Puutio, the 1^st overall selection in the 2019 CHL Import Draft, was on the Finland’s top defensive pair with Eemil Viro (2020). Puutio is a slick and poised defenseman, whose best single attribute is his skating. He also operates the puck under the pressure with calmness.

The Finn can chase down the opponents with his skating. He is tough to get through. Puutio’s skating is smooth and his lateral movement is agile. He changes the balance from one leg to another with ease. His first strides are strong, which allows quick acceleration. His edge work is excellent, and it brings certain shiftiness to his game.

The Finn’s vision is strong and his passing is solid. The combination of excellent skating and vision makes Puutio’s game effective on today’s hockey standards. His anticipation is also well better than average.

Puutio had smooth transitions from the defensive zone to the neutral zone. He also appeared on the power play and made good first passes throughout the game. Puutio used his stick well to cover the opponent’s passing lanes. He also used his body to narrow the opponent’s shooting angle.

Occasionally, he hammered the puck out of the d-zone while under pressure. There could have been better passing lanes open if he had waited longer. This isn’t an issue as Puutio’s decision making should get better over the years.

The 17-year-old can be seen a bit undersized, but in the modern NHL that’s not an issue whatsoever. He competes hard for his size too.

Puutio had a good game and was arguably Finland’s best defender playing in the top defensive pairing alongside Joona Lehmus. He was also featured on the second power play unit and on the penalty kill.

Like the whole Finnish team, Puutio had his struggles defensively. In a few situations, his speed skating backwards was exposed by Canada’s quick forwards, but I thought his positional game in the defensive zone was rather decent. Puutio also showed some nice offensive upside, even though his team was mostly defending for large parts of the game. He particularly impressed me with his strong and accurate opening passes, which were especially on point in the first period.