FinnProspects

– “Kotkaniemi is skilled, hard-working and mobile forward who still needs to bulk up and improve his skating. He showed really good work ethic and excellent vision in U18 World Championship as a center and I would like to see him playing in that position next season.” -Asko Huuki

– “The total package with terrific vision and passing skills. Highly competitive, physically strong and defensively reliable. Skating needs some work, but it won’t hold him back in the NHL.” – Marco Bombino

– “Kotkaniemi has all the tools to become a dominant yet agile and skilled centerman who is constantly ahead of his opponents in the offensive zone. His offensive game is close to elite: he can shoot, make plays and generate offence at a high rate by himself. He also uses his stick and positioning effectively while back checking.” – Markus Suhonen

– “A very complete player with no real weaknesses. Skating used to be a concern with him, but it’s good enough to not hold him back from making a career as a top-6 center in the NHL.” – Miika Arponen

– “Kupari is a slick combination of skating, playmaking skills and shooting. His skating is one of his strongest assets. His quick yet powerful lateral skating surprises many opponents and makes him very effective during transition plays and in the offensive zone.” – Markus Suhonen

– “I think Kupari has a lot of unused potential. He has excellent tools: he is a fantastic skater, has excellent hands and good work ethic and does a lot of smart plays off the puck. However at this point he is more flashy than efficient because he hasn’t quite figured out yet how to use his assets efficiently.” – Asko Huuki

– “Kupari is a bit of a wild card in this year’s draft. His upside is almost sky-high with his very good skating abilities and crafty hands, but on the other hand he has yet to really fulfilled his potential. It remains to be seen if he ever will, but the potential should guarantee a high draft pick for the speedster.” – Miika Arponen

– “Ylönen’s game is based on shooting and vision. His above average vision allows him to make quick decisions that generates plays for both him and his teammates, and thus Ylönen gets regularly to the scoring areas in a way or another. His skating is agile, which allows him to be effective in the offensive zone while handling the puck. He tends to lean on his shooting, but with his puck handling skills and smooth skating he can be a successful passer.” – Markus Suhonen

– “His puck handling skills and creativity make him an exciting player to watch. Has a quick wrist shot with a tricky release on it. A smooth skater with an extra gear. High upside prospect.” – Marco Bombino

– “Ylönen is somewhat of a victim of recency bias. He finished fourth in scoring in 2017 U18 World Championships, but being a late birthday and playing in a second-tier league the achievement has been forgotten a bit. Ylönen’s skating is as good as anyone’s.” – Miika Arponen

– “In my opinion Ylönen was better player every time I saw him and I think his skating and good hands should translate well into pro game.” – Asko Huuki

– “Undersized but extremely skilled players with very convincing statistics have been a bit of an enigma in recent years. For every Alex DeBrincat or Johnny Gaudreau there are numerous small players that never made it. Nordgren isn’t exactly a phenomenal skater, which is an another big question mark, but his shot and offensive instincts are so good, that he should get picked relatively early.” – Miika Arponen

– “High-end puck skills, hockey sense and finishing ability. Unselfish with the puck and can maneuver in tight spaces. Mobility and speed must get better, has a rather choppy stride. I’m a big fan of his game, though.” – Marco Bombino

– “Due to his small frame, Nordgren may get outmatched near the boards, but he plays a game that allows him to get to the scoring areas regularly and score. Nordgren’s puck handling skills are above average, but it is the shifty overall game, including back checking, that makes his game dangerous.” – Markus Suhonen

– “Nordgren’s biggest setbacks has been his size and skating but even though there is a lot of work to be done with his skating, he has been able to improve that area during the season. On the positive side, Nordgren has a nose for goal, he is skilled and he never gives up. His work ethic is clearly above average and his two-way game is pretty good already at this stage.” – Asko Huuki

– “Ranta is far from being a complete player at the moment, but he has really good tools to become dangerous power forward when he gets it all together. He is a strong player for his age and he has shown above average skating and stickhandling abilities.” – Asko Huuki

– “The always-intriguing combination of the S’s: speed, size and shot are what make Ranta a border-line 1st round pick. He projects to be a good complementary power forward that can be used on the power play as well.” – Miika Arponen

– “Annunen is clearly the most promising Finnish goalie in this draft. He is big, he is calm and he reads the game well. I think he could improve his movement but his glove is already in a very good level. Annunen showed he is strong mentally playing his best games during the U20 league playoffs and in U18 World Championship.” – Asko Huuki

– “It is very tempting to compare Annunen to Pekka Rinne since both are big and calm goalies that hail from the same city. As with every 18-year-old goalie out there, Annunen is still a project and he hasn’t really been tested in men’s games, but so far his development curve suggests a high potential.” – Miika Arponen

– “Killinen is a strong, powerful skater who can attack to the net with speed. Plays at a fast pace, good hands and shot. Would like to see more consistency as he can be invisible for long periods. I like the offensive skill set a lot, however.” – Marco Bombino

– “Killinen is a worthy of picking thanks to his good frame and skating. He has decent hands and he knows how to protect the puck. However it is his potential that is intriguing instead of his current level of play. At the moment he is invisible too often and he cannot use his good qualities constantly.” – Asko Huuki

– “Constanly running wheels with good work ethics are the positive side. On the flipside Killinen has a tendency to vanish for lengthy periods of time from the scoresheets even though he is seemingly doing right things all the time if you are paying attention. His shot is good and he often is more effective with good linemates rather than doing this on his own.” – Miika Arponen

– “Nyman is an elusive forward who uses his quick feet and positioning to gain an advantage over opponents. He has a great on-ice awareness that he uses to compensate his size. Nyman’s shot and fast release are also the assets that makes him such a crafty player.” – Markus Suhonen

– “Nyman has good offensive abilities, above average hands and he is a solid playmaker. He has proofed to be able to play small rink game and he will play pro game next season in Liiga.” – Asko Huuki

– “A smart, proactive and mobile defensive defenseman who competes in his own end. Very good gap control and sound positioning. Not known for his offensive game, but I like his chances of developing into an NHLer who takes care of his own end.” – Marco Bombino

– “He has always been solid defensively, he skates pretty well and he has pretty good size. His play with the puck seems decent and he knows how to give solid first pass. However his offensive production has been pretty much non-existent and he seems to become stay-at-home defenceman at the pro game.” – Asko Huuki

– “Utunen is a prototypical modern defenceman with good skating, above-average hockey sense and decent physical play. The issue may be in the fact that he is not exceptionally good in anything, which is often required for a player his size.” – Miika Arponen

– “Utunen is solid defenceman all-round and he was the cornerstone of Finnish defence in U18 World Championship. However I think his size is an issue. He is pretty good at the own end but neither his offensive or defensive abilities really stands out enough to compensate his smallish size. He could play with more intensity too.” – Asko Huuki

– “Utunen is a stable defenseman whose biggest asset is his hockey sense. Gets the job done in all three zones and reads the game really well. Had an impressive rookie season in Mestis, logged quite a bit of ice-time.” – Marco Bombino

– “Seppälä has a lot of good qualities to become decent defenceman to the own end. He has the size, he battles hard in front of net and he is a pretty fluid skater for a player of his size. His offensive abilities have improved during the last year and even though he won’t become flashy offensive defenceman, you can rely on his play with the puck.” – Asko Huuki

– “The way he developed this past season was impressive. Good decision making with the puck, smart passing, sees the ice well, does not panic under pressure. A balanced skater with strong four-way mobility. Defensively, he angles opponents and takes away time and space.” – Marco Bombino

– “I’ve been high on Vehviläinen since he was first eligible and his stellar play during this season have convinced me even more that there is NHL potential in him. He has had problems with inconsistency but it has improved over the years, and his technical abilities and athleticism are at very high level already.” – Miika Arponen

“Vehviläinen has always been technically sound but his mental side has been questioned during the recent years. The goalie was selected as the best goaltender in Liiga, he was stellar in the playoffs and he became Liiga Champion having the shutout in the last game of the season.” – Asko Huuki

– “Nevasaari has been a bit of a one-trick pony during his recent junior years. His biggest strengths are his goal-scoring ability and individual offensive skills. His play without the puck especially defensively needs a lot of work and makes Nevasaari a rather raw project so far.” – Miika Arponen

– “Päkkilä will probably never become a star player in the pro game, but he should eventually become pretty good player nevertheless thanks to his great skating and pretty good hands. He has pretty good work ethic, but his overall game still needs some improving. He also needs to fill up his frame.” – Asko Huuki

– “Ketola is a competitive, mobile defenseman with the physical tools and skating ability to develop into a highly effective player. Has pretty good puck skills and a booming shot from the point. I would like to see improvement in his decision making and play reading. He would be a long-term project for the NHL team that drafts him.” – Marco Bombino