Roby Järventie was moved from Ilves U20 junior team to Mestis (the second highest league in Finland) to play against grown-up men. He played as a first line winger, got chance to play in power play and he eventually totaled four shots with close to 15 minutes of ice time.

Watching the performance of Järventie gives usually very mixed feelings and the same goes with this performance. On the other hand, he actually has pretty good wheels, above average shot and he has really good hands making him really good at one-on-ones. His puck protection is really good thanks to his size and skill. But on the other hand, he still seems lazy and he seems to lack sharpness when he is defending, checking or is off the puck. To me, he also floats around too much.

I would not say that he wouldn’t have toolbox however. Even though he looks disinterested at times, doesn’t utilize his team mates properly and tries to make it happen all by himself, he shows flashes of hockey IQ. On the other shift he might lose the puck because of yet another unnecessary deke, but during the next shift he might give couple of excellent passes. Järventie is also really good at finding the shooting lanes which also indicates his ability to read the game.

It is really hard to predict Järventie due to his visible weaknesses as well as consistency issues, but he definitely has interesting tools and his future depends on how well he will learn to use these tools.

Järventie played left wing on the second line for Ilves. He was also running their top power play from the right half-wall. He played a total of 12 minutes in the game.

Järventie showed good speed with the puck, and good hands in some 1-on-1 situations. He scored with just one second left in the game, showing his good shot in that situation. He also had a partial breakaway earlier in the game but he failed to score from it.

Järventie has a great toolbox but his overall lack of effort is keeping him from being as good as he could be right now. He was very passive in the defensive zone, and even looked a bit disinterested at times. Hopefully he can figure out how good he could be because his combination of size, skills and hockey sense could make a dominant player.

Järventie recorded 19:05 of ice time as a 2nd line left wing when Ilves lost to KalPa after shootout in the Junior A league. Järventie played in Ilves’ first power play unit.

The 16-year-old winger scored a goal in the first period after he read the game well, intercepted a defenceman’s stretch pass and drove to the net. He also got a chance in the shootout but failed. He flashed his skilled hands a few times and was eagerly forechecking constantly.

Järventie is a big-bodied player for his age. His strengths show almost almost solely with the puck. His stick-handling and passing are on a good level. Due to his age, he is still quite raw physically.

He seems to have good instincts in the offensive zone, but in the own end his playuing and positioning are often insufficient.

His usage also caught my eye as it was very sheltered. He was used almost solely in the offensive zone face-offs.

Järventie got a goal against KooKoo. He got himself into breakaway and succeeded to score with quick wrist shot. This was his third goal and sixth point in ten games this season.

Järventie has pretty good offensive skill set. His passes are quick and accurate, his stickhandling is really nice and he protects the puck well. Unfortunately he was outside the play for the most part and he was mostly able to use his offensive talent during the power play. I also think he should be much more active at the defensive zone. He was occasionally already in the neutral zone looking for offense even though the puck would be at the own end. However he showed couple of times that he can be efficient at the own end too. He just needs to be more consistent in that aspect.

The forward has pretty good size already and he should become even more dangerous when he fills up his frame. Järventie is also a smooth skater with a really powerful stride and he was able to get past the defenders just by using his speed. His overall game needs some refining, but since he was the youngest player on ice, this is something that was to be expected. He needs to get some consistency but with his skills, Järventie should improve greatly in the future.

Järventie made an immediate impact in his first games for the national team. He put up one goal and three assists, including the game winner in a 7-4 win over Sweden. He played on the first line and also got power play time during the tournament. He was one of the top forwards on the competitive Finnish team.

Järventie’s skating is a great mixture of agility and fluidity. The skilled Ilves forward is a smooth skater with an effective stride. The other aspects of his game that stood out most were his vision and passing. One of his assists was a great set up from below the dots. Has smooth hands and the ability to make pinpoint passes in the offensive zone. His offensive skills could translate well for the higher levels.