Kemell has been pretty invisible since returning from injury, seems it's been bothering him a great deal, though he was leading all of Liiga in scoring before he got injured. At this point you have to wonder whether the Kemell injury is something he'll be able to recover from or whether it'll permanently affect him, which would be a shame.
Didn't see his USHL games but that 2023 draft class is just so weak in general for Finns basicly just 1 man draft with Halttunen I wouldn't bet on anyone else. Been back and forth with him and Nurmi and to some extent Kuusla for that 2nd spot but Järventie gets the nod since he always plays better and stands out in national teams. I like him as a player skilled crafty winger with offense but don't see first round talent in him at this point either.
Lambert is a very technically skilled player, but lacks in hockey IQ and team play. I don't think he falls out of first round. My prediction would be somewhere in 10 - 20 range.
Not really sure about your "mentality" theory. Kakko's problem I think is his skating. Pulju I think just lacks skill and hockey IQ. Lambert lacks hockey IQ and lacks in teamplay.
A lot of Ranger fans question Kakko’s mentality and think he’s a complete beta. He has hockey talent, but is afraid to use it. He seems very shy and timid in interviews, and it’s three years now. @EdJovanovski was saying that he could beat up Kakko in a fight, and while I think it’s too speculative to know about that result, it epitomizes how he’s viewed. There are a lot of mentality questions with Kakko. Probably the biggest questions about him.
What's the point of that? We need him to turn it around. We aren't giving up on him. Mentality would be a problem with him though, not the team. He should play a little more, but he was top 6 until his injury midseason. He'll be top six this season again.
If he's such a complete beta, then obviously that's not a guy you're ever going to win anything with. Should just trade him now before the rest of the league finds out.
At worst, he ends up like a worse skating Nichushkin. He’s still a useful player barely being paid anything. In a trade his value would be low. It’d be bad asset management to have that view.
Kakko's main problem is the same as Laine's; Rautala's terrible, antiquated methods that make his skaters skate in mud. Barkov for example was a weaker skater than both but actually got decently competent training.
And noticed this too. He plays very timid, still. I think that that's partially because he was rushed to NHL before ready. It is very apparent when watching him. He has no attitude at all. I thought he did have some in Liiga so something changed.
It's true that many of these top Finnish players have had some problems with their mental. Aho's is excellent of course, but Laine struggles with his. Kakko's of course is a massive issue.
If Rautala is so terrible, why do so many players train in his group?
