U20 Four-Nations: Finland
Scouting reports for the top Finnish participants such as Lauri Tukonen, Lauri Korpikoski and Risto Korhonen. Coming soon - scouting on Russia and the winning Czech squad.
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Really solidifying himself as a strong defensive presence, but offensive upside is ambiguous .. skates adequately for a big guy - decent laterally, but with very good balance .. has a nice wingspan and a long reach .. not very creative with the puck; prefers to dish off rather than look for a passing lane .. does not take a lot of risks .. strong on his skates, good positionally and takes the body conscientiously.
Defensive lapses stained an otherwise good showing .. a good agile skater with a quick first step .. does not have very strong legs and lacks balance .. showed a lively shot from the point with tippable crispness .. loves the shoot the puck and is effective an a point man .. passing skills are surprisingly ordinary and vision is questionable .. made some bad errors with the puck .. defensive zone coverage is lacking .. does not stay with his man well enough, but shows respectable work ethic.
Miika Lahti, F
Not a smooth skater but effective and deceptively quick .. a dependable two-way player .. small, but pretty strong .. average puck skills .. a mainstay as a penalty killer.
An interesting player surprises with excellent playmaking skills .. lacks a good first step to be an above-average skater .. struggles to catch up with transitional play often .. good puck skills; okay hands .. does not shoot the puck much .. play in traffic, but is skinny.
Valtteri Tenkanen, F, Los Angeles Kings
Good wheels and fine footspeed .. beats d-men wide with quick wheels .. crafty; has excellent stickhandling skills and exhibited impressive hand-eye coordination .. sets up his linemates very instinctively and wisely .. finds the open man with an almost natural instinct for the creative and the unexpected .. slap shot is good, but rarely used .. size is a drawback in heavy traffic .. nonetheless never looks intimidated.
Lauri Tukonen, F, Los Angeles Kings
Can’t say he disappointed, but he’s not broken through offensively as some have expected .. a good skater, but is not smooth; not really a pretty skater, but gets from point A to point B .. has soft hands and good positional smarts .. vision is a bit questionable; he often overlooks passing lanes when with the puck, but that’s not because he overhandles the puck .. a good, tight forechecker.
Lauri Korpikoski, F, New York Rangers
At times he was quite simply the best Finn out there, but on a few shifts his energy level went down and he was not as visible .. a very sharp skater with terrific change of pace .. lower body strength impresses; he’s gotten stronger on skates .. astounds with flash-and-dash moves with the puck; befuddles defensemen with dekes and fakes .. has a nice wrister, but is not a great in-close finisher .. not terribly physical, but did not fade in traffic situations.
Has strong wheels, quick feet and accelerates well .. exhibited nifty one-on-one moves .. if he were a few inches taller, he would be a nice prospect .. too finesse and a non-factor in traffic .. a good playmaker and is crafty with the puck .. shooting skills are mediocre at best.
Jarmo Jokila, F
Went undrafted in the past draft and it was obvious why; he’s small and he gets outmuscled in physical action .. regardless he showed a nice repertoire of quickness, good puck poise and competitiveness .. uses his linemates well .. mostly a finesse player, but he competes hard .. exhibited good vision with the puck and skates well with it at top speeds.
Big man has a powerful stride and is a well-balanced skater, although agility is mostly rough .. skated on the first line with Tukonen and Korpikoski, mostly clearing space for the two dynamos .. has some nifty moves with the puck .. slapper is hard, but not accurate .. hands are only average .. works hard along the boards and digs for the pucks, but is not punishing .. has a spacious body and a nice wingspan.