Finland Prospect Report
Maatta doesn't yet have a regular spot on Blues blueline. He's played four
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games out of five, and has yet to record a point. If things don't change for
him, the Sharks might want to bring him to the AHL for next season, just like
the Devils did with Mikko
Jokela. Of course Maatta is still young, and the season has only just started,
but it looks like he isn't developing with Espoo.
One player who has developed in the Blues system is Stars’ prospect Teemu
Elomo. He is leading the team with seven points in five games. He is a little
smaller than his brother Miika, but is a better goal scorer.
Ruutu has had a good start. He has registered at least one point in each
of his six first games and now has seven points (6-2-5-7). It really looks like
he made the right move when he didn't sign with Blackhawks this summer. His
last season was not as good as expected, however, now he is getting a lot of
icetime with IFK Helsinki, including plenty of power play duty. He has shown
some offensive flair playing as a second-line left winger or center, and now
must only continue to work on his game in own end to complete the package.
Ducks recent pick Jonas
Vihko has had a good start, posting a point-per-game average. He is very
fast and skilled, and although he likes to hit people, he might just be a little
too small for the NHL. Big defensemen could do some damage to him along the
boards if he continues to play the way he does now.
HPK's first line of Antti
Miettinen, Tommi
Santala and Eero
Somervuori have not yet played as well as they should. Miettinen underwent
shoulder surgery this summer and missed the preseason, while Santala is currently
sidelined, serving a five-game suspension for cross-checking Jokerit's Antti
Aalto.
Puurula has been solid, and Hannu
Toivonen got his first start and also fared well. HPK is taking a big risk
with using two inexperienced goalies, but so far it hasn't been a problem.
Nissinen also played his first SM-liiga games because of an injury to Ilves
starter Bruce Racine. Nissinen has played four games, but the team hasn't played
too well, so his numbers have suffered as a result.
Niinimaki had a minor injury and has played only two games, so there is
not yet much to write about.
Lehtonen has had a solid start. He has played all of Jokerit's games. No
spectacular performances yet, but he doesn't always have that much work to do.
Bergenheim has been a pleasant surprise with three points in six games.
So, right now he seems to have better skills than people usually give him credit
for. He has certainly outplayed Devils’ prospect Teemu
Laine to this point in the season.
Malmivaara has played regularly on Jokerit's 3rd pair. He is a big guy,
but he really has to learn how to use his size better, as he is still too easily
pushed around.
Jokerit's ex-NHLers Antti-Jussi Niemi and Jukka
Hentunen both had operations during the summer, and although they haven’t
yet fully recovered, have been among the best players on the team.
Jokinen had a great preseason playing with Karpat's imports, Brett Lievers
and Andrei Potaitchuk. He has only two assists so far, but I still believe that
this could be a good season for him.
Pitkanen has been a bit disappointing with just two points in fives games.
There has been some talk that Pitkanen wanted to sign with the Flyers this summer,
and that he might be a little arrogant now that he has to stay another year.
The situation reminds me of the one Karpat had with Janne Niinimaa a few years
back. He didn’t get much icetime in Oulu (a tier 2 club back then) and
moved to Jokerit, where he starred before signing with the Flyers.
Koivisto was great at the Panthers’ rookie camp, but has no points
so far in SM-Liiga action. Lukko appears to have a strong team, which may reduce
the amount of quality icetime he receives this season.
Luoma had to skip a national team tournament because of back problems, but
he has played all of Tappara's games. He is now back at 100% health with four
points and a plus-6 rating after just six games.
Koivu has three points in five games so far, which is almost half of what
he accumulated all of last season (48-4-3-7). He is the leading scorer among
the centers on his team, and appears to finally to be finding his comfort level
in the senior circuit.
SM-Liiga player stats