Simontaival returned to play after short injury. He didn’t play much, but he was able to score and he recorded five shots, clearly a sign that he is willing to use his solid shot.

For the most part, he wasn’t as good as I expected. His skating seemed average and together with his small size, to me it is pretty concerning. He is willing to go into tight spaces and he actually has some muscles for a player of his size, but due to his size, he is pretty often knocked off the puck. He also has offense-first mentality being  a bit lazy at the own end as he mostly seems to think about counter-attacking at the own end.

Despite the negatives, Simontaival has a lot of good offensive qualities. As mentioned, his shot is solid. He has excellent puck-handling skills capable of making a lot of excellent moves with the puck. Also his offensive vision is undeniable and he gave solid passes all game long.

Simontaival got a primary assist with a crisp saucer pass in Tappara’s 3-2 loss against JYP. He was playing in Tappara’s first line alongside Kristian Tanus. Simontaival was not at his best in this game, as he was mostly playing without the puck for the entire game. His skating looked good, although he could be a bit quicker. Despite not being the biggest player on the ice, he was not afraid to battle in the corners and lay a couple of good hits. On the power play, he was positioned in the left side and got off a couple of powerful one-timers. Simontaival is also pretty smart and showed that he can deliver accurate and clever passes.

Simontaival played 17 minutes and had three assist in a 5-8 loss against Pelicans. He played on the second line which was arguably their best. He also played the half-wall position on the top power play unit.

Simontaival showed his great speed and puck-handling skills many times. He was hurt twice in the game, both times ending his shift early because of it. But he came back the next shift and delivered very good and clean hits to clear out the anger.

Simontaival played on the top line for Tappara U20, and he was also used at the half-wall on their power play.

Had some great rushes where he showed he can make great plays with the puck at top speed. He’s small but seemed to be capable of handling himself against bigger and older competition. Made some mistakes which is understandable considering his age.

Made couple of smart defensive decisions as well but at this point, his game seems to be mostly just speed and offense. But luckily he has plenty of both.

Simontaival was one of the best players on the ice when Tappara and HIFK met in the Junior B final game. The 16-year-old forward played in Tappara’s first line and got to the scoresheet with one goal and one assist as Tappara lost the game 3-4.

Simontaival’s skills are obvious. Even though he is smaller than most of the opponents, he was very hard to take off the puck because of his pure skills with both the stick and the skates. He is also surprisingly strong for a player of his size, especially his lower-body strength shows in board battles.

The forward’s biggest strengths are his offensive skills. His vision is high-end, and he set up great scoring chances for his linemates in every other shift.

While he isn’t bad defensively, that side of the game needs a lot of work. He is occassionaly a bit lazy in the own end and seems to be just floating around trying to go on a rush.

While Finland suffered a 0-2 loss to Czech Republic, Kasper Simontaival logged 20 minutes and 17 seconds of ice time, gaining the second most ice time of the team’s forwards. On his first shifts of the game, Simontaival created a decent scoring chance and laid a hit in the defensive zone.

The 15-year-old forward was eager with the puck and dangled a couple of times through the Czech defence, showing also his physicality near the boards. Through the first period, Simontaival was one of the most dangerous Finnish forwards with the combination of decent speed, hands and craftiness.

While the Finns had the puck in their own end, Simontaival carried his defensive responsibilities and kept the passing lanes open. However, he was on the ice when the Czechs opened the scoring. Finland’s goaltender Kari Piiroinen was left alone with a Czech forward, and Simontaival didn’t put much back pressure during the scoring chance that eventually led to the goal.

Simontaival was on the Finland’s first power-play unit, but in the second period the Finn was a bit invisible despite of some power play time. In the third period he showed his playmaking capabilities on the power play by finding passing lanes and shooting once close to the point. During 5-on-5, Simontaival was efficient with the puck, but off-puck he lacked a bit of mobility and aggressiveness.

Simontaival scored four goals and two assists in a 7-4 win for Tappara U16. He is a high volume shooter who can really rip it with a hard slap shot, one-timer or wrister. His shot also features very good accuracy. He can make smart plays under pressure and use his teammates properly. He had good speed and protected the puck well in the offensive zone. Despite being a smaller player, he was tenacious and played a solid physical game. He finished some hits and managed well along the boards. He read the play really well away from the puck, had numerous takeaways and often got in the right position to intercept plays.

His draft year is a few years away, but the 2002 born prospect is highly talented and without doubt a player to keep an eye on.