Fin Draft Spotlight: Joonas Kemppainen 06

Team Finland won a bronze medal at the Under-18 Junior World Cup in Slovakia and the Czech Republic this past August. According to McKeen's chief correspondent Robert Neuhauser, forward Joonas Kemppainen, ranked No. 73 on our Top 100 rankings, showed the best pro potential among the Finnish performers eligible for next summer's draft.

Joonas Kemppainen (2006), C/LW, Assat Pori

Scouting: a decent skater for a big man, but adding more speed would make him even more effective .. adequate first-step quickness and acceleration .. average agility .. solid balance and lower-body strength .. doesn't get knocked off his skates too often though could still use higher top-end speed .. a tricky puckhandler - can maneuver with the puck in tight spaces without losing possession however doesn't use this asset frequently enough .. good in one-on-one situations .. should learn to drive to the net harder .. once in the offensive zone, he tends to look for an open teammate more than shooting the puck .. solid passing skills and creativity .. returns back to his own zone and helps out the defense regularly .. adept at shutting down the passing lanes as a checker .. likes to have the puck and start offensive raids .. could use a faster release on both his wrist and slapshots .. blessed with a big body, however doesn't use it to his advantage that often .. needs to be more physically assertive.

U18 Jr World Cup Review: finished among Team Finland's scoring leaders with a pair of goals (tied for second) and three points (third) .. battled the American defense well in the tournament opener against Team USA, creating chances by just shooting the puck .. registered some off-shifts in the game against Slovakia, though he did excel in one-on-one situations and generated some good offense .. a solid force at both ends of the ice in the first game against Russia .. turned in a smart and creative effort in the bronze-medal game against Russia .. emerged as the player with the most pro potential among all Finnish tournament members at this event.