Played on Sep 27, 2025
Game Played in Jyvaskylan Jaahalli Hippos
General Game Notes: Saturday game of U20 SM-sarja in Jyväskylä. The first period was controlled by HIFK, but JYP dominated the second period, scoring two goals and turning the game around. The third period was evenly matched, but JYP sealed the victory with another goal.
Jonne Parkkali (D, L, 6’0″, 172, HIFK U20, 01/05/2008)
Game Rating
B
1 Viewing
Comments: Jonne is a left-handed defenseman who played in the second defensive pair. He is of medium, rather smaller size. His main strengths are his solid physical play in the defensive zone, characterized by an effective and active stick which we could see in his seven takeaways. He stays engaged immediately after a puck loss. He has soft hands, is not afraid to play with the puck, and supports his team’s offense when possible.
Amos Puolanne (C, L, 6’1″, 166, HIFK U20, 10/11/2007)
Game Rating
A-
1 Viewing
Comments: Amos is the first-line center of his team, a left-handed player of medium size who stands out with his efficient movement and skating, showing great edgework. Played both, power play and penalty killing. He is good at covering the puck, which he used especially along the boards through his quick changes of direction. He wasn’t afraid to engage physically, proving that with his good body play. With his smart puck protection along the boards, he also forced an opponent to take a penalty late in the game, earning his team a power play. Amos stood out mainly in the third period, where he actively contributed to his team’s offense and provided great support for his teammates to gain puck possession – especially in key moments when it was needed the most. He showed calmness with the puck even under pressure, being able to maintain control and not get disturbed by the opponent’s active play.
Otto Rantaniitty (RW, L, 5’10”, 146, HIFK U20, 10/22/2007)
Game Rating
A-
1 Viewing
Comments: Otto is a smaller-sized winger who played on his team’s first line and was part of both the second power-play unit and the penalty kill. His main strength is skating, which allowed him to stand out with strong backchecking and the ability to keep the puck on his stick, helping his team gain puck possession time. In the second period, from his wing position, he actively and effectively participated in faceoffs, helping his team secure puck control. He also showed commitment by blocking a shot. Otto demonstrated good game reading in the offensive zone and provided solid support to his teammates to maintain puck possession and contribute to the team’s offense, mainly along the boards. He was one of the HIFK players who pushed hard in the third period, trying to turn the game in his team’s favor. Again, he stood out with excellent backchecking, and it’s worth highlighting his stick effectiveness and angling, which led to five takeaways and quick transitions toward offense.
Viljami Savolainen (D, L, 6’0″, 166, HIFK U20, 04/22/2006)
Game Rating
B+
1 Viewing
Comments: Viljami is a left-handed offensive defenseman of medium size who plays both on the power play and the penalty kill. He shows good puck possession time and delivers hard passes, performing well on both sides of the ice. He stands out with good hockey sense and physical play. He uses his stick effectively, especially on the D-Zone blue line. A puck mover who looks for shooting lanes and tries to change the shooting angle. He uses these strengths on the O-Zone blue line, where he is not afraid to make cross passes. There is room to improve his consistency to be able to build on a strong start and maintain his performance throughout the whole game.
Aleksi Tuovinen (RW, L, 6’2″, 181, HIFK U20, 08/23/2006)
Game Rating
A
1 Viewing
Comments: Aleksi is a tall, left-handed player with great skating ability, allowing him to generate high speed, which led to the goal he scored after a backcheck in the offensive zone. Aleksi is a hard-working forward, which he showed through his relentless forecheck, battling for the puck along the boards and playing physically. He likes to play with the puck and face opponents directly to challenge himself, but he is also able to make effective passes on the blue line to activate the defensemen and move the play quickly. There were also situations where, even when he was pushed below the blue line, he showed calmness on the puck, kept possession, and tried to attack the scoring area in the middle or combine with his teammates. We could also see him fighting for every metre of space in front of the net. In one situation, Aleksi actively participated in a faceoff to gain an advantage for his team, and in many others, he provided support on and off the boards to create space for his teammates to play with the puck and get into better positions. Aleksi added high value to his team through his constant forechecking and effective stick use to win pucks and turn the play as fast as possible. Although he didn’t start in the power play formations, his performance earned him time on the power play so he also got ice-time in these situations during the match.
Luukas Lavikainen (G, L, 5’11”, 181, JYP U20, 07/26/2005)
Game Rating
A
1 Viewing
Comments: Luukas is a medium-sized goalie who showed a consistent performance throughout the whole game. He kicked pucks into the corners and was active in stopping the puck behind the net and playing it with his defensemen. He covered angles of shots well and, when needed, made quick post-to-post movements to save difficult situations. He especially helped his team in the third period, where he was clearly the man of the match. He gave his team a chance to win by keeping all pucks and rebounds out in front of the goal line.
Veeti Vilander (D, L, 6’2″, 191, JYP U20, 01/01/2007)
Game Rating
A
1 Viewing
Comments: Veeti is a tall, left-handed defenseman who plays well on both sides of the ice. Even though his performance in the first period wasn’t very noticeable, and he wasn’t part of the power-play unit in this game, playing only on the penalty kill, he was one of the key players who helped JYP come back and secure the victory. And that for many reasons, which we will now mention. Veeti is a good skater with efficient movement, which allows him to get open easily, supported by his ability to protect the puck well. He plays with his head up, which he showed together with one of his strengths in the second period, when he made a hard and accurate breakout pass from his own zone that sent his teammate into a breakaway finished with a goal. He is a puck mover who likes to use the middle of the ice passes, especially in the neutral zone. He also fulfilled his defensive duties responsibly, which he proved with his 12 takeaways.
Aaro Frantila (D, L, 5’11”, 191, JYP U20, 02/03/2009)
Game Rating
B+
1 Viewing
Comments: Aaro is a left-handed, agile defenseman of medium size who showed good game awareness and hunger for the puck, combined with his strength in finding open space to receive the puck and make plays. Played in the power play. He uses the full width of the ice effectively and is not afraid to move the game to the weak side. He has good gap control, providing solid support for his teammates. He plays with an active stick and shows strong board play, especially in 1v1 battles along the boards while using his stick effectively towards the opponent.
Noel Koivu (C, L, 6’0″, 183, JYP U20, 06/15/2006)
Game Rating
B
1 Viewing
Comments: Noel is a left-handed center of medium size who plays on the first line and is part of both the first power-play unit and the penalty kill. We could see his good movement and skating ability. Among his strengths are good puck protection and a very active forecheck. He also stands out with effective checking after his team loses the puck. Despite his smaller frame, he knows how to use his body and stick efficiently in board battles. In this game, he appeared mainly as an offensive contributor. There is room for improvement in his faceoff performance.
Eero Aliranta (C, L, 6’1″, 191, JYP U20, 06/03/2006)
Game Rating
A-
1 Viewing
Comments: Eero is a left-handed center from the second line who was not part of the power-play units and played only on the penalty kill, but even so, he was the first player whose active approach started his team’s comeback. In the first period, he showed himself mainly with a blocked shot on the penalty kill and an excellent backcheck. He also demonstrated good game awareness and kept his head on a swivel. In the second period, he was the best player on the ice, mainly thanks to his constant forechecking, physical play, and hunger for the puck. He proved to be capable as an offensive driver and was creating plays for his team. With his movement and soft hands, he was able to maintain puck possession and often passed the puck into better scoring positions for his teammates, with hard and accurate passes. In the third period, he was less noticeable, so I would recommend working on the consistency of his performances. Still, I evaluate him highly and positively – his contribution to the team was unquestionable.
Alvar Ervasti (D, L, 6’3″, 187, JYP U20, 08/11/2007)
Game Rating
B+
1 Viewing
Comments: Alvar is a big, strong left-handed defenseman who stands out with his hard physical play. He was part of the second defensive pair and was used on both the power play and the penalty kill. For his size, he shows good movement and agility, being able to use his edgework effectively to stay well-positioned against opponents and ready to stop them. His ability to stay facing the play, especially when handling the puck, allows him to move and pass it quickly and efficiently, contributing to the team’s offense. He demonstrates good awareness on the D-Zone blue line and keeps a close gap. There is still room for improvement in his passing, as some of his passes were occasionally inaccurate.
Eetu Ilvonen (RW, R, 5’10”, 186, JYP U20, 05/10/2006)
Game Rating
B
1 Viewing
Comments: Eetu is a right-handed right winger and a member of his team’s first power-play unit. He delivered a solid performance, especially during the first two periods, and here is why. We could see his skating strengths, characterized by good movement and acceleration, which helps him maintain puck possession time. He showed strong checking after turnovers and combined it with quality forechecking. He plays with his head up – however, in this game, he appeared to be more of an offensive contributor.
Photo courtesy of JYP
Scout: David Herman