draft) is having a great start to the season. 6+3 in 6 games for Kärpät U20, outproducing some of the much more highly touted prospects on the team.

He was the MVP/leading point scorer of the U18 league last season and was the top scorer the year before in the U16 league as well.

Seems like a player to be kept eye on.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Aatu Jämsen (02) has had a strong start to U20 SM-sarja with 8pts in 2 games, is he a draftworthy prospect?

Just realised that he got drafted by the Kings in the 7th round. At the moment he has 23 points (7+16) in 11 games, so over 2ppg. Don't know much about him to be honest. Good height at least, needs to grow into that body obviously. Could be a steal for the Kings.

 

[Pardus]

With Aatu Räty 2021, Brad Lambert 2022, Emil Järventie 2023 and Aron Kiviharju 2024 I guess we get at least one 1oa pick in the next four years.

 

[Stoat]

Räty should be a regular on top 9 or even top 6. Outside the first line of Pyörälä-Kunyk-Puljujärvi the team has been really poor offensively.

Now that we've seen a few games this season it's quite clear that Aatu Räty is not regular with Kärpät. And I have to admit that he wasn't that good last match. I hope he gets his confidence back and takes the spot in top lines after Puljujärvi and Kuokkanen return to NA.

 

[NJ Fan 12]

Just realised that he got drafted by the Kings in the 7th round. At the moment he has 23 points (7+16) in 11 games, so over 2ppg. Don't know much about him to be honest. Good height at least, needs to grow into that body obviously. Could be a steal for the Kings.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

With Aatu Räty 2021, Brad Lambert 2022, Emil Järventie 2023 and Aron Kiviharju 2024 I guess we get at least one 1oa pick in the next four years.

Zero chance at 2023. Michkov is godly, and Bedard is extremely good too

 

[mattihp]

Now that we've seen a few games this season it's quite clear that Aatu Räty is not regular with Kärpät. And I have to admit that he wasn't that good last match. I hope he gets his confidence back and takes the spot in top lines after Puljujärvi and Kuokkanen return to NA.

I would like to see him loaned to another Liiga team. He is not going to get a fair shake on Kärpät, even when Pulju and Kuokkanen leave. He was scratched so many times last season, even when he played well.

 

[Stoat]

I would like to see him loaned to another Liiga team. He is not going to get a fair shake on Kärpät, even when Pulju and Kuokkanen leave. He was scratched so many times last season, even when he played well.

He could go for few games if some of the lower tier teams are having trouble with injuries. Otherwise he'll stay at Oulu.

But I agree with you about being scratched too many times last season. His big brother was playing all the time, even though Aatu was looking better all the time.