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

[ijuka]

He was out there as a filler, getting a taste. He's not competing for a roster spot, nor does he need to get into the groove of play.

You are completely wrong. He is competing for a roster spot. As much has been said by both him as well as the team leadership.

 

[LOFIN]

What makes you say that?

You are completely wrong. He is competing for a roster spot. As much has been said by both him as well as the team leadership.

He's definitely skilled and talented enough, I just don't think he yet has the physicality to play full time and trying to force him to that might not be good either. That said, if he and the team is willing to go for it why not. I just think it would be best for him to allow to develop physically before throwing him to a men's league. For me it's more about trying to recoup the time lost because of his knee injury rather than his size at this point.

He should definitely make his Liiga debut this season, that much I'm willing to bet. As a TPS fan I'm very excited to get to watch another great prospect brewing in our system.

 

[ijuka]

He's definitely skilled and talented enough, I just don't think he yet has the physicality to play full time and trying to force him to that might not be good either. That said, if he and the team is willing to go for it why not. I just think it would be best for him to allow to develop physically before throwing him to a men's league. For me it's more about trying to recoup the time lost because of his knee injury rather than his size at this point.

He should definitely make his Liiga debut this season, that much I'm willing to bet. As a TPS fan I'm very excited to get to watch another great prospect brewing in our system.

Strange if you're a TPS fan that you've not been watching interviews, then. If you paid attention to this game here, he did much better in physical battles than Jimi Suomi, for example. Kiviharju gives 100% effort and is strong for his size.

 

[LOFIN]

Strange if you're a TPS fan that you've not been watching interviews, then. If you paid attention to this game here, he did much better in physical battles than Jimi Suomi, for example. Kiviharju gives 100% effort and is strong for his size.

I will admit, I haven't been as focused with TPS hockey this off-season as I've been in the past. Busy enough with the disaster of a football section we have...

Look, I would gladly welcome him to the team full time, if the parties involve feel it's the right move for his development. He's a special player, and from what I watched today he's obviously ready for the mens game when it comes to his game smarts.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Nice skill and positional awareness to get out of that situation. Only 'gripe' is that camera angle, did he just throw it up the middle of the ice? Can't really tell lol

 

[Oak]

I've been critical of this kid in the past but to be honest haven't watched him play or his highlights in a while. This play was absolutely dirty. I haven't seen deception like this in a dman possibly ever. This kid is legit.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

I was one of the early ones in this thread! Can't believe he's actually being 'discovered' now

More often than not those young prodigies don't live up to the hype.

 

[Lepardi]

Nice skill and positional awareness to get out of that situation. Only 'gripe' is that camera angle, did he just throw it up the middle of the ice? Can't really tell lol

Didn't you watch it to the end? He clearly made a perfect backhand saucer pass to his teammate.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Didn't you watch it to the end? He clearly made a perfect backhand saucer pass to his teammate.

I can see that after I watched the replay about a dozen times. Right at 5 seconds I could not tell where the puck was going because of that awful angle

 

[ijuka]

More often than not those young prodigies don't live up to the hype.

Hasn't been anyone nearly as good at such an age in Finland. Or overall, really.

At WSI u12 in 2016 as a double underager(u10) player he was the top defenseman in scoring. Lane Hutson, by the way, was 3rd in defenseman scoring in that tournament, 7 points in 9 games(Kiviharju 10 points in 7 games while 2 years younger).

Certainly since then, none of the Finnish players come even close at such an age, still

 

[Nate070]

He will also play in today´s CHL game as the 7th defender.

 

[Jukurit]

EV Zug has won the Swiss Championship past 2 seasons. So pretty damn good team right? Interesting to see if Kiviharju can keep up.

 

[Esko6]

EV Zug has won the Swiss Championship past 2 seasons. So pretty damn good team right? Interesting to see if Kiviharju can keep up.

They lost 0-4 and Zug was better at everything, but every comment I read says Kiviharju kept up and made good plays.

 

[Jukurit]

They lost 0-4 and Zug was better at everything, but every comment I read says Kiviharju kept up and made good plays.

I watched some of the game and I thought Kiviharju looked good.

 

[Nate070]

I watched some of the game and I thought Kiviharju looked good.

How many minutes did he play?

 

[Esko6]

How many minutes did he play?

13:47 Matches

 

[Jukurit]

I haven't even realized this before (not sure how many other people have), but if you go to "tracking" part on CHL website, you can see all kinds of fancy stats about the game (expected goals, shot maps etc.)

In this "game impact" chart Kiviharju doesn't come out looking very good:

 

[Torspo21]

Aron will make his Liiga debut tonight at Nokia Arena.

 

[Jukurit]

 

[ijuka]

Jimi Suomi really is #6 defenseman ahead of him. Guy has been soooo bad.

Oh well, hopefully it goes well.

 

[jonlin]

Guy has been soooo bad.

More like "kid has been so bad". Fun stuff - Tappara has always been my team, but I`m also rooting for Kiviharju. Hope he does well. It`s quite the test as Tappara should be the favourite here and should be the top contendor for Liiga champion once again.

 

[karhukissa]

I think CHL is still like "whatever tier" of a league. Real games starts today, good for Kiviharju!

 

[JJTT]

Did he play in the 1st period?

 

[Jukurit]

Did he play in the 1st period?

I'm pretty sure yes. Hard to see numbers in these TPS jerseys.

 

[Jukurit]

Kiviharju had a couple of nice breakout passes. Defense in own zone seemed pretty good. Didn't have the puck much in the offensive zone, so hard to say anything about his play in the offensive zone. Based on this game, CHL games and pre-season games, I think he's ready to play full time Liiga this season.