Rantanen deserves a thread, but I think the team that drafts him in the first round will be disappointed...
RW/C Mikko Rantanen (2015, 10th, COL)
- Thread starter FinPanda
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Jack DiBiase
Team Iceland Coach
- Nov 15, 2008
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Still waiting for that first goal......I dont know what people see in this guy. Doesnt deserve his own thread.
Rantanen has been playing great overall game, like JJTT said. I saw the game against Ilves and Rantanen showed some very nice mature two way game. Sadly for him, the new coach doesn't give much role to the youngsters.
He is a project player. If he gets picked in the later part of the 1st round in to a good team with patience in developmenting prospects, he is a good pick. EDIT: A team like The Hawks would be a perfect match. Rantanen simply has way too much upside to be passed in the first round.
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I disagree. He will fall to the later rounds. Rantanen has no NHL-future IMO.
Nalyd Psycho
Registered User
The problem with comparing him to other Finnish busts is that nationality does not determine playing style. His combination of size and hockey sense gives him a decent floor as long as he can keep up. Hes a weird blend of floor and upside. He has high upside, a decent downside, but the odds weigh towards the downside.
OttMorrow
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Jack DiBiase
Team Iceland Coach
- Nov 15, 2008
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Because some kids pay too much attention to stats, instead of watching the games. If Rantanen played in a major Canadian junior league, he would easily score 1,5 PPG. He has produced well against his age group at the international levels.
This is spot on.
I am just very concerned about his awful finishing. There have been too many cases where he should have scored but he did not. The playmaking has not been too impressive either. In the NHL you have to have instincts to score, if Rantanen can only score against juniors, he will have to turn into a defensive grinder to have any NHL career. I feel that size is overvalued in prospects, and Rantanen is ranked in the first round mostly because of it.
I would send him to Mestis to regain some confidence.
Jack DiBiase
Team Iceland Coach
- Nov 15, 2008
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Chill out. The kid just turned 18 a few weeks ago. The entire team has been a complete disaster, so you can't really expect a kid to stand out in the crowd and doing everything by himself.
Tell that to guys like Henrik Sedin and Joe Thornton. Rantanen's instincts are in his playmaking and creating chances for his linemates. He will never become a goal hungry sniper. Also his defensive and two-way play has been improving a lot, so I can still see him having an NHL role even if he never finds him point scoring ways.
Obviously the scouts and GMs of 30 NHL teams disgree with you, so maybe you should apply for a job!
Wouldn't be a bad idea for his development, but keep in mind that the Liiga is not a development league, but a professional league. TPS can't afford to send him down when they don't have anyone to replace him. He is still a valuable part of the team even when he is not scoring goals.
Even though TPS lost the game against Tappara, I think Rantanen had a pretty solid game overall. Nice assist on the 2-0 goal by Kumeliauskas.
FinPanda
Barkov Stanley cup champ!
First goal for Rantanen this season in Liiga. Too bad his team lost 7-1. All the goals came in 3rd period.
Jack DiBiase
Team Iceland Coach
- Nov 15, 2008
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Too bad his team is completely lost at this point. I'm starting to get a feeling he is turning into a 2nd round steal for some team due to TPS being so crappy. Unless he breaks the bank at World Juniors.
KalPa had a horrible season last year and Kapanen still went in the 1st round. That's despite the fact that he had injuries, performed inconsistently and had a really poor showing at the WU18C's.
There's no need to be worried about Rantanen's draft stock as long as he stays healthy and keeps his effort level up.
Seriously though, nice steal.
McGlassbangers
Registered User
First time I've seen Rantanen play and he was definitely Finland's best skater. Looked like a man among boys in the puck battles, good skating, good stickhandling, very good puck protecting.
Was super impressed today. Not even the goal, he looked like Voracek out there the way he protected the puck. Made lots of smart plays.
Marc the Habs Fan
Moderator
Considering some of the negative comments in this thread, I was expecting to be underwhelmed. It was far from the case, kid played a very heady game with the puck against a high end opponent.
He was really impressive. A guy whose value is on the ice, not on sheets. Ive been unfortunate to have little exposure to him this season so hes kind of an unknown and therefore for me a player to watch without bias. Hes been great for Finland, almost like a winger version of Barkov how he plays keep away using hise size and intelligence. Colour me impressed.
FinPanda
Barkov Stanley cup champ!
kelsier
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- Aug 17, 2013
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The goal just reminds me of the one Barkov scored last season. Doesn't look like he was even trying to make a pass since there was a line change going. Crafty move. Rantanen needs to work on his shot. He could very well become a really effective first line winger in the NHL one day, but you need to be able to get on the score sheet on regular basis (preferably with "g" instead of an "a"). Still pissed off for Ikonen blowing off the empty netter with a few seconds remaining of the game, that cost a point.
I think he said in the interview that it (the goal) was an accident. And his pass to ikonen wasn`t accurate enough as it was into the skates and that`s why ikonen couldn`t shoot a onetimer.
kelsier
Registered User
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Ah very well. Good fortune then and the goal was worth a point so we'll take it anyway. Yeah the pass wasn't great but some guys would have netted that regardless.
If you are referring to the last chance in OT, It was Hintz who made the pass to Ikonen if i remember correctly?
Second unit was
Hintz-Kalapudas-Aho
Puljujärvi-Lyytinen
Rantanen hasn't been very good with the national team this year, while Kalapudas and Aho have played well.
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