FWIW, plenty of terrible skaters produced good numbers in the CHL in recent years. You dont even have to look far, we had a wealth of them on our own roster and one guy who we just drafted, McShane, went ppg despite having some of the worst mechanics Ive seen for this year.
Kotkaniemi's skating isn't pretty, but he gets where needs to be and its not the issue some are trying to make it. I'm saying this as someone who does value speed and skating quite a bit. One thing that I don't understand is why singling him out as a player who benefits from time and space ? If anything, that would describe some of the guys we drafted out of the CHL. I'd say the opposite personnally: one thing that's endearing about JK is that his standout skills are translatable: strong down low, high compete and 2nd efforts, quick hands in tight, accurate shot from the slot, excellent use of Ds as screens, quick to find the open players.
And, if were talking production. Well, he had the 7th all time highest points this season for a player his age in Liifa. Think about Zadina, who was his age last year playing in Extraliga and struggling to get a point.
Another thing to keep in mind is his 5 nations performance on an NHL rink. The production didn't match how good he was, especially for a player who hadnt been a center in months. But, he was creating chances all over and after an adjustement period, he wrecked the Swedes. Its on hockeytv if you ever want to watch it.
