Prospect Info: Lenni Hämeenaho (#58 Pick - 2nd Round - 2023 Draft)

[FinnishDevil]

Is Lenni the best prospect in hockey? I'm not ruling it out

 

[VoidCreature]

Hit me in the head with a block of wood but his hands are Datsyukian

 

[Guadana]

Yeah I agree that Lenni’s not the “safe” type (I also think a lot of those safe players aren’t actually safe but more just not that good). I don’t think any player with legitimate skating issues can be considered safe.

May be smart enough players with good skating, at least average physicality and hockey sense? Often this definition works with defensemen - big mobile defenseman who understand the game well. But its sound like top-4 defensive defenseman potentially. Those type of defensemen spend a lot of time and its not like its a low ceiling. Its a pretty good ceiling. People have to agree on this definition.

 

[Hisch13r]

May be smart enough players with good skating, at least average physicality and hockey sense? Often this definition works with defensemen - big mobile defenseman who understand the game well. But its sound like top-4 defensive defenseman potentially. Those type of defensemen spend a lot of time and its not like its a low ceiling. Its a pretty good ceiling. People have to agree on this definition.

 

[Guadana]

That's my point, it looked like a low ceiling and high floor type of player at the time. Nolan Foote is the same exact way right now. Yes, his skating sucks but he does plenty of other things that would let him carve an NHL role especially on a team who'll be in a cap crunch in a few years time. And McLeod is probably the wrong comp, he's the antithesis of Hameenaho. McLeod's cons are Hameenaho's strengths and vice versa.

Skating issues is a low floor automatically. Look at Gusev who was very smart. Yes he wasnt physical but he can take away pucks and produced enough in the first season. He was just to slow for NHL.
And yes, Mcleod is the antithesis of Lenny because he has high floor - skating, physical game, forechecking, speed. He has it from the start, and even forechecking with. faceoffs give him opportunity to achive millions of dollars. And he cant do nothing more. His ceiling was very low - he couldnt read the game well, couldnt think the game one or two steps ahead. And I believe he will never produce 40 points like Gusev did for example.
Ceiling of Lenny is high - he is very smart, he is always in the game, he retrieves the puck, understand where he should be and where he should move to find open space, how he can help his teammates without the puck. But if he is slow\non mobile enough, he could never play nhl role on regular basis. I believe he will. But again - he should work on his skating and mobility with the puck, on his speed. I think he can reach potential to be top-6 forward. He already has this potential because of IQ, but again - his skating can limit him in theory. He could be too non-mobile for bottom six role. But I think he will be good NHLer.

And now he is one of my favorite Devils prospects.

 

[Hisch13r]

Was Stillman mentioned as being “safe”? If so we got hit with a 1-2

 

[Guadana]

It would seem, what does Chase Stillman have to do with it?

Was Stillman mentioned as being “safe”? If so we got hit with a 1-2

you literally said what I said minute later.

 

[Blackjack]

Someone posted that tweet about “safe” picks not turning out well back when it was first posted, I think about it a lot.

I’m pretty sure Stutzle was supposed to be a project and years away from the nhl when he was picked.

 

[Sheros expletives]

 

[Guttersniped]

Someone posted that tweet about “safe” picks not turning out well back when it was first posted, I think about it a lot.

I’m pretty sure Stutzle was supposed to be a project and years away from the nhl when he was picked.

I don’t remember anyone saying Stützle was a project. I thought he was best player of the 2020 draft going in and I wasn’t the only one. He wasn’t a project with his skating and playmaking, he was electrifying. I also basically ignored Lafrenière and loved Stützle lol, but man, did I want Stützle.

Byfield was rawer, people highlighted his early birthday (August vs Lafrenière’s October vs Stützle’s January)

He went ahead of Stützle because of the obvious projected upside of a 6’4” 215 Canadian center over a 6’1” 187 German winger.

The Black Book had Stützle at #2 and had quotes from NHL scouts about him.

“He skates fast and thinks the game fast. He’s a legit threat to go number one.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

"He can play down the middle so he has a chance to go number one overall.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“Stützle is the player that has a chance to be the superstar out of the guys at the top. Lafrenière has a really high floor but his ceiling is lower than Stützle.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“Stützle has the skating that might make him the star of this draft. He play so fast...we see so much hockey and get a bit immune to it, but I actually get excited about watching him (Stützle).” - NHL Scout, January 202

“All three German players are 1st rounders for me but Stützle is at another level. He is a legit challenger for #1 overall and if Detroit is picking first, I won’t be the least bit surprised if they take him.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“He’s a game changer for a franchise and doesn’t need a ton of time before he can make the jump to the NHL.” –HP Scout Brad Allen

“I love how that his brain can match his feet, this kid plays fast. Great skater skilled and smart. So much to like about him.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, May 2020

Note how one mentions Lafrenière has a “higher floor but lower ceiling” than Stützle. Team’s feel a burden to be safe with the 1st overall pick. The Kings f***ed up.

Just about more than any team, LA has drafted aggressively for position. They consistently targeted centers and RHD, to the point of having a surplus at both positions. (Congrats there I guess.) And now the Kings have a big winger who struggled and Ottawa has a 1C.

Raymond was a player who wasn’t supposed to be project per se, but I remember a number of people saying he would need a few years to gain strength and adapt to NA hockey. One prediction was Holtz might do better at first but then Raymond would eventually overtake him as the better player.

 

[Guadana]

I don’t remember anyone saying Stützle was a project. I thought he was best player of the 2020 draft going in and I wasn’t the only one. He wasn’t a project with his skating and playmaking, he was electrifying. I also basically ignored Lafrenière and loved Stützle lol, but man, did I want Stützle.

Byfield was rawer, people highlighted his early birthday (August vs Lafrenière’s October vs Stützle’s January)

He went ahead of Stützle because of the obvious projected upside of 6’4” 215 Canadian center over a 6’1” 187 German winger.

The Black Book had Stützle at #2 and had quotes from NHL scouts about him.



Note how one mentions Lafrenière has a “higher floor but lower ceiling” than Stützle. Team’s feel a burden to be safe with the 1st overall pick. The Kings f***ed up.

Just about more than any team, LA has drafted aggressively for position. They consistently targeted centers and RHD, to the point of having a surplus at both positions. (Congrats there I guess.) And now the Kings has a big winger who struggled and Ottawa has a 1C.

Raymond was a player who wasn’t supposed to be project per se, but I remember a number of people saying he would need a few years to gain strength and adapt to NA hockey. One prediction was Holtz might do better at first but then Raymond would eventually overtake him as the better player.

People can make mistakes. I believe there are many things that majority of scouting fans should overthink. May be (on my taste) some gms and nhl scouts should overthink some things too.
Stuzle was very electric and I liked him more than Byfield. I even thought that Kings will prefer him. And I cant even understand why someone will wait faster adaptation from Holtz, Raymond was so good in forecheck and was a player of good effort and always in the game.
2020 was fun. Covid made it funnier. Three picks in the first round helped too.

Kings are very strange with their scouting and development. They tried to build through draft and traded a lot of their talent for Fiala and Dubois, and their other prospects look stuck. And for now they are looking like a good team but with problem to make another step forward.

 

[Blackjack]

I don’t remember anyone saying Stützle was a project. I thought he was best player of the 2020 draft going in and I wasn’t the only one. He wasn’t a project with his skating and playmaking, he was electrifying. I also basically ignored Lafrenière and loved Stützle lol, but man, did I want Stützle.

That’s fair, I believe he shot up the draft boards that year and rather than a project I think what I read was that he would take a few years to be an impact player compared to other top prospects. That turned out to be totally wrong.

I don’t remember anyone having him over Laf. Laf was supposed to be better than Hughes.

 

[Guttersniped]

That’s fair, I believe he shot up the draft boards that year and rather than a project I think what I read was that he would take a few years to be an impact player compared to other top prospects. That turned out to be totally wrong.

I don’t remember anyone having him over Laf. Laf was supposed to be better than Hughes.

Lafrenière was the consensus 1OA, and therefore it was very unlikely anyone else was going 1st, but both Byfield and Stützle had their champions.

These are the quotes from the Laffy section of the Black Book, a scout even says he’s the “safer pick” lol.

“Byfield had a good start to send an early message to Lafrenière that it won’t be a cakewalk.” - NHL Scout, September 2019

“Lafrenière is great but it’s hard to pass on a 6’4” centerman who can skate (Byfield).” - NHL Scout, October 2019

“Hype train says Lafrenière number one but scouting eyes will see Byfield at the top.” - NHL Scout, October 2019

“Lafrenière isn’t exactly ripping apart the Q, meanwhile Byfield is much younger and winning games for Sudbury on his own.” - NHL Scout, November 2019

“Not much separating the German kid and Lafrenière. Nice year to be picking at the top.” - NHL Scout, November 2019

“You can’t lose whichever way you go between those top three guys. Lafrenière and Byfield are big and skilled and Stützle is skilled and can fly.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“It’s so tight between him and Stützle. Lafrenière likes to play the wing so he can score goals. Stützle. can probably play down the middle and makes guys around him better. Laffy is the safer pick and the media pick but Stützle has the higher upside.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“Stützle made this a race with his World Jr performance. He’s a stud.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“Not much separating him and Stützle. now. Nice to see a bit of a battle at the top.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“I still take him number one but Stützle. is one hell of a runner up prize. If the Sens get Stützle. and Byfield back to back that’s just ridiculous.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“Lafrenière is the safer pick and will probably be the best player in this draft but the guys behind him tightened the gap.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“Lafrenière sealed the deal at Christmas...he carried that team to gold. That was an impressive performance by a draft eligible player, late birthday or not.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“He said he likes playing the wing, he feels comfortable there.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“Just by fluke, Lafrenière didn’t have some of his better games when I was in Quebec to see him this year. That happens sometimes...I saw McDavid have a few average games in his draft year too. Even the best players have a bad day at the office once in a while.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards

“I thought he did a great job of rising to the occasion at the World Junior. He put the team on his back at times and also sent a message that he wanted to make a statement with his play on why he was ranked as the consensus number one overall.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, January 2020

“I love the way Stützle plays and he made it a much closer race for number one overall than I would’ve expected, but in the end it’s difficult to go against Lafrenière. I was a huge fan of Jonathan Huberdeau in his draft year and Lafrenière is bigger, stronger and better at the same age.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, June 2 2020

I could only find a June 2020 “final” Bob McKenzie ranking. Lafrenière got all ten votes for 1st. But again, Stützle’s ceiling is noted. LINK

While he’s the clear favourite to be No. 1 this year, some scouts did allow that it’s not heresy to suggest there may be a player or two in this draft, prospects who didn’t perform at Lafreniere’s level all season, who could eclipse Lafreniere in future years.

One of those prospects with at least a chance to do that is No. 2 on TSN’s final ranking: Tim Stutzle, the dynamic German forward (he can play centre or left wing) who excelled while playing for Adler Mannheim in the DEL and starred for Germany at the 2020 World Junior Championship.

“If there’s someone in this draft who could go by Lafreniere in the years to come, it’s this kid,” an NHL scout said. “It’s because of the skating.”

“Like Lafreniere,” another scout added, “Stutzle is going to be a top-line NHL winger or centre.”

NHL Central Scouting rated Stutzle’s skating as a 10 out of 10. There’s a big wow factor here.

Scouts rave about his dynamic speed, drool over the deft touch of his hands and gush over his smarts and hockey sense.

“He puts it all together so well,” a scout said. “He can move his feet, hands and mind at top speed. It’s his ability to process everything so quickly that stands out.”

Stutzle was No. 3 on TSN’s mid-season rankings in January, but has swapped spots with Sudbury Wolves’ 6-foot-4, 215-pound centre Quinton Byfield, who checks in at No. 3 on TSN’s final list.

Five of 10 scouts surveyed by TSN ranked Stutzle No. 2 overall; the same number had Byfield in that slot. But no scout surveyed had Stutzle lower than No. 3. Two of 10 slotted Byfield at No. 6, which is to say eight had him at No. 2 or No. 3. So there’s not a lot to choose between the two.

Byfield has all the tools to be a big, point-producing No. 1 centre.

He moves extremely well for a big man; he has outstanding puck protection skills; he has soft hands and a hard shot; and he gets himself and the puck to the net to give himself and his teammates the opportunity to score goals.

“All the physical ability in the world,” one scout said. “If he doesn’t turn out to be an absolutely elite No. 1 NHL centre, he’ll still be a top-line player.”

If there are any questions about Byfield’s game, they are more relative to the comparisons with Lafreniere and Stutzle than any actual glaring weaknesses.

“There are two things,” one scout said. “Lafreniere and Stutzle have elite hockey sense and creativity. Byfield can make plays but it’s not quite the same. Lafreniere and Stutzle have engines that rev high all the time. Byfield can do that too, but hasn’t done it as consistently as the others. If [Byfield] can do that more consistently, look out.”

I don’t make rankings, I fixate on certain players. I’m not making an argument that Rangers blew it. 1) I don’t care lol. 2) I know how consensus 1OA work. 3) I didn’t pay much attention to AL, I was too busy loving my man Stützle.

I think the Kings obviously fixated on getting centers and RHD, to a degree that weirded me out. Which is saying something because we under-drafted both positions, particularly RHD.

But some people were very high on Byfield, and again, I didn’t pay much attention to him either.

The Black Book quotes for Byfield, who they had at #3. I don’t have a take on him to be honest. He’s not Stützle lol.

“Saw the Byfield kid, he looked lazy...I heard so much about him and then he laid an egg for me.” - NHL Scout, March 2018 (pre-OHL Draft)
And
“That Byfield kid is a machine. Worked his butt off.” - NHL Scout, May 2018 (pre-OHL Draft)

“Ridiculous tools...has the odd WTF moment, but the sky is the limit for him.” - NHL Scout, September 2019

“He was great Thursday night and even though he scored he was pretty invisible today. Should be a fun season ahead.” - NHL Scout, September 2019

“The thing I love about him is how hard he works. That will make him bust proof.” - NHL Scout, October 2019

“His ceiling is so high. He’ll be an interesting player to follow his progression. He’s not close to being ready to play next season but give him another season in Sudbury and then he’ll make some noise as a rookie in the NHL.” - NHL Scout, November 2019

“Plays much smaller than his size “ - NHL Scout, December 2019

“Floor is extremely high due to his consistent compete off-the puck.” - NHL Scout, December 2019

“He seems to be melting every time he is on a bigger stage. He would make me a bit nervous as a top three pick.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“He (Byfield) stays ahead of the German (Stützle) for me because his ceiling is so high and he won’t bust.” - NHL Scout, January 2020

“Doesn't use his frame nearly as much as I’d like to see.” - NHL Scout, April 2020

“Big power forward who plays down the middle and is only going to get bigger and stronger. What’s not to like with this kid?” - NHL Scout, April 2020

“He’s not going to be the next Malkin, but he will be a very valuable and unique player for a franchise. I just don’t see him reaching the star potential that Lafreniere and Stützle possess at this time, he’s not in the same tier as them due to his hockey-sense.” – HP Scout, Brad Allen, April 2020

“Love his pace. Floor is obviously pretty high. When you see the skating that can still be even better, skill and size combo and some signs of more creativity and glimpses of a physical element, it gets even more interesting when thinking of how high his ceiling could be.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, April 2020

“Very strong start and a strong finish in my personal live viewings, with some very average performances in between. I watched another 6-7 games on tape after the shutdown. Spatial awareness is inconsistent, doesn't always assess his skating lanes correctly, but when he was on his game he was pretty much an unstoppable force.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, April 2020

“Flashes of greatness in many aspects of his game, but just a bit inconsistent. That should come with more maturity. I’d like to see him back in the OHL for one more year and then he should have a more seamless transition to the NHL the season after. He’s still a bit raw.” - HP Scout, Mark Edwards, May 2020

 

[Blackjack]

But some people were very high on Byfield, and again, I didn’t pay much attention to him either.

The Black Book quotes for Byfield, who they had at #3. I don’t have a take on him to be honest. He’s not Stützle lol.

Byfield got the high ceiling comment too, haha. It’s practically the kid of death.

Edit: oops, meant high floor

 

[My3Sons]

Byfield got the high ceiling comment too, haha. It’s practically the kid of death.

Was he all that skilled and smart or just really big and a decent skater?

 

[Goptor]

I don't know how far along those ai bots go down in the draft rounds. Any prospect called 'safe' in the later rounds of the draft are 100% never making the NHL.

 

[evnted]

the god emperor of mankind lenni got spotlighted on the liiga site today. wouldnt say there was anything super new, but a couple interesting comments on how he sort of exceeded his own expectations sticking with the team last year and is now ready to be a big time contributor. also reaffirmed his commitment to building up his physical tools/skating and highlighted explosiveness in particular as a summer focus

Ässien viime kauden tulokastähti Lenni Hämeenaho on valmiina entistä isompaan rooliin – ”On pystyttävä omalla oveluudella kamppailemaan”

Ässien laitahyökkääjä Lenni Hämeenaho murtautui porilaisten vakiokokoonpanon pelaajaksi viime kaudella jo ennen 18-vuotissyntymäpäiväänsä. Kesä täytti yhden tulevaisuuden tähden kiekkouran haaveista. Alkavalla kaudella Hämeenahon otteet Ässien hyökkäyksessä ovat aikaisempaa suuremman...

www.liiga.fi

 

[devilsblood]

Was he all that skilled and smart or just really big and a decent skater?

His draft year numbers suggest he had alot going for him beyond his size.

Not sure what's been his issue in the pro's, I do remember him starting slowly and getting hurt at some point, but he did put up a ppg in the AHL this year, and then had a decent stat line in the playoffs for LA. So maybe he's turned the corner.

 

[Devs3cups]

Thought I’d share. Don’t think this has been posted yet.

 

[Devs3cups]

Lenni with 2 secondary assists so far today. Now has 2G, 3A in 3 pre-season games.

 

[Comparison Ford]

Thought I’d share. Don’t think this has been posted yet.

bricked up

 

[Juzmo]

Lenni going for a 1on4



With how impressive he's looked so far, how it's clicking with linemate Jan-Mikael Järvinen and how the powerplay in general looks it's quite exciting to see how he'll do once the season starts in 6 days.


edit. Other angle of the clip from 4:41 on among the other highlights (00:00 set-up, 01:26 assist, 02:59 chance, 03:09 assist, 04:55 post):

 

[Devs3cups]

Lenni going for a 1on4



With how impressive he's looked so far, how it's clicking with linemate Jan-Mikael Järvinen and how the powerplay in general looks it's quite exciting to see how he'll do once the season starts in 6 days.

Speed looks pretty good and his hands are nasty.

 

[Guadana]

Can we skip his Liiga period and implement him into top-9?

 

[Nubmer6]

Can we skip his Liiga period and implement him into top-9?

No.

No we can't