Europe: November

Scouting Luca Cunti (posted 11.28.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

Finland was perhaps the least impressive of the four teams to face off in Pitea. They often seemed to lack structure in their game and a clear game plan. Individually, the team had a couple of stand outs, such as the crafty centre Lassi Kokkola, but overall a disappointing effort for the Finns, who came up short in pure offensive skill as well as in heart and determination, when archrival Sweden wasn't the team on the other end.

Lassi Kokkala (2007), C

Kokkola was the all-round best player of the tournament for the Finnish team, as the pivot's puck poise and general hockey sense was a notch above his team-mates. Has his main strength in his ability to read the game, anticipate what is going to happen and therefore control the pace on the ice .. very strong puck handler who always buys him self those extra seconds of time through his poise and soft hands .. excellent hockey sense and apt defensively, is definitely a two-way player in his approach .. strong passer and playmaker, but still didn't find any particular chemistry with his linemates during the tournament, mostly due to their inability to read his intentions right .. a bit a deceptive skater, with powerful strides .. need to become a notch quicker though .. not a goal scorer as he only possesses and average shot and is always looking to set up plays rather than finish them off himself .. all in all, a really solid prospect and one shouldn't be fooled by him being held scoreless in this tournament. (3-0-0-0)

Niclas Lucenius (2007), C,

Lucenuis was a part of the Finnish silver medal at last year's U18 WJC, where he made a fairly decent impression for being an underager. However, not much progression could be noticed in this showing. Centred the Finnish second line and was generally ineffective offensively .. had a tendency to over work every situation and constantly opted to attempt a flashy deke rather than making the smart and simple play, which displays sub par hockey sense .. one should give him work ethic points for trying though, but he did it in the wrong and is something that could be corrected with maturity .. is a fairly good skater, decent quickness and top speed, but not quite elite in this regard .. has a good set of raw tools, but his decision making need definite upgrade .. could grow into a decent frame and isn't afraid of traffic areas .. not intimidating in his physical game though. (3-1-1-2)

Veli-Matti Talonen (2007), D,

An almost undersized rearguard with fairly good reputation coming in to the tournament. Talonen deserves an A for effort, but not quite in execution. The smallish player tried desperately to compensate for errors in his passing game and general defensive coverage through hard work, intensity and fearless shot blocking .. easy to read with the puck for the opposing fore checkers and could act like a turn over machine when put under pressure .. displayed a real lack of confidence when handling the puck .. received quite a bit of time on the powerplay, without accomplishing much, has an average slapshot at best .. could provide decent passes when not under pressure and works hard constantly .. his lack of hockey sense and poise however makes him more of liability than an asset at his point. (3-0-0-0)

Antti Kauppila (2008), D

Decently skilled rearguard who displayed a fairly well-rounded game .. pretty good passer and does what he is supposed to do .. was used in all types of situations by the Finnish coach .. smooth skater who moves rather effortlessly along the ice, although he doesn't have that extra gear in his legs .. smart in his own end, plays it safe rather than sorry .. handles the physical part of the well, despite his fairly smallish stature .. in a weak Finnish team, Kauppila at least did his job, although he is far from a blue chip prospect. (3-0-0-0)

Eetu Poysti (2007), LW,

The Finns could have used more players like Poysti in this tournament .. he plays an up tempo, take no prisoners kind of a style, based on heart, energy and determination .. when he gets the puck, he wants to crash the net, get a shot off or generally just make something happen .. shots a lot, and has decent velocity in his shot despite the accuracy being a bit off the mark .. doesn't back down for anybody and thrive in high traffic areas .. has an aggressive approach to his game and likes to deliver good hits, even on open ice when possible .. lacks smartness and hockey sense though and his defensive coverage leaves a lot to be desired, looks a bit lost there .. puck handling ability only average. (3-0-0-0)

Antti Roppo (2007), LW,

Just like Poysti, another blue collar player who managed to make an impressions of himself on a bleak Finnish team .. is a little on the smallish side, but has a lot of intensity and heart to his game .. always battles no matter the odds and wins puck surprisingly often .. very good player in the corners and along the boards, from where he manages to create some offence .. quick skater with good first stride, but needs to improve his leg strength to keep up the pace for longer durations .. releases his wrist shot fairly quick, but also inaccurate .. has virtually no playmaking touch and only an average hockey sense. (3-1-1-2)

Jonas Alatalo (2007), D,

Was likely the Finnish player to receive most ice time in the tournament .. Alatalo were supposed to quarter back the Finnish powerplay from the blueline and did so in an apt, but not brilliant manner .. handles the puck well and has soft hands enough to eventually blossom into a good offensive defenseman .. seemed like he was held back from joining the offensive rush on many occasions though .. pretty good outlet passer, but like many other Finnish rearguards here, he looked a bit shaky under pressure .. decent accuracy on the slapshot, which he should have utilized more .. has some creativity and offensive instincts .. mobile and get where he needs to be .. has enough power in his legs to reach a solid top speed once he gets going. (3-0-0-0)

Scouting Luca Cunti (posted 11.16.06)

by Jante Abrahamsson

Scouting Luca Cunti

Review: Scored two goals and picked up an assist in Switzerland's 4-0 victory against Sweden. Was the key to the Swiss offence and was well-deserved awarded the best forward title in the tournament.

Scouting: Extremely skilled with the puck. Has a big arsenal of dekes to chose from and his hands are very soft, the puck gets glued to his blade instantly .. sees the ice well and has a polished passing game .. a strong finisher, with a quick, lethal wrist shot .. also has a knack for being in the right place as he reads the game quite well offensively .. strong skater with a smooth, fluid stride, making his speed somewhat deceptive .. good lateral movement making him quite slippery in the corners and hard to catch .. not a pro-active physical player, but doesn't hesitate to go in to high traffic areas and carries his own weight, has a decent frame to grow into as well .. creative and finds ways to make plays happen, is just a skilled as set up-man as a scorer and always keeps a good intensity level going in the offensive zone .. has some quite correctable issues with his defensive zone coverage, but is far from a lazy floater either.