FIN: Hurricane Helenius

Progress reports on select Ilves Jrs players reveal a couple of standouts for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Goaltender Riku Helenius will give Niko Hovinen the run for his money as the top Finnish netminder and we have the latest analysis. Also, teammate Joonas Lehtivuori is a skilled rearguard who will be on every NHL scout's radar for the rest of the hockey season.

Riku Helenius (2006), G, Ilves Jrs.

Big, talented netminder is starting to create some buzz .. covers much of the net easily, leaving very little room to shoot at .. very hard to beat from close range .. doesn't get screen or pushed around easily .. seems to be wearing a lot of gear right now .. doesn't have the fastest feet .. can be beaten by a low, accurate shot towards the corner or the five-hole .. solid glove and blocker .. plays the puck adequately outside the crease .. an imposing figure on the goalmouth.

Joonas Lehtivuori (2006), D, Ilves Jrs.

A puck moving defender who has scouts stirring right now desperately looking for some talent for the upcoming draft .. a very skilled, smooth skater .. good balance and nice agility .. likes to skate up with the puck and join the rush .. makes crisp passes and shows impressive vision .. accurate wrister from the point but must develop a quicker release .. excels with the puck on his stick and appears to be fairly sound in his own end .. seems to time his moves on defense quite adequately, taking his man out with solid hits, but will need much better strength in his upper and lower body .. a nice, modern package of skills but still has so much growing and filling out to do.

Jan-Mikael Jarvinen (2006), C, Ilves Jrs.

A tiny pivot .. good set of hands on the puck .. impresses with vision, making intelligent passes .. looks to create chances for his wingers rather than going for the goal himself .. not very fast for a smaller player but is deceptive and sound on his turns .. is being used on both pk and powerplay situations in junior .. his size limits him in danger areas and survival skills sometimes fail him.

Juuso Anttonen (2006), W, Ilves Jrs.

A solid, hard working winger .. a diligent backchecker who marks his man effectively .. ok top speed but does not possess the smoothest skating stride nor very good balance .. not much offensive potential to write home about .. some nice passing skills but lacks that top gear that would make him dangerous beyond this level .. decent size and strength .. future checker.