LD Aron Kiviharju - TPS, FIN JRS (2024 Draft)

[Jukurit]

He’s a 2024 pick.

He’s extremely smart and just hired a skating coach, exactly what you’d like to see so why the negative out view?
He’s not getting drafted in 2 years& by no means is he a bad skater

???
What "negative out view"?
I literally said he was Finland's best d-man. I said he's very young. I said I'm hoping he looks faster next season. I said he has high hockey IQ.

 

[BB88]

???
What "negative out view"?
I literally said he was Finland's best d-man. I said he's very young. I said I'm hoping he looks faster next season. I said he has high hockey IQ.

About the skating.

The kid is 2 years away from being drafted

 

[Jukurit]

About the skating.

The kid is 2 years away from being drafted

Is it illegal to have "concerns" about a young player?
If Kiviharju looks faster next season, then I don't have these concerns anymore (probably).
But as far as I know, he hasn't gotten faster yet, so I still have concerns.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Good that Kiviharju is improving his skating. It is concerning though how many Finnish players seem to have problems with skating. Especially when there should be a lot of skating knowledge in Finland.

 

[ijuka]

I just have some concerns. He looked so slow at U18s. And also small. Small + Slow = bad combination for a d-man. Of course, I think Kiviharju was still Finland's best d-man and he's still obviously very young. So, really hoping he looks faster next season. Even if he never gets "fast", I think he would still be a really good player, since I think his high hockey IQ would compensate for the lack of foot speed (like it has so far).

You realize that he had knee injury right? Did you see Patrik Laine skating in 14-15? And then 15-16? Laine never was a great skater but he was so much slower in 14-15 than 15-16 it's not even funny. That Kiviharju was able to perform so well is very remarkable, Laine's 14-15 season was a complete disaster.

It's a nonconcern, his skating is a strength.

Is it illegal to have "concerns" about a young player?
If Kiviharju looks faster next season, then I don't have these concerns anymore (probably).
But as far as I know, he hasn't gotten faster yet, so I still have concerns.

Just unknowledgeable.

Assuming no major injuries, I expect his skating to be significantly better next season. And for the season after, I also expect it to improve at a faster pace than expected.

Hopefully he gets faster.

Figure skating is not for pure speed. Figure skating is more for agility and efficiency. Which is his thing anyway - very good agility.

 

[Ippenator]

You realize that he had knee injury right? Did you see Patrik Laine skating in 14-15? And then 15-16? Laine never was a great skater but he was so much slower in 14-15 than 15-16 it's not even funny. That Kiviharju was able to perform so well is very remarkable, Laine's 14-15 season was a complete disaster.

It's a nonconcern, his skating is a strength.


Just unknowledgeable.

Assuming no major injuries, I expect his skating to be significantly better next season. And for the season after, I also expect it to improve at a faster pace than expected.


Figure skating is not for pure speed. Figure skating is more for agility and efficiency. Which is his thing anyway - very good agility.

I agree with you on everything here. I would also like to add, that Heiskanen wasn’t really a better skater at the same age (someone here was asking about it). Probably around the same as Kiviharju now. Good skating skills, but lacking a bit of speed, but nothing terrible with that either. Heiskanen improved his skating speed only later when he gained clearly more explosive leg strength.

 

[Jukurit]

I expect his skating to be significantly better next season. And for the season after, I also expect it to improve at a faster pace than expected.

I mean, you can expect all you want, but it hasn't happened yet, so still these concerns I have.

Good that Kiviharju is improving his skating. It is concerning though how many Finnish players seem to have problems with skating. Especially when there should be a lot of skating knowledge in Finland.

Is is a genetic problem or systemic problem? Do Finns just not have genetics to be good skaters or is skating not practiced enough?

 

[Kaako Kappo]

I mean, you can expect all you want, but it hasn't happened yet, so still these concerns I have.


Is is a genetic problem or systemic problem? Do Finns just not have genetics to be good skaters or is skating not practiced enough?

There's plenty of good Finnish skaters in the NHL. "Genetic". Lmao.

 

[Jukurit]

There's plenty of good Finnish skaters in the NHL. "Genetic". Lmao.

So you're saying it's a systemic problem?

 

[Kaako Kappo]

So you're saying it's a systemic problem?

I do not think it's a problem at all.

 

[BB88]

Good that Kiviharju is improving his skating. It is concerning though how many Finnish players seem to have problems with skating. Especially when there should be a lot of skating knowledge in Finland.

Heiskanen, Aho, Hinzt are for example all elite skaters.
Lambert is seen as the best skater in his draft.


But I do wish skating is a priority in Finnish development with the way NHL is developing

 

[Jukurit]

I do not think it's a problem at all.

Well, alright then.

 

[bigdog16]

You realize that he had knee injury right? Did you see Patrik Laine skating in 14-15? And then 15-16? Laine never was a great skater but he was so much slower in 14-15 than 15-16 it's not even funny. That Kiviharju was able to perform so well is very remarkable, Laine's 14-15 season was a complete disaster.

It's a nonconcern, his skating is a strength.


Just unknowledgeable.

Assuming no major injuries, I expect his skating to be significantly better next season. And for the season after, I also expect it to improve at a faster pace than expected.


Figure skating is not for pure speed. Figure skating is more for agility and efficiency. Which is his thing anyway - very good agility.

You are legit the only one here that thinks he is a strong skater. He has good edges and agility. The speed simply isn’t there

 

[Jukurit]

Lambert is seen as the best skater in his draft.

To be fair, how much of Lambert's skating is a product of his Canadian dad? His dad is a skills coach and seems to have trained Lambert his whole life.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

I think the main problem with Kiviharju's skating is just a lack of strength. I think I've read somewhere that he has not yet really done much strength training at all, so once he gets some muscle, he will become a more explosive skater. I'm not an expert in skating technique, but his technique seemed fine to me, especially his lateral skating and edge work, which actually require more skill than just straight speed.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

To be fair, how much of Lambert's skating is a product of his Canadian dad? His dad is a skills coach and seems to have trained Lambert his whole life.

Kapanen, Hintz, Heiskanen, Barkov, Aho, Teräväinen, Jokiharju, Nutivaara and Luostarinen are all good or great skaters. Rantanen is not a slouch either. Most of the good players are also great skaters. Amazin. Lundell is also on his way to become quite good at it. Lambert was born in Finland and trained in Finland with Finnish coaches his whole life. Crediting his dad is weird. And crediting his dad because he's Canadian is even weirder.

When it comes down to Kiviharju, he has all the important mechanics down. Skating is not an issue for him.

 

[FinPanda]

I think his skating "problems" are due to lack of strenght and the due to the injury he had last year. These 2 years before the draft are massive for him and I expect him to improve considerably.

 

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

Kapanen, Hintz, Heiskanen, Barkov, Aho, Teräväinen, Jokiharju, Nutivaara and Luostarinen are all good or great skaters. Rantanen is not a slouch either. Most of the good players are also great skaters. Amazin. Lundell is also on his way to become quite good at it. Lambert was born in Finland and trained in Finland with Finnish coaches his whole life. Crediting his dad is weird. And crediting his dad because he's Canadian is even weirder.

When it comes down to Kiviharju, he has all the important mechanics down. Skating is not an issue for him.

Afaik Lambert has done a lot of individual on-ice work in the summers with his dad. I think you can give his dad some credit for spending a lot of money and time

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Afaik Lambert has done a lot of individual on-ice work in the summers with his dad. I think you can give his dad some credit for spending a lot of money and time

Sure, you're right. Attributing it to him being Canadian is ridiculous, though.

 

[Jukurit]

Sure, you're right. Attributing it to him being Canadian is ridiculous, though.

Canadian prospects and players on average seem to better skaters than Finnish prospects and players. But that's just my observation.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Canadian prospects and players on average seem to better skaters than Finnish prospects and players. But that's just my observation.

There's just a lot more Canadian prospects than Finnish prospects. And that's where the difference comes from.

 

[thomast]

It’s a general belief, that Finnish people have short legs. It’s not suprising, that average or shorter Finnish players usually struggle at skating. They might have really short legs because of genetics.

 

[Rengorlex]

I think his skating is Dahlin level, he has some fancy dekes and solid footwork, but his lack of explosion and swift acceleration could be a problem at the next level. He'll have to outsmart NHL forwards because he isn't outskating them.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

It’s a general belief, that Finnish people have short legs. It’s not suprising, that average or shorter Finnish players usually struggle at skating. They might have really short legs because of genetics.

I'm all for a discussion about Finnish genetics, but if we go down that road, I suggest we use proper citations and credible sources. By the way, I have long legs.

 

[jonu]

I'd like to see Heiskanen's skating at the same age so we could get a comparison. Obviously development isn't linear, but it could give you an idea of how it might progress.

Sami Vatanen absolutely sucked at skating when he was around 15 years of age, later on it became one of his strengths until his hips busted.