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Veeti Louhivaara — 2024 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More
Veeti Louhivaara had an up-and-down season, but there's a goalie with raw potential worth taking later in the 2024 draft.
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That is pretty interesting.Louhivaara is an interesting prospect in that he was more highly regarded before a serious car accident left him with some pretty tough injuries he apparently still has yet to fully recover from.
Fitzgerald and co. are clearly banking on a full recovery in time, as goalies take years and years to develop, anyway.
It's tough to argue with a dart throw at goalies, as they are the most difficult prospects to project accurately for the draft and a good one can change the course of an entire franchise. As late as the Devils took him, it should be considered a decent pick even though the Devils had already selected a goaltender in round two.
I'm guessing we had a scout that saw a lot of him when he was healthy, and we decided to make him our dark horse pick.Overall, I can’t say I’m upset with the pick, there’s really no downside to selecting a goalie in this range. Although what I saw in limited viewings does generally look good, he’s still a pretty big unknown to me, so who knows how many layers to his game I might be missing. If I had one complaint, I’m not sure I love the pick management with this selection. I don’t really know if it was imperative to grab another goalie after just having selected Yegorov with an early 2nd rounder, particularly so when factoring in the depth of the pool as well as the need to already start shipping out assets like Schmid. It just kind of comes off as, again, a bit of a reactionary pick given how tumultuous the net was this past season. Granted, obviously, if he's making the NHL, it’ll be years and years from now, but it still feels as though Tom used this draft to load up on everything that failed us. In any case, Louhivaara is an intriguing gamble, and I look forward to seeing how he looks fully recovered.
and they had him much higher than in the 5th round.I'm guessing we had a scout that saw a lot of him when he was healthy, and we decided to make him our dark horse pick.
Louhivaara is an interesting prospect in that he was more highly regarded before a serious car accident left him with some pretty tough injuries he apparently still has yet to fully recover from.
Fitzgerald and co. are clearly banking on a full recovery in time, as goalies take years and years to develop, anyway.
It's tough to argue with a dart throw at goalies, as they are the most difficult prospects to project accurately for the draft and a good one can change the course of an entire franchise. As late as the Devils took him, it should be considered a decent pick even though the Devils had already selected a goaltender in round two.
I agree with you 100% that next year goalies should not be specifically targeted for the NJ draft as they obviously were this year.I don't mind taking a goalie - they didn't take one last year and Brennan's already looking shaky as a pro - but they should not draft one in 2025 and depending on the progress of Brennan, Yegorov, and Louhivaara, probably should not draft one in 2026. Both Yegorov and Louhivaara seem farther off from the pros than your average 2024 goalie pick.
Also I don't want to get too far into the weeds about trading Schmid but obviously he is entering his D+7, and he was traded because the crease is closed at the NHL level and there's a similar goalie in his D+6.
Thanks for that write up. Thr way you describe him it certainly sounds like there is something in his game worthy of developing. I don’t doubt NJ saw a great value in his selection given they had already taken a goalie. Sort of how they took Schmid in the fifth round but saw him as the top Euro goalie in that draft class.A goalie who spends his entire season at the U20 SM-sarja level, much less one who missed months of action due to injuries sustained in a car crash, is not particularly easy to scout. I consider myself lucky at all to have even found a couple U18 5-Nations replays that I could reference. Naturally, I don’t expect to have as good of a read on him, so I want to be up front: unlike the others, this isn’t so much an extensive report of the player as it is a discussion of what I saw across two tournament games. While I would love to have been able to outline his trajectory, or even reference his league play at all, it’s just not feasible with what I have at my disposal.
Coming in at 6’4” 207lb, Louhivaara is not just a big netminder, he presents as one, too. His stance is both upright and wide, and he has an acute understanding of his depth within the crease. He’s excellent at challenging shooters as well as cutting off angles, although I have noticed that he can occasionally misjudge his far side a bit when forecheckers are driving in wide. Still, Louhivaara generally makes very good use of his large frame.
What might be surprising, considering how big he is, is that Louhivaara excels down low. The player is excellent at dropping into a very tight butterfly and extending across the lower half of the net. Even in scrambles, he’s great at holding position down low. His post coverage is very tight as well, and while it can sometimes feel as though he’s exposing himself up high given how crouched down/anchored to the post he is, I never actually saw it burn him in my viewings.
In terms of additional hard skills, Louhivaara’s rebound control is solid. While I would like to see him a bit better at swallowing first attempts, he’s usually quite good at directing pucks out of danger. His blocker side is fine, nothing particularly noteworthy there, though his glove hand can be considered a strength. Quick, accurate reflexes, coupled with his ability to identify angles, keep his glove well positioned. I actually think there’s room for growth here, too, because I’ve noticed that when he sets up for a shot, his glove is initially turned inwards to a degree. I have to wonder if it becomes even more effective if he improves how he presents it.
Louhivaara’s tracking, particularly down low, is also very solid. The player seldom seems to lose sight of the puck, thanks to both his natural ability to follow it as well as a great willingness to fight through traffic to keep eyes on it. Although I don’t know if I can quite call it elite, his anticipation is also very good, and on at least one occasion I saw him call out to his defenders to identify a weakside option that was starting to develop.
Perhaps greatest of all, Louhivaara is tremendously poised in net. That’s not to say he won’t chop at an opponent’s legs if they get too close to his crease, but the player is always dialed into play. He’s calm, squares up well, and rarely seems to get shaken. At one point, I saw his defender make an egregious turnover right in front of him, and I observed no panic or desperation in Louhivaara’s save attempt; he was controlled, focused, and came out to challenge it like he would any other shot, totally ignoring the fact that it was coming from an uncontested slot.
The player’s athleticism is fine, particularly for his size, though I don’t know if it’s a standout feature. His mobility is a bit more of a mixed bag to me. On one side, he’s not the best skater, and his lateral movement is somewhat sluggish; if play breaks down or the shooter makes an extra move around him, he can struggle with getting across the crease in time. On the other hand, his push-offs are so strong, that as long as he isn’t already down to the ice, his skating is not functionally a weakness at that point. He can cover a ton of ice with one push, and thanks to his size and ability to gauge angles, that’s all the motion he needs to square back up with the puck.
Louhivaara is also a tremendously aggressive puckhandler. It’s not just that he loves to come out of his crease to settle pucks, he’ll also rocket them up the ice for breakout attempts. There isn’t an opportunity he won’t challenge either, for better or for worse. I’ll admit, I did see a couple impressive stretch passes, but I also witnessed multiple grade-A chances given up by his overzealousness. Clearly an encouraging template to build off of, it’s always easier to tame something like this than it is to work it up, but for now, as funny as it is to say for a goalie, the player could probably be labeled turnover prone for the number of chances I saw him give up.
Overall, I can’t say I’m upset with the pick, there’s really no downside to selecting a goalie in this range. Although what I saw in limited viewings does generally look good, he’s still a pretty big unknown to me, so who knows how many layers to his game I might be missing. If I had one complaint, I’m not sure I love the pick management with this selection. I don’t really know if it was imperative to grab another goalie after just having selected Yegorov with an early 2nd rounder, particularly so when factoring in the depth of the pool as well as the need to already start shipping out assets like Schmid. It just kind of comes off as, again, a bit of a reactionary pick given how tumultuous the net was this past season. Granted, obviously, if he's making the NHL, it’ll be years and years from now, but it still feels as though Tom used this draft to load up on everything that failed us. In any case, Louhivaara is an intriguing gamble, and I look forward to seeing how he looks fully recovered.
Thank the stars for @evnted -- at least someone around here knows how to write up a goaltending prospect.Thanks for that write up. Thr way you describe him it certainly sounds like there is something in his game worthy of developing. I don’t doubt NJ saw a great value in his selection given they had already taken a goalie. Sort of how they took Schmid in the fifth round but saw him as the top Euro goalie in that draft class.
I don't think they saw him as a number one euro goalie prospect and I hope they didn't even I think they were high on him on some stages.Thanks for that write up. Thr way you describe him it certainly sounds like there is something in his game worthy of developing. I don’t doubt NJ saw a great value in his selection given they had already taken a goalie. Sort of how they took Schmid in the fifth round but saw him as the top Euro goalie in that draft class.
Thanks for your work! Great and detailed as always. Even if I would watch more, I'm still bad in understanding goalie game.A goalie who spends his entire season at the U20 SM-sarja level, much less one who missed months of action due to injuries sustained in a car crash, is not particularly easy to scout. I consider myself lucky at all to have even found a couple U18 5-Nations replays that I could reference. Naturally, I don’t expect to have as good of a read on him, so I want to be up front: unlike the others, this isn’t so much an extensive report of the player as it is a discussion of what I saw across two tournament games. While I would love to have been able to outline his trajectory, or even reference his league play at all, it’s just not feasible with what I have at my disposal.
Coming in at 6’4” 207lb, Louhivaara is not just a big netminder, he presents as one, too. His stance is both upright and wide, and he has an acute understanding of his depth within the crease. He’s excellent at challenging shooters as well as cutting off angles, although I have noticed that he can occasionally misjudge his far side a bit when forecheckers are driving in wide. Still, Louhivaara generally makes very good use of his large frame.
What might be surprising, considering how big he is, is that Louhivaara excels down low. The player is excellent at dropping into a very tight butterfly and extending across the lower half of the net. Even in scrambles, he’s great at holding position down low. His post coverage is very tight as well, and while it can sometimes feel as though he’s exposing himself up high given how crouched down/anchored to the post he is, I never actually saw it burn him in my viewings.
In terms of additional hard skills, Louhivaara’s rebound control is solid. While I would like to see him a bit better at swallowing first attempts, he’s usually quite good at directing pucks out of danger. His blocker side is fine, nothing particularly noteworthy there, though his glove hand can be considered a strength. Quick, accurate reflexes, coupled with his ability to identify angles, keep his glove well positioned. I actually think there’s room for growth here, too, because I’ve noticed that when he sets up for a shot, his glove is initially turned inwards to a degree. I have to wonder if it becomes even more effective if he improves how he presents it.
Louhivaara’s tracking, particularly down low, is also very solid. The player seldom seems to lose sight of the puck, thanks to both his natural ability to follow it as well as a great willingness to fight through traffic to keep eyes on it. Although I don’t know if I can quite call it elite, his anticipation is also very good, and on at least one occasion I saw him call out to his defenders to identify a weakside option that was starting to develop.
Perhaps greatest of all, Louhivaara is tremendously poised in net. That’s not to say he won’t chop at an opponent’s legs if they get too close to his crease, but the player is always dialed into play. He’s calm, squares up well, and rarely seems to get shaken. At one point, I saw his defender make an egregious turnover right in front of him, and I observed no panic or desperation in Louhivaara’s save attempt; he was controlled, focused, and came out to challenge it like he would any other shot, totally ignoring the fact that it was coming from an uncontested slot.
The player’s athleticism is fine, particularly for his size, though I don’t know if it’s a standout feature. His mobility is a bit more of a mixed bag to me. On one side, he’s not the best skater, and his lateral movement is somewhat sluggish; if play breaks down or the shooter makes an extra move around him, he can struggle with getting across the crease in time. On the other hand, his push-offs are so strong, that as long as he isn’t already down to the ice, his skating is not functionally a weakness at that point. He can cover a ton of ice with one push, and thanks to his size and ability to gauge angles, that’s all the motion he needs to square back up with the puck.
Louhivaara is also a tremendously aggressive puckhandler. It’s not just that he loves to come out of his crease to settle pucks, he’ll also rocket them up the ice for breakout attempts. There isn’t an opportunity he won’t challenge either, for better or for worse. I’ll admit, I did see a couple impressive stretch passes, but I also witnessed multiple grade-A chances given up by his overzealousness. Clearly an encouraging template to build off of, it’s always easier to tame something like this than it is to work it up, but for now, as funny as it is to say for a goalie, the player could probably be labeled turnover prone for the number of chances I saw him give up.
Overall, I can’t say I’m upset with the pick, there’s really no downside to selecting a goalie in this range. Although what I saw in limited viewings does generally look good, he’s still a pretty big unknown to me, so who knows how many layers to his game I might be missing. If I had one complaint, I’m not sure I love the pick management with this selection. I don’t really know if it was imperative to grab another goalie after just having selected Yegorov with an early 2nd rounder, particularly so when factoring in the depth of the pool as well as the need to already start shipping out assets like Schmid. It just kind of comes off as, again, a bit of a reactionary pick given how tumultuous the net was this past season. Granted, obviously, if he's making the NHL, it’ll be years and years from now, but it still feels as though Tom used this draft to load up on everything that failed us. In any case, Louhivaara is an intriguing gamble, and I look forward to seeing how he looks fully recovered.
Like I said goalies are taking way too long now, so you can really draft your player for the future far away from now.I agree with you 100% that next year goalies should not be specifically targeted for the NJ draft as they obviously were this year.
NJ has invested in multiple goaltending prospects at myriad ages and its time to concentrate on developing these kids, and also to redirect scouting resources into finding some quality forwards, especially centers.
NJ can pick Russian defenders like nobody else and they can hit on later forwards but no goalies is odd. Must be a scouting issue?I don't think they saw him as a number one euro goalie prospect and I hope they didn't even I think they were high on him on some stages.
I think pick is normal. I woukd prefer other players but still its okay. For example Daws was overager, for now its his 5th post draft season and he still isn't even regular backup. And it doesn't mean we don't have hopes. Taking 5-6-even 8 years for goalies to develop from 18 is nothing special in modern context. So taking goalie and forget about him for 4-5 years. Malek was drafted as overager, it will be his 4th season after the draft and he will play in Liiga as I remember. Of course he will play his 5th season in AHL.
So its a long term plan.
Thanks for your work! Great and detailed as always. Even if I would watch more, I'm still bad in understanding goalie game.
Like I said goalies are taking way too long now, so you can really draft your player for the future far away from now.
If they like the goalie they should draft him, especially if he can stay in Russia, develop his game and not asking to sign for the rights perspective.
But they don't draft from Russia so who cares. From this point they don't need to invest in goalies.
Fitz who isn't drafting goalies from the best developing programs is interesting case. When his neighbors are cashing on Sorokin and Shestyorkin, a couple of other eastern southern teams won it on the shoulders of Vasilevskiy and Bobrovskiy with a couple of Vezinas on the way(both played in the last FIVE FINALS in a rоw, Carolina found their future goalie in Kochetkov, flyers drafted and waiting how Kolesov is developing and how greatly Zavragin is looking now at his stage, when Columbus has intriguing goalie in Ivanov and may be Tarsov Pittsburgh has intriguing goalie prospect in Murashov. Even Montreal drafted their goalie with potential Volokhin.
But Fitz is continuing to ignore absolutely the best system of goalie development. And Yegorov can't be labeled as a complete student of this system because he will not work with best goalie coaches of pro teams and will not play in games and on trainings with/against second best pros for years. I still have hopes for Yegorov because he learned base.
Its not about him, its about Fitz who surrounded by opponents with actual goalie stars from specific environment and with goalie prospects with really high potential like Zavragin or with high potential like Ivanov.
Fitz who saw how his team was outgoalied many times and he was vocal about this problem and made MANY goalie moves in his tenure. Signed Crawford, Bernier, traded Vanecek, Allen, Kahkonen(let's say traded Blackwood and Vanecek away), Markstrom, drafted Daws, Malek, Brennan, Yegorov, Louhivaara. Its a lot of moves for four seasons. It should stress him and spending 1st and 2nd for two older goalies in the same season means it stress him a lot.
Its interesting why he is continuing to stay on his curse.
Which Russian defender hit though so far ? All minus Misyul aren't really too close to playing in the NHL.NJ can pick Russian defenders like nobody else and they can hit on later forwards but no goalies is odd. Must be a scouting issue?
That’s fair but Mukhamadullin is on the cusp as is Misyul. Others seem to be tracking well. I think Mukhamadullin alone shows they know what they are doing when it comes to Russian defenders. He was called a number of mean things from a reach to a moron. NJ was right about him as shown by SJ wanting him.Which Russian defender hit though so far ? All minus Misyul aren't really too close to playing in the NHL.
I dont know what does it mean, but they shouldnt. Defensemen are taking time, they were drafted few years ago. And they dont need to be sign - its advantage. Especially with their level of talent.Which Russian defender hit though so far ? All minus Misyul aren't really too close to playing in the NHL.
I have been able to watch a fair amount of Michigan games the past few years. You could see what Luke could do and what he needed to work on. That was also true for Casey. Edwards on the other hand was tougher to evaluate. He really never stood out to me in NCAA games but the one time I watched him in a product camp game he jumped off the screen. His skating was much better than anything the showed in college games.I dont know what does it mean, but they shouldnt. Defensemen are taking time, they were drafted few years ago. And they dont need to be sign - its advantage. Especially with their level of talent.
Mukhamadullin? Whats about him?
Did you watch recent camp and who was there?
What about Edwards or McCarthy? Whats about their rights? How Bernard, Chainey, Vukoevich, Hurtig are performing? Are they close to NHL? Are they talented enough to play top pair role at least in AHL?
Who is closer to NHL? Cheslock or Karpovich who was drafted later on the same draft?
It’s a bad question without any context. I gave you more questions with more context.
I like Edwards as a B/C level prospect. But it doesnt look like he is closer to NHL now as Mukhamadullin from the same draft. And he is close to be free agent. Misyul is already in AHL. Other russian defensemen are from 2022 and 2023 drafts.I have been able to watch a fair amount of Michigan games the past few years. You could see what Luke could do and what he needed to work on. That was also true for Casey. Edwards on the other hand was tougher to evaluate. He really never stood out to me in NCAA games but the one time I watched him in a product camp game he jumped off the screen. His skating was much better than anything the showed in college games.
I would say I’m not a big fan of drafting Centers from Russia. Vertical system is very good for development but there is a problem where talented centers are forcing to play in bigger club, but it’s harder for them to play competent on the center position with all of their duties. KHL is about winning, reason why clubs are not so toleranted for mistakes las most NHL clubs who are compete for more. It’s always fun to read about how KHL clubs don’t like their young players. They LOVE them. It’s not NHL clubs who are making money and pay 50% to their players. KHL clubs have their systems, they are hiring coaches for players of different age. They are riding them all over the world. And everything they have is literally their hockey students right from the deep childhood. But better clubs with more money and better systems have better prospects,better young and older players on different levels, reason why competition is harder, expectations are higher. And a lot of talented players are playing against older competition on different level and it’s more realistically to compete on the wing.Edwards won't break through the logjam of prospects here but that's more about our depth than anything about him. He could be an excellent 5-7th D if he keeps working at it. I hope he turns pro, we could use him in Utica and help him develop, it's worth it if we get assets for him.
Russia is such an advantage. The KHL being so strong allows players to literally play in the equivalent - or maybe even superior - league to the old WHA, a competing professional league. With the recent changes about the disentanglement of the KHL from the Russian government, there's even less reason to worry about "the Russian factor". As you've pointed out, Guadana - the NCAA is rising in prominence for great players and it's much the same thing. Russian players may decide to stay in KHL and not come. NCAA players may decide to stay in NCAA and be a free agent. There are no guarantees!
But no doubt KHL has the best goalie development right now. I'm puzzled as to why we didn't take a goalie or two that's in that system. Great players there, albeit like many leagues below NHL, some smaller players shine that can't shine here, so scouting is still important.
How come the guy who speaks English as a secondary language is the only one who recognizes my genius? What’s the matter with the rest of you morons?You know all of the answers.
I can look at it from a different angle. We are generally standing upside down relative to each other now.How come the guy who speaks English as a secondary language is the only one who recognizes my genius? What’s the matter with the rest of you morons?
Well yeah. The upside down angles probably help refract my intellectual brilliance in such a way that mere mortals can comprehend it. That’s still no excuse for the other posters.I can look at it from a different angle. We are generally standing upside down relative to each other now.
You went out of context. We were talking about Russian defensemen we drafted. Shakir was the only one who really amounted to anything so far and he isn't with this team.I dont know what does it mean, but they shouldnt. Defensemen are taking time, they were drafted few years ago. And they dont need to be sign - its advantage. Especially with their level of talent.
Mukhamadullin? Whats about him?
Did you watch recent camp and who was there?
What about Edwards or McCarthy? Whats about their rights? How Bernard, Chainey, Vukoevich, Hurtig are performing? Are they close to NHL? Are they talented enough to play top pair role at least in AHL?
Who is closer to NHL? Cheslock or Karpovich who was drafted later on the same draft?
Its a bad question without any context. I gave you more questions with more context.