Prospect Info: Rangers Prospect Thread (Player Stats/Info in Post #1; Updated 9.1.19)

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I like her,Steve Greeknameplous(forgot his name) and AK's passion for the game and team but I have not found either very insightful. I will read and enjoy what they do but none work for a team of any kind for a reason(same with me).
He said he hadn't been on the ice in about a month, that is a bigger deal then it sounds. Skating is not walking, completely different muscles and movements. If a running back in football or a soccer player said they hadn't walked in a month people would understand and take that into consideration. It is not just the skating but everything in hockey is particular to hockey, that first week back will be off. I am sure he wasn't they only player going through that. You also have players that went un-drafted that are trying to catch someones eye, so they will be trying much harder than say the #2 overall pick.

The reason I don’t work in hockey is because I live in Europe and have a job that pays better than being a reporter or scout in hockey

 

[JayMan82]

The reason I don’t work in hockey is because I live in Europe and have a job that pays better than being a reporter or scout in hockey

What area of IT are you in if you don't mind sharing?

 

[Konamic Ice Hockey]

The reason I don’t work in hockey is because I live in Europe and have a job that pays better than being a reporter or scout in hockey

I am sure if you put your efforts into hockey scouting it could have been your job(like many of us) but you didn't, you put it into the work you are in. Not really a dig on you but more of a reminder on this board, that none of us as much as we watch and like hockey are hockey professionals.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I am sure if you put your efforts into hockey scouting it could have been your job(like many of us) but you didn't, you put it into the work you are in. Not really a dig on you but more of a reminder on this board, that none of us as much as we watch and like hockey are hockey professionals.

I agree, but we should also not forget that the people who DO work in hockey aren't perfect either. There are definitely scenarios where well-educated fans would make better decisions than GMs. It's definitely not as black and white as some might think.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

What area of IT are you in if you don't mind sharing?

Datacenter management

 

[cwede]

Datacenter management

growing and profitable sector, good for you

 

[JayMan82]

Datacenter management

Nice, I used to deal a lot more with networks for a few years, but now I'm in 'The Cloud'. I got a lot of buddies that work with or run Wholesale ISPs, hope we can cross paths and talk shop sometime soon!

 

[Edge]

I agree, but we should also not forget that the people who DO work in hockey aren't perfect either. There are definitely scenarios where well-educated fans would make better decisions than GMs. It's definitely not as black and white as some might think.

Steven and I have discussed this topic, and so I'll share part of my experience.

There was a time I could've pursued a scouting a career. It wouldn't have been in New York, and it would've required moving clear across the country, but it was there.

But the rub was it also would've meant a significant pay cut for me, at a time when I was getting married and my career was progressing nicely.

But financial considerations aside, there's something to be said about enjoying something as a hobby and not having to be quite so dependent on it for a living. For me, attending games, watching video, talking to people who do that for a living is my balance to a world of deadlines, crisis situations, advocacy efforts with hostile communities, and all the things I don't necessarily love about my profession.

I know a lot of people who drink heavily in my line of work. I can go weeks without having a sip of alcohol, or months between bar visits. That's money that goes back to supporting my family, or time spent doing something that isn't going to get me in trouble.

There are a number of people on here who could very easily scout for a living. They're just as good as the professionals I know. In some cases, they're even better. There are many reasons they don't do that for a living, and those reasons vary from person to person. But there's more to picking a chosen profession than simply the ability to do it.

Likewise, there are many people who are passionate and opinionated and desperately would want to do it. I'll be blunt, they wouldn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, our greatest strengths don't always align with our deepest passions.

But working directly or indirectly in the industry is a combination of hard work, timing, and a little bit of dumb luck. But I also warn people that being a fan of something can often be as much of a hindrance as a help if you want to pursue certain careers. Sometimes, if you want to continue to love something, I strongly advise against doing it for a living.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

What area of IT are you in if you don't mind sharing?

The boring one.

 

[kovazub94]

Steven and I have discussed this topic, and so I'll share part of my experience.

There was a time I could've pursued a scouting a career. It wouldn't have been in New York, and it would've required moving clear across the country, but it was there.

But the rub was it also would've meant a significant pay cut for me, at a time when I was getting married and my career was progressing nicely.

But financial considerations aside, there's something to be said about enjoying something as a hobby and not having to be quite so dependent on it for a living. For me, attending games, watching video, talking to people who do that for a living is my balance to a world of deadlines, crisis situations, advocacy efforts with hostile communities, and all the things I don't necessarily love about my profession.

I know a lot of people who drink heavily in my line of work. I can go weeks without having a sip of alcohol, or months between bar visits. That's money that goes back to supporting my family, or time spent doing something that isn't going to get me in trouble.

There are a number of people on here who could very easily scout for a living. They're just as good as the professionals I know. In some cases, they're even better. There are many reasons they don't do that for a living, and those reasons vary from person to person. But there's more to picking a chosen profession than simply the ability to do it.

Likewise, there are many people who are passionate and opinionated and desperately would want to do it. I'll be blunt, they wouldn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, our greatest strengths don't always align with our deepest passions.

But working directly or indirectly in the industry is a combination of hard work, timing, and a little bit of dumb luck. But I also warn people that being a fan of something can often be as much of a hindrance as a help if you want to pursue certain careers. Sometimes, if you want to continue to love something, I strongly advise against doing it for a living.

Very well put. Most of us hear try to separate these opinions we could trust from those we should not.

 

[redwhiteandblue]

Steven and I have discussed this topic, and so I'll share part of my experience.

There was a time I could've pursued a scouting a career. It wouldn't have been in New York, and it would've required moving clear across the country, but it was there.

But the rub was it also would've meant a significant pay cut for me, at a time when I was getting married and my career was progressing nicely.

But financial considerations aside, there's something to be said about enjoying something as a hobby and not having to be quite so dependent on it for a living. For me, attending games, watching video, talking to people who do that for a living is my balance to a world of deadlines, crisis situations, advocacy efforts with hostile communities, and all the things I don't necessarily love about my profession.

I know a lot of people who drink heavily in my line of work. I can go weeks without having a sip of alcohol, or months between bar visits. That's money that goes back to supporting my family, or time spent doing something that isn't going to get me in trouble.

There are a number of people on here who could very easily scout for a living. They're just as good as the professionals I know. In some cases, they're even better. There are many reasons they don't do that for a living, and those reasons vary from person to person. But there's more to picking a chosen profession than simply the ability to do it.

Likewise, there are many people who are passionate and opinionated and desperately would want to do it. I'll be blunt, they wouldn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, our greatest strengths don't always align with our deepest passions.

But working directly or indirectly in the industry is a combination of hard work, timing, and a little bit of dumb luck. But I also warn people that being a fan of something can often be as much of a hindrance as a help if you want to pursue certain careers. Sometimes, if you want to continue to love something, I strongly advise against doing it for a living.

Interesting take and well put. The older I get (and I’m only 31) I wish I had aligned a career in hockey. It was a huge part of my life for almost 20 years and then still stayed engaged as a fan and playing casually. Nothing I know or relate to more.

This year I was finally able to catch more games in a season than I have in years. I probably watched (or sat down for and didn’t turn off) 72-75 games this year. Easily the most enjoyed year of hockey for me since 2014.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Steven and I have discussed this topic, and so I'll share part of my experience.

There was a time I could've pursued a scouting a career. It wouldn't have been in New York, and it would've required moving clear across the country, but it was there.

But the rub was it also would've meant a significant pay cut for me, at a time when I was getting married and my career was progressing nicely.

But financial considerations aside, there's something to be said about enjoying something as a hobby and not having to be quite so dependent on it for a living. For me, attending games, watching video, talking to people who do that for a living is my balance to a world of deadlines, crisis situations, advocacy efforts with hostile communities, and all the things I don't necessarily love about my profession.

I know a lot of people who drink heavily in my line of work. I can go weeks without having a sip of alcohol, or months between bar visits. That's money that goes back to supporting my family, or time spent doing something that isn't going to get me in trouble.

There are a number of people on here who could very easily scout for a living. They're just as good as the professionals I know. In some cases, they're even better. There are many reasons they don't do that for a living, and those reasons vary from person to person. But there's more to picking a chosen profession than simply the ability to do it.

Likewise, there are many people who are passionate and opinionated and desperately would want to do it. I'll be blunt, they wouldn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, our greatest strengths don't always align with our deepest passions.

But working directly or indirectly in the industry is a combination of hard work, timing, and a little bit of dumb luck. But I also warn people that being a fan of something can often be as much of a hindrance as a help if you want to pursue certain careers. Sometimes, if you want to continue to love something, I strongly advise against doing it for a living.

I worked for Philly's utility company called PECO that sponsors the Flyers. Whenever they have a powerplay they announce "it's time for the PECOOOOOO Power Play!" Long story short I HATED my job. Now, whenever I watch a Flyers home game (admittedly not often) I cringe every time I hear that (beyond just hating the Flyers and not wanting to see them have a Power Play). It would suck to work in hockey, not like it, and then have your love for the game suffer.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Can someone fill me in on Tarmo Reunanen? He sounds like an offensive defenseman. How does he compare to other offensive D prospects/young guys that we have? ADA, Fox, and Jones?

 

[Konamic Ice Hockey]

I agree, but we should also not forget that the people who DO work in hockey aren't perfect either. There are definitely scenarios where well-educated fans would make better decisions than GMs. It's definitely not as black and white as some might think.

For sure. We also don't know why sometimes "stupid" looking decisions get made. It is easy to say "wtf" when we very rarely know the entire story. I can tell you about this kid in the WHL that is the next #99, but maybe he is doing coke and beating his girlfriend or maybe he is just a complete @$$hole that no one wants to deal with and won't listen to his coaches. How about trying to trade a player like that and the fans don't get why his return value sucks. Besides watching hockey, scouts also do some detective work that fans almost never hear about. I would have never chosen Gropp, but I don't know the entire story. Maybe he is just a fantastic person and teammate that the NYR wanted to give a shot. So maybe if I had the entire story I would have made the pick, I don't know.
Keep up the good work promoting EU hockey and NYR prospects.

 

[pblawr]

Can someone fill me in on Tarmo Reunanen? He sounds like an offensive defenseman. How does he compare to other offensive D prospects/young guys that we have? ADA, Fox, and Jones?

I've been advocating for him in the prospect vote, so I'd be happy to share my opinions having watched him 4-5x. First off, Alex Nunn (AJ Ranger) put together a good highlight video of him here:



They also did a segment on him on MSG here:



Just for background, we drafted him in the 4th round 4 years ago. He had been considered a big time prospect (he was compared to Juolevi, who went 5th overall) but dropped after getting injured his pre-draft year and missing most of the season. The next two seasons he bounced around between TPS, TPS's U20 team, and 2 different Mestis (Finnish 2nd league) teams without really sticking anywhere before he got traded to Lukko last year.

Once he got a consistent role with Lukko, he settled in and produced what I think was one of the most impressive seasons by a prospect of ours last year. From December on, he became a top pairing D on Lukko, a playoff Liiga team, and scored 0.6 ppg, which is the same as Esa Lindell and behind only Miro Heiskanen and Sami Vatanen in the last 10 years. All those guys turned into top 4 defensemen on cup contenders in the NHL. Then Reunanen took his play to another level in the playoffs, scoring almost a ppg and leading the entire league with 6 shots per game.

He's a really good skater. He's above-average in a straight line but where he excels is being sudden on his edges and losing defenders with sharp turns. I would agree with this characterization:



Here are a couple examples of what I mean:

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

He's also a very good passer. He's good at drawing defenders to him and then making tape to tape passes to open players and he can anticipate where players will become open. The assist above is obviously a ridiculous pass and this clip below is another example.

Finnish Jr Hockey on Twitter

He'll also skate the puck deep and find open forwards in front of the net and he's very good at moving the puck out of the defensive zone. He reminds me of DeAngelo in that basically every time he gets the puck on his stick in the defensive zone he ends up making a tape to tape pass to an open player leading to a controlled exit, even when he's under heavy pressure (Drury made the same comparison).

Finally, he has a cannon of a shot. He was the triggerman on Lukko's power play and generated a ton of points off of his shot:

Alex Nunn on Twitter

Alex Nunn on Twitter

He can walk the line and read screens too:

Alex Nunn on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Defensively he plays a style where he keeps a really tight, aggressive gap and closes aggressively on forwards trying to enter the zone or steps up and breaks up passes to enter the zone. From what I've seen, he's very effective at it. Opposing teams had a really tough time gaining the zone against him and if they dumped it in, he was great at skating back to retrieve it and making clean outlet passes with control. Furthermore, I can't recall watching him get beaten cleanly on an entry leading to a high grade scoring chance. I would bet his neutral zone / transition defense stats are really, really good. He's the kind of defenseman who, when he's at his best, doesn't give up scoring chances because his team always has the puck.

His biggest weakness, in my opinion, is his physical strength in the defensive zone. Specifically, he has a hard time clearing the front of the crease, he can get muscled off the puck in board battles, and I remember one example where Palve (who was of the best players in Liiga) was able to lean on Reunanen and muscle past him for a high end scoring chance. Still, I think it's an issue Reunanen will grow out of. Firstly, he's a 21 year old playing against men, so it's kind of expected he'd be at a disadvantage strengthwise. Secondly, he's 6', so it's not like he's undersized. Finally, his compete level is really high. He regularly started scrums in front of the net because he wouldn't stop going at forwards and he's very aggressive challenging for loose pucks.

Secondly, for as talented as he is, I think he could be more assertive in driving the offense. It's not that he's bad at it, but at times he seems content to move the puck up the ice and stay back on defense or to stand on the blue line and wait for a puck to shoot. When he pushes the pace and attacks the offense, he's really good at creating offense, as you can see above, and I think there's room for him to do more of it. He demonstrated that he can take his game to another level in the playoffs this year.

In my naive opinion, I think he's got the offensive potential to play on an NHL power play and the defensive potential to play in a contender's top 4 if he gets stronger. Given that he's already a top pairing pro defenseman at 21 and everyone his age who's performed like he has in the Liiga in recent history has made the NHL, I think there's a pretty good chance that he becomes at least a decent player. Furthermore, I'm big on prospects who improve at a high rate because I think it's reflective of good work ethic and practice habits that will lead to continued improvement and he's been our fastest rising prospect. Personally, I think he's our best prospect once you get past the first rounders, Fox, Shestyorkin, and Georgiev.

 

[redwhiteandblue]

I've been advocating for him in the prospect vote, so I'd be happy to share my opinions having watched him 4-5x. First off, Alex Nunn (AJ Ranger) put together a good highlight video of him here:



They also did a segment on him on MSG here:



Just for background, we drafted him in the 4th round 4 years ago. He had been considered a big time prospect (he was compared to Juolevi, who went 5th overall) but dropped after getting injured his pre-draft year and missing most of the season. The next two seasons he bounced around between TPS, TPS's U20 team, and 2 different Mestis (Finnish 2nd league) teams without really sticking anywhere before he got traded to Lukko last year.

Once he got a consistent role with Lukko, he settled in and produced what I think was one of the most impressive seasons by a prospect of ours last year. From December on, he became a top pairing D on Lukko, a playoff Liiga team, and scored 0.6 ppg, which is the same as Esa Lindell and behind only Miro Heiskanen and Sami Vatanen in the last 10 years. All those guys turned into top 4 defensemen on cup contenders in the NHL. Then Reunanen took his play to another level in the playoffs, scoring almost a ppg and leading the entire league with 6 shots per game.

He's a really good skater. He's above-average in a straight line but where he excels is being sudden on his edges and losing defenders with sharp turns. I would agree with this characterization:



Here are a couple examples of what I mean:

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

He's also a very good passer. He's good at drawing defenders to him and then making tape to tape passes to open players and he can anticipate where players will become open. The assist above is obviously a ridiculous pass and this clip below is another example.

Finnish Jr Hockey on Twitter

He'll also skate the puck deep and find open forwards in front of the net and he's very good at moving the puck out of the defensive zone. He reminds me of DeAngelo in that basically every time he gets the puck on his stick in the defensive zone he ends up making a tape to tape pass to an open player leading to a controlled exit, even when he's under heavy pressure (Drury made the same comparison).

Finally, he has a cannon of a shot. He was the triggerman on Lukko's power play and generated a ton of points off of his shot:

Alex Nunn on Twitter

Alex Nunn on Twitter

He can walk the line and read screens too:

Alex Nunn on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Defensively he plays a style where he keeps a really tight, aggressive gap and closes aggressively on forwards trying to enter the zone or steps up and breaks up passes to enter the zone. From what I've seen, he's very effective at it. Opposing teams had a really tough time gaining the zone against him and if they dumped it in, he was great at skating back to retrieve it and making clean outlet passes with control. Furthermore, I can't recall watching him get beaten cleanly on an entry leading to a high grade scoring chance. I would bet his neutral zone / transition defense stats are really, really good. He's the kind of defenseman who, when he's at his best, doesn't give up scoring chances because his team always has the puck.

His biggest weakness, in my opinion, is his physical strength in the defensive zone. Specifically, he has a hard time clearing the front of the crease, he can get muscled off the puck in board battles, and I remember one example where Palve (who was of the best players in Liiga) was able to lean on Reunanen and muscle past him for a high end scoring chance. Still, I think it's an issue Reunanen will grow out of. Firstly, he's a 21 year old playing against men, so it's kind of expected he'd be at a disadvantage strengthwise. Secondly, he's 6', so it's not like he's undersized. Finally, his compete level is really high. He regularly started scrums in front of the net because he wouldn't stop going at forwards and he's very aggressive challenging for loose pucks.

Secondly, for as talented as he is, I think he could be more assertive in driving the offense. It's not that he's bad at it, but at times he seems content to move the puck up the ice and stay back on defense or to stand on the blue line and wait for a puck to shoot. When he pushes the pace and attacks the offense, he's really good at creating offense, as you can see above, and I think there's room for him to do more of it. He demonstrated that he can take his game to another level in the playoffs this year.

In my naive opinion, I think he's got the offensive potential to play on an NHL power play and the defensive potential to play in a contender's top 4 if he gets stronger. Given that he's already a top pairing pro defenseman at 21 and everyone his age who's performed like he has in the Liiga in recent history has made the NHL, I think there's a pretty good chance that he becomes at least a decent player. Furthermore, I'm big on prospects who improve at a high rate because I think it's reflective of good work ethic and practice habits that will lead to continued improvement and he's been our fastest rising prospect. Personally, I think he's our best prospect once you get past the first rounders, Fox, Shestyorkin, and Georgiev.

This was an excellent post. Well written and a good read. He sounds like, when just put on a platter, a can’t miss prospect. I think it’s savvy drafting. A pure boom/bust pick after an injury that is going boom. The thing I like about his potential to be a pretty good NHL defensemen is that there is absolutely no pressure on him. More than ever now too.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I've been advocating for him in the prospect vote, so I'd be happy to share my opinions having watched him 4-5x. First off, Alex Nunn (AJ Ranger) put together a good highlight video of him here:



They also did a segment on him on MSG here:



Just for background, we drafted him in the 4th round 4 years ago. He had been considered a big time prospect (he was compared to Juolevi, who went 5th overall) but dropped after getting injured his pre-draft year and missing most of the season. The next two seasons he bounced around between TPS, TPS's U20 team, and 2 different Mestis (Finnish 2nd league) teams without really sticking anywhere before he got traded to Lukko last year.

Once he got a consistent role with Lukko, he settled in and produced what I think was one of the most impressive seasons by a prospect of ours last year. From December on, he became a top pairing D on Lukko, a playoff Liiga team, and scored 0.6 ppg, which is the same as Esa Lindell and behind only Miro Heiskanen and Sami Vatanen in the last 10 years. All those guys turned into top 4 defensemen on cup contenders in the NHL. Then Reunanen took his play to another level in the playoffs, scoring almost a ppg and leading the entire league with 6 shots per game.

He's a really good skater. He's above-average in a straight line but where he excels is being sudden on his edges and losing defenders with sharp turns. I would agree with this characterization:



Here are a couple examples of what I mean:

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

He's also a very good passer. He's good at drawing defenders to him and then making tape to tape passes to open players and he can anticipate where players will become open. The assist above is obviously a ridiculous pass and this clip below is another example.

Finnish Jr Hockey on Twitter

He'll also skate the puck deep and find open forwards in front of the net and he's very good at moving the puck out of the defensive zone. He reminds me of DeAngelo in that basically every time he gets the puck on his stick in the defensive zone he ends up making a tape to tape pass to an open player leading to a controlled exit, even when he's under heavy pressure (Drury made the same comparison).

Finally, he has a cannon of a shot. He was the triggerman on Lukko's power play and generated a ton of points off of his shot:

Alex Nunn on Twitter

Alex Nunn on Twitter

He can walk the line and read screens too:

Alex Nunn on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Defensively he plays a style where he keeps a really tight, aggressive gap and closes aggressively on forwards trying to enter the zone or steps up and breaks up passes to enter the zone. From what I've seen, he's very effective at it. Opposing teams had a really tough time gaining the zone against him and if they dumped it in, he was great at skating back to retrieve it and making clean outlet passes with control. Furthermore, I can't recall watching him get beaten cleanly on an entry leading to a high grade scoring chance. I would bet his neutral zone / transition defense stats are really, really good. He's the kind of defenseman who, when he's at his best, doesn't give up scoring chances because his team always has the puck.

His biggest weakness, in my opinion, is his physical strength in the defensive zone. Specifically, he has a hard time clearing the front of the crease, he can get muscled off the puck in board battles, and I remember one example where Palve (who was of the best players in Liiga) was able to lean on Reunanen and muscle past him for a high end scoring chance. Still, I think it's an issue Reunanen will grow out of. Firstly, he's a 21 year old playing against men, so it's kind of expected he'd be at a disadvantage strengthwise. Secondly, he's 6', so it's not like he's undersized. Finally, his compete level is really high. He regularly started scrums in front of the net because he wouldn't stop going at forwards and he's very aggressive challenging for loose pucks.

Secondly, for as talented as he is, I think he could be more assertive in driving the offense. It's not that he's bad at it, but at times he seems content to move the puck up the ice and stay back on defense or to stand on the blue line and wait for a puck to shoot. When he pushes the pace and attacks the offense, he's really good at creating offense, as you can see above, and I think there's room for him to do more of it. He demonstrated that he can take his game to another level in the playoffs this year.

In my naive opinion, I think he's got the offensive potential to play on an NHL power play and the defensive potential to play in a contender's top 4 if he gets stronger. Given that he's already a top pairing pro defenseman at 21 and everyone his age who's performed like he has in the Liiga in recent history has made the NHL, I think there's a pretty good chance that he becomes at least a decent player. Furthermore, I'm big on prospects who improve at a high rate because I think it's reflective of good work ethic and practice habits that will lead to continued improvement and he's been our fastest rising prospect. Personally, I think he's our best prospect once you get past the first rounders, Fox, Shestyorkin, and Georgiev.

Holy shit dude, what great overview. Both from the content and it sounds very promising. Thanks! How many potential top 4 D-men do we have in the pipeline? Not even counting Trouba and DeAngelo it's probably between 5 and 10.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

From our prospects strictly, so not counting Trouba, ADA, and Skjei.

The following D-men have top 4 potential:

Miller
Lundkvist
Keane
Fox
Hayek
Rykov
Robertson
Jones
Reunanen

I'm leaving out Lidgren because he sounds more like a 5 or 6.

Am I missing someone?

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Holy shit, looking at those highlights. Why aren't more people talking about him?

 

[Joey Bones]

From our prospects strictly, so not counting Trouba, ADA, and Skjei.

The following D-men have top 4 potential:

Miller
Lundkvist
Keane
Fox
Hayek
Rykov
Robertson
Jones
Reunanen

I'm leaving out Lidgren because he sounds more like a 5 or 6.

Am I missing someone?

Day to some extent....

NYR is going to have a logjam at defense and goaltending soon

 

[SnowblindNYR]

One more question can he be our very own Klingberg? I know he's Swedish but was also a late-round find.

 

[Leetch3]

Holy ****, looking at those highlights. Why aren't more people talking about him?

the problem is how stacked our prospect blueline is...there are probably 4 guys that I feel I have ranked way too low but also feel that none of the guys ahead of them deserve to drop. so if i swapped them i'd just have a different group of 3-4 guys that should be higher. its really insane

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I've been advocating for him in the prospect vote, so I'd be happy to share my opinions having watched him 4-5x. First off, Alex Nunn (AJ Ranger) put together a good highlight video of him here:



They also did a segment on him on MSG here:



Just for background, we drafted him in the 4th round 4 years ago. He had been considered a big time prospect (he was compared to Juolevi, who went 5th overall) but dropped after getting injured his pre-draft year and missing most of the season. The next two seasons he bounced around between TPS, TPS's U20 team, and 2 different Mestis (Finnish 2nd league) teams without really sticking anywhere before he got traded to Lukko last year.

Once he got a consistent role with Lukko, he settled in and produced what I think was one of the most impressive seasons by a prospect of ours last year. From December on, he became a top pairing D on Lukko, a playoff Liiga team, and scored 0.6 ppg, which is the same as Esa Lindell and behind only Miro Heiskanen and Sami Vatanen in the last 10 years. All those guys turned into top 4 defensemen on cup contenders in the NHL. Then Reunanen took his play to another level in the playoffs, scoring almost a ppg and leading the entire league with 6 shots per game.

He's a really good skater. He's above-average in a straight line but where he excels is being sudden on his edges and losing defenders with sharp turns. I would agree with this characterization:



Here are a couple examples of what I mean:

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

He's also a very good passer. He's good at drawing defenders to him and then making tape to tape passes to open players and he can anticipate where players will become open. The assist above is obviously a ridiculous pass and this clip below is another example.

Finnish Jr Hockey on Twitter

He'll also skate the puck deep and find open forwards in front of the net and he's very good at moving the puck out of the defensive zone. He reminds me of DeAngelo in that basically every time he gets the puck on his stick in the defensive zone he ends up making a tape to tape pass to an open player leading to a controlled exit, even when he's under heavy pressure (Drury made the same comparison).

Finally, he has a cannon of a shot. He was the triggerman on Lukko's power play and generated a ton of points off of his shot:

Alex Nunn on Twitter

Alex Nunn on Twitter

He can walk the line and read screens too:

Alex Nunn on Twitter

Jokke Nevalainen on Twitter

Defensively he plays a style where he keeps a really tight, aggressive gap and closes aggressively on forwards trying to enter the zone or steps up and breaks up passes to enter the zone. From what I've seen, he's very effective at it. Opposing teams had a really tough time gaining the zone against him and if they dumped it in, he was great at skating back to retrieve it and making clean outlet passes with control. Furthermore, I can't recall watching him get beaten cleanly on an entry leading to a high grade scoring chance. I would bet his neutral zone / transition defense stats are really, really good. He's the kind of defenseman who, when he's at his best, doesn't give up scoring chances because his team always has the puck.

His biggest weakness, in my opinion, is his physical strength in the defensive zone. Specifically, he has a hard time clearing the front of the crease, he can get muscled off the puck in board battles, and I remember one example where Palve (who was of the best players in Liiga) was able to lean on Reunanen and muscle past him for a high end scoring chance. Still, I think it's an issue Reunanen will grow out of. Firstly, he's a 21 year old playing against men, so it's kind of expected he'd be at a disadvantage strengthwise. Secondly, he's 6', so it's not like he's undersized. Finally, his compete level is really high. He regularly started scrums in front of the net because he wouldn't stop going at forwards and he's very aggressive challenging for loose pucks.

Secondly, for as talented as he is, I think he could be more assertive in driving the offense. It's not that he's bad at it, but at times he seems content to move the puck up the ice and stay back on defense or to stand on the blue line and wait for a puck to shoot. When he pushes the pace and attacks the offense, he's really good at creating offense, as you can see above, and I think there's room for him to do more of it. He demonstrated that he can take his game to another level in the playoffs this year.

In my naive opinion, I think he's got the offensive potential to play on an NHL power play and the defensive potential to play in a contender's top 4 if he gets stronger. Given that he's already a top pairing pro defenseman at 21 and everyone his age who's performed like he has in the Liiga in recent history has made the NHL, I think there's a pretty good chance that he becomes at least a decent player. Furthermore, I'm big on prospects who improve at a high rate because I think it's reflective of good work ethic and practice habits that will lead to continued improvement and he's been our fastest rising prospect. Personally, I think he's our best prospect once you get past the first rounders, Fox, Shestyorkin, and Georgiev.

This is like one of the best posts ever written on this site.

 

[Harbour Dog]

This is like one of the best posts ever written on this site.

He always brings hefty research to back up his opinions!

One of my favourite posters on here for sure, whether I agree or disagree with a particular conclusion.

Keep it up @pblawr! Much appreciated.

 

[Levitate]

Holy ****, looking at those highlights. Why aren't more people talking about him?

Well they are just highlights, but in general Reunanen was kind of forgotten with the troubles he had finding a team after being drafted (and he was just a fourth round pick) and I think he even had another injury after the draft? Maybe not...

This was his first breakout season and it was kind of out of sight out of mind. Hopefully he can come in and impress.