RW/C Mikko Rantanen (2015, 10th, COL)
- Thread starter FinPanda
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So jealous you guys took him from us. There is no way on this planet I will ever be able to appreciate Crouse when Rantanen was so close.
The Winter Soldier
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When he gets called up, I would like to see him play top 6 mins. Those 2 goals were NHL quality goals. Very impressive.
Cousin Eddie
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21 points in 16 games now. That puts him at a pace of 29 points if he played 22 games which are the exact stats AHL leading scorer William Nylander has. Not bad.
There was alot of avs fans that wanted Crouse instead of Rantanen. Crouse is bit underrated here. He might never be offensive force like Rantanen but he is really good at everything. Crouse made it to team canada for WJC being underager and that is no easy task. I think that Rantanen might be top 5 talent of this draft maybe even 3rd best prospect. Still early to say but anything is possible.
The Iron Goalie
Formally 'OEL for Norris'
I agree with the notion of Rantanen being a top 5 talent, he's that good. Futhermore Crouse's defensive play isn't much better than Rantanen, if it is at all, and we all know which is better offensively.
Cousin Eddie
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The Winter Soldier
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I had Crouse higher than Rantanen. Right now Rantanen is more impressive(AHL trumps OHL), but I still like Crouse for his defensive game. It will be interesting watching these 2 at the Worlds. I love players with size and skill. Both have good intangibles in their games too. Couldn't go wrong with either player.
Rantanen is very good in skates and fast and with that frame 6'4/211 there is no way to stop him easily when his coming to offensive zone full speed.
The most impressive thing about Rantanen isn't him putting pucks in the net and leading his team in scoring, it's what he does without the puck on his stick, he reads the game really well and he's always in the right position to break up the pass, force a turnover and he puts himself in prime positions offensively.
The Winter Soldier
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With Landeskog on the wing on one of the Aves top 2 lines, and Rantanen on the other. The Aves diversity of size and skill will be well represented for years to come. I really like teams that build with a size and skill component.
BB88
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The Iron Goalie
Formally 'OEL for Norris'
ChicagoBullsFan
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Would be great to see what-kind damage, Rantanen will do in U20 WJC's.
That's for sure, Mikko will be Finland's important player and possibly captain.
I have tickets for Belarus and Czech Republic games, i can't wait to see this guy on the ice.
That's for sure, Mikko will be Finland's important player and possibly captain.
I have tickets for Belarus and Czech Republic games, i can't wait to see this guy on the ice.
Cousin Eddie
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I love that you guys get to have him return home for the WJC. Hope he puts on an absolute show for the home crowd. He will probably be the best player in the entire tournament. I have a feeling he will be in the NHL a few weeks after the tournament.
ChicagoBullsFan
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Probably yes.
But i think Mikko plays for San Antonio rest of the season.
Of course anything can happen so we'll see that later.
Yeah Rantanen's defensive game is quite underrated, his ability to steal pucks with superb and intelligent stick work is an extremely underrated quality to his game. Though with that said, he probably won't be better than Crouse in the defensive department. But if you consider the whole package including an offensive game that outweighs Crouse, there is a reason why I had Mikko at #4 in my rankings.
The Winter Soldier
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That's a good observation. There may be a few players picked later that have the potential of being better than any player drafted other than Mc-Eichel picked early on. I would not term anyone as being off base for having Rantanen at #4. In my own rankings I had Barzal at #5 this summer. Someone could jump up that may deserve higher billing than where they were picked. It was that type of deep draft.
Good call S E P H!
And I think that's a fair guess. Nylander has produced more (even though they're at the same pace) and he's already dominated the WJC once.
They produced the same, Rantanen will play at home and on a stacked team. Anyway find it funny that Leafs and Swedish fans have a need to post about Nylander in a thread about Mikko.
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