Siikanen, who the Edmonton Oilers selected in the 7th round of the 2018 draft, scored a beautiful goal with a hard wrist shot off the rush and also got a primary assist in Blues’ 2-6 win over JYP. He was playing on Blues’ second line and was also featured on the second power play combination.

Siikanen is a big-bodied winger who utilizes his size and skill to create offense. He was able to dangle through defenders on quite a few occasions and displayed decent vision on his passing plays. He also showed very good release on the goal he scored. The big concern with Siikanen is his skating. His acceleration and foot speed seemed both very average for a U20 level, which is not a good sign. His production has also been rather underwhelming for an already-drafted prospect.

Siikanen had successful game against Switzerland and he got two goals. He got the first one after getting the puck in front of net and despite the pressure from Swiss defenders, he was able to move the puck in. Later on he steered Anttoni Honka’s shot to the net.

I think the biggest concern with Siikanen is his skating. He is not slow when he gets his feet going but his overall mobility, agility and first steps are not on the required level. On the offensive side he has fairly good skills. He can protect the puck and he knows where to go, but he lacks sharpness. Also his passing game left a lot to be desired. Often his passes didn’t connect or went directly to the opponent’s skates and those situations caused some unnecessary giveaways.

But as the goals highlighted, he is really good in front of the net. Siikanen is big and strong player for this level. And even though I would like to see more physicality from him, he already utilizes his size well.