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G Juuse Saros - HPK, FIN Liiga (2013, 99th, NSH)

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5'10 is very, very generous. He's probably closer to 5'8 in reality.

From what I've seen this year, he's the best goalie in his age group. Was unbelievable at the Four Nations tournament in Ann Arbor, by far Finland's best player and put himself on a lot of radars, and great at the Five Nations in Jönköping. Quick, athletic, positionally sound. Makes most saves look easy and can make the highlight-reel stops as well if he does find himself in a bad spot. No real flaws. The only thing holding him back is his height. He's been great in Finland Jr. A and International U18 but it's up in the air how well he'll do against professionals, particularly in North America. The only similar sized goalie I can think of who is on track to be an NHL player is Jhonas Enroth, who's actually a couple inches taller and is still considered "small." Enroth was a second rounder. For Saros, I wouldn't be shocked if someone liked him so much that they picked him in the late 2nd or 3rd round, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he went completely undrafted. He's a real wild card.
 
Josh Deitell said:
5'10 is very, very generous. He's probably closer to 5'8 in reality.

From what I've seen this year, he's the best goalie in his age group. Was unbelievable at the Four Nations tournament in Ann Arbor, by far Finland's best player and put himself on a lot of radars, and great at the Five Nations in Jönköping. Quick, athletic, positionally sound. Makes most saves look easy and can make the highlight-reel stops as well if he does find himself in a bad spot. No real flaws. The only thing holding him back is his height. He's been great in Finland Jr. A and International U18 but it's up in the air how well he'll do against professionals, particularly in North America. The only similar sized goalie I can think of who is on track to be an NHL player is Jhonas Enroth, who's actually a couple inches taller and is still considered "small." Enroth was a second rounder. For Saros, I wouldn't be shocked if someone liked him so much that they picked him in the late 2nd or 3rd round, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he went completely undrafted. He's a real wild card.
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Okay, thanks a lot!! One question though.. By "best goalie in his age group" are you talking International goalies, or are you including Fucale/Comrie/Martin etc..??
 
He is supposed to play in sm liiga next season as hpk's backup goaltender. Next season will tell a lot more about his potential as nhl prospect. Depending how he does in the draft combine (height,strength etc.) he will go from early second to late fourth round.
 
jjtt said:
Depending how he does in the draft combine (height,strength etc.) he will go from early second to late fourth round.
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To me that seems way too optimistic, there's not a big demand for undersized goalies in the NHL.

Jussi said:
The latest issue of Jääkiekkolehti listed him at 180 cm in a short article and their stats are usually fresh.
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The entry list for the WU18C's has him at 180cm/5'11'' as well, but the fact that the numbers are fresh don't always mean that they are accurate. Smaller players fairly often have air in these numbers. Looking him at the playoffs, my guess would be that he's something like ~177cm (close to 5'10''), but I could naturally be wrong. Should be interesting to see what his measurements are at the combine.
 
Jussi said:
The latest issue of Jääkiekkolehti listed him at 180 cm in a short article and their stats are usually fresh. I really doubt there'd be a 6 cm difference.
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I've seen him listed at a lot of different heights, just going by what I have seen in person. A lot of the Finnish players have been listed as taller than they actually are. I saw Juuso Ikonen, for example, listed at 180 cm, and he's nowhere near that.

rey72335 said:
Okay, thanks a lot!! One question though.. By "best goalie in his age group" are you talking International goalies, or are you including Fucale/Comrie/Martin etc..??
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I was much more impressed by him than Fucale, Comrie, Desrosiers, McAdam, Peterson, etc. Haven't seen Martin so I can't say for him, went to see Mississauga last week but Teichmann got the start. It's just so difficult to project goaltenders under 6'0 to have success in the NHL.
 
G Juuse Saros - HPK, FIN Liiga (2013, 99th overall, Nashville)

Can he really be the 1st G taken in the 2013 Draft?

Don't know much about him at all and would like to know, from anyone who is familiar with his game, about his potential and his eventual draft ranking.
 
I have seen Saros play several times and am very impressed with his game. Quick, positionally sound, calm demeanor. Seems to have all the tools of an elite goaltender.

However.... 2 things that might be working against him

1) his height. I think he is 5'11" . Definitely shorter than 6'. With the trend being with taller goalies, this can't be a plus.

2) he tends to let in a soft goals at bad times. I've seen him play 8-10 times and this had happened in the majority of games. I saw this most recently against the USA in the 4 Nations Tourney in Nov. Faced 45+ shots and kept his team in the game for the majority of the game. However, that one leaker goal killed any chance of his team getting back into the game. They eventually lost 3-1.

Personally, I really like his game. I don't think he'll be the first goalie taken in the draft, mostly due to his height.
 
I think it was last year that there wasn't a goalie under 6'0 taken in the draft. Just something I noticed as teams clearly favour guys who are just slightly bigger than others.
 
Josh Deitell said:
I've seen him listed at a lot of different heights, just going by what I have seen in person. A lot of the Finnish players have been listed as taller than they actually are. I saw Juuso Ikonen, for example, listed at 180 cm, and he's nowhere near that.
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Where? I haven't seen him listed that high in any major hockey site/source. Blues' site has him at 170, Jatkoaika and others at 175.
 
Regardless of the specifics, the problem is this:

juuse_saros_hpk-6x.jpg

juuse_saros_hpk-3x.jpg


When he's in the butterfly, the whole top shelf is open. My concern is that he'll be exposed by harder, more accurate shooters. For me, that's the only thing holding him back.
 
Juuse Saros is talent wise best goalie out there. Couple inches more and there would be more hype around him. In my mind he is best goalie talent from Finland in many years. He have been best player out there in years and he was biggest reason why his team won championship this year (he won MVP award too). His team is HPK from Hämeenlinna and it's quite small city, there are not so deep talent pool. Little cities have difficult to won junior championships, because teams are full of hometown boys. When looking this years HPK team, there are not so much special talent, after all very mediocre team, but they won because Saros and good coaching. Saros only weakness is size, but anyway he have proved that he is amazing GK, he win lot of games for his team and he have superb numbers. Here's his awards:

- Jr. A SM-Liiga All-Star Team 12/13
- Jr. A SM-liiga Best GAA 12/13
- Jr. A SM-liiga Best Goalie ''Jorma Valtonen Award'' 12/13
- Jr. A SM-liiga Best Player of Regular Season 12/13
- Jr. A SM-liiga Best SVS% 12/13
- Jr. A SM-liiga Bronze Medal 11/12
- Jr. A SM-liiga Champion 12/13
- Jr. A SM-liiga Playoffs Best SVS% 11/12
- Jr. B SM-sarja Qualifications Best GAA 11/12
- Jr. B SM-sarja Qualifications Best SVS% 11/12
- Jr. C SM-sarja All-Star Team 10/11
- Jr. C SM-sarja Best Goaltender ''Jukka Tammi Award'' 10/11
- Jr. C SM-sarja Best Player ''Teppo Numminen Award'' 10/11
- Jr. C SM-sarja Best SVS% 10/11

I wait a lot of his performance in WJC U-18 tournament. I'm pretty sure he will get more awards there. I have feeling that we will see Saros in north america sooner or later. I think he is quite ready to play with big boys. Hope some scouts have really looked his playing and don't judge him with just measurements. He is elite goalkeeper.

Sorry bad english.
 
This guy just had a massive game at the U18 against the USA, 49 saves, allowed 1 goal, 98%. Finland only had 19 shots on goal and won the game 2-1. Juuse Saros was also awarded the best player of the game award.
 
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Will he be drafted in 1st round if he leads Finland to medals and gets named tournament MVP?
 
Pajicz said:
Probably not first round, 2nd round could be a possibility...
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I agree. 2nd round is possible, but I think 3rd round is the most probable choice. If he was a few inches taller, we could be talking about a 1st round pick.
 
Listed at just a hair over 5'10 in Central Scoutings final rankings.

When was the last time there was a legit top flight starting NHL goalie under 5'11? Jose Theodore?

I know this kid is an awesome goalie but I could see him slide into the 3rd or 4th round for sure.
 
Theodore is 5'11".

5'10" Jhonas Enroth is the only goalie in the NHL right now who's under 5'11", yet the top 3 European goalies in the 2013 draft according to Central Scouting are all below that.
 
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