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LW Kristian Vesalainen (2017, 24th, WPG)

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I haven't dropped him out of my top 10 all year. He leaves me speechless every time I watch him.

Bold claim: Vesalainen is the most talented player in the draft.
 
McMozesmadness said:
I haven't dropped him out of my top 10 all year. He leaves me speechless every time I watch him.

Bold claim: Vesalainen is the most talented player in the draft.
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I don't think it's that crazy. He's performed in the SHL and U18. I don't see why he'd be definitively below everyone else in that 3-15 range.
 
There was just an interview where he said that Frölunda didn't give a **** about him. They didn't talk to him or play him. I think his weak season makes more sense now.
Funny how this is coming from a guy who actually bashed Finnish junior development and said that it's way better to be in Sweden. I hope he comes home next season, or goes to AHL.
 
Rambokala said:
There was just an interview where he said that Frölunda didn't give a **** about him. They didn't talk to him or play him. I think his weak season makes more sense now.
Funny how this is coming from a guy who actually bashed Finnish junior development and said that it's way better to be in Sweden. I hope he comes home next season, or goes to AHL.
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There is a rumour that he have contract with HPK about next season, but its just a rumour.
 
ijuka said:
Perhaps, but we who have actually watched his gameplay have seen that it's not just some scoring.
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You who have actually watched his gameplay also should have seen that one of his three goals vs. Canada was into the empty net and the other was a shot into traffic that got deflected and poked around and eventually ended up in the net. Not all goals are created equal, hence watching the player is extremely important and goals and points don't tell the whole story.

Now don't look at me as another "Vesalainen hater." He's one of my favourite players in the draft. I just won't move him to No. 3 on my list or call him the best player in the draft because he does have some obvious concerns.
 
Rambokala said:
There was just an interview where he said that Frölunda didn't give a **** about him. They didn't talk to him or play him. I think his weak season makes more sense now.
Funny how this is coming from a guy who actually bashed Finnish junior development and said that it's way better to be in Sweden. I hope he comes home next season, or goes to AHL.
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Agree with him to some extent. He should have gotten more chances after coming back. He was however downright terrible for long stretches in J20 Superelit but finished the season there well, also thought he looked okay in the one SHL playoff game he got.

Not surprised one bit that he's dominating this tournament. He's getting the space he needs to put his skill on full display. His flaws are IMO pretty major and he's able to hide them when playing against his peers.
 
jnk96 said:
You who have actually watched his gameplay also should have seen that one of his three goals vs. Canada was into the empty net and the other was a shot into traffic that got deflected and poked around and eventually ended up in the net. Not all goals are created equal, hence watching the player is extremely important and goals and points don't tell the whole story.

Now don't look at me as another "Vesalainen hater." He's one of my favourite players in the draft. I just won't move him to No. 3 on my list or call him the best player in the draft because he does have some obvious concerns.
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We who watched him vs Canada know that he could very well have had more goals or a couple of assists and know that he also had a large impact with driving the play towards Canada's side of the ice with his defensive play and puck snatching.

Perhaps 3 goals even is less than he deserved for the impact he had on the game.
 
Grant McCagg said:
Vesalainen is now third on our draft list - he's doing what he needed to do at the U18 -
show his offensive upside. As one NHL scout told me..he's found his hands:

https://recrutes.ca/kristian-vesalainen-hat-trick-vs-canada-apr-18-2017/
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Isn't that a tad high for Vesalainen. I know he is rather responsible defensively for a high impact winger and has managed to hold his own in the pro, but at the same time the lack of offense at the pro level and at the U20 has left a lot of questionmarks revolving around his game. I fear his bust potential is higher than of the average top three pick.

I'd put him a tier below Puljujarvi, who also has had some troubles in his draft+1 and still isn't a sure bet to become a 1st line player.

Or was that a separate european prospects list?
 
The impact Kristian has on the u18 team seems pretty enormous. When he disappeared (didn't play on the second period) the entire team pretty much collapsed, was not able to get any offense going and suddenly 5-1 lead turned into 5-4. When he returned to play on the third period, the entire team played almost at the same level they started with. Was afraid he got injured but luckily didn't seem to be the case. If Nyman didn't hit the post from Vesalainen's pass in the the late third, we'd have avoided overtime. A bit disappointed about the lack of impact from Ikonen and Nyman without Vesalainen. Guess you'd have to give Ikonen a pass, given that he's playing with a broken thumb (if the story holds any merit).

Does anyone know what actually happened to him between the periods?
 
I'm really happy about his performance recently. Like I've previously stated, I had lost pretty much all hope on him, like many. He's big, strong and his work ethic is insane. Another great player for Finland.
 
ijuka said:
It's what happens when the vast majority doesn't understand what his age is and that he's playing vs adults unlike the vast majority of NA players, which sometimes just doesn't allow for a dominant performance even if you are better than the peers in your age group.

For some perspective, Vesalainen being 3 and half months older:

Matthews:

At the age of u17:

4+4=8 in 6 gp at u-17s
5+2=7 in 7 gp at u-18s

At the age of u18:

1+2=3 in 5 gp at u-20s
8+7=15 in 7 gp at u-18s

Vesalainen:

At the age of u17:

4+4=8 in 5 gp at u-17s
2+4=6 in 7 gp at u-18s

At the age of u18:

1+1=2 in 6 gp at u-20s
6+5=11 in 4 gp at u-18s



So while he's 3 and half months older than Matthews for this comparison, their international production actually is very comparable. And as such, talking of Vesalainen as an early second rounder is ridiculous.
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Now do Teemu Pulkkinen
 
For all saying his U18 performance doesn't matter because Pulkkinen and Rajala both busted, here's top 10 scorers in the u18 in order: Kucherov, Rajala, Ovechkin, Grigorenko, Kessel, W. Nylander, Zakharov, Kovalchuk, Pulkkinen, Matthews. Rajala, Zakharov and Pulkkinen were all later round picks so they weren't seen as high of prospects to begin with. Grigorenko is the only one there who could suggest u18 don't matter in Vesalainen's case, however there are 6 other who have been "pretty" good in the NHL too. Your argument is laughable for the tournament not suggesting anything when it comes to top tier prospects.
 
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Hockeyisl1fe said:
For all saying his U18 performance doesn't matter because Pulkkinen and Rajala both busted, here's top 10 scorers in the u18 in order: Kucherov, Rajala, Ovechkin, Grigorenko, Kessel, W. Nylander, Zakharov, Kovalchuk, Pulkkinen, Matthews. Rajala, Zakharov and Pulkkinen were all later round picks so they weren't seen as high of prospects to begin with. Grigorenko is the only one there who could suggest u18 don't matter in Vesalainen's case, however there are 6 other who have been "pretty" good in the NHL too. Your argument is laughable for the tournament not suggesting anything when it comes to top tier prospects.
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There are some indications that Scheifele's strong performance at the U-18 solidified his high ranking in the Jets draft board.
 
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