| Niklas Talvikunnas | HPK U20 | U20 SM | R | D | 6’4″ | 203 | Kauhava, FIN | 2005 | 2022-2023: C+ |
Ian Moran’s thoughts: Talvikunnas is big raw right shot defender who can physically manhandle his opponents right now. When he makes contact his man goes flying. He seems to know what he is and what his future as player will be, but he loves to jump into the play as a weakside option. For a high level career in North America he will need to continue developing his skating posture and improving his skating base. I feel that he can be a bit robotic when crossing-over and we know that in the NHL when a player sees an opponent leaning he is going to make him spin in circles. He’s an interesting player because it’s easy to see his raw strength and power so hopefully he has the work ethic to continue developing his base.
U18: Finland vs Sweden, November 10, 2022: Talvikunnas totaled 15:10 in ice time including 0:25 on the power play and 1:54 while shorthanded. He is big raw right shot defender who showed good straight line speed and strength. He won wall battles by simply being too strong for his opponents. Offensively he kept it simple and worked to be an outlet for his partner or join the rush rush when possible, but we feel he will need to continue developing his first touch for professional career on the smaller North American ice. He has two point shots blocked, but both blocks occurred right at the top of the crease and led to more in zone offense. On the night he finished -1, with 2 PIMs on a defensive trip after a face-off, 1 giveaway, 6 takeaways and he won 57% of his 14 puck battles.
U17: Finland vs USNTDP, November 12, 2021: Talvikunnas totaled 10:54 in ice time including 1:41 while shorthanded. He did not play on the power play. The big Finn finished -1 on a play that you could debate was not his fault, but there was serious confusion after a defensive zone face-off which made him lose his net side positioning and therefore expose the net front for an open net rebound. He was (again) very effective as a penalty killer as he effortlessly cleared the net front, maintained shooting lanes to block two shots, had two 200′ clears and made a heads-up strongside pass to his weakside low forward at the face-off dot for an easy zone exit. Skating wise Talvikunnas is on his toes a bit too much and the smaller agile Team USA forwards got him to cross his feet in 1on1 situations while cycling. He does appear to be incredibly strong as he pinned players to the wall using only one hand and when he crosschecked players in front of his net they went flying.
U17: Finland vs Czechia, November 11, 2021: Talvikunnas totaled 11:18 in ice time including 1:04 while shorthanded. He did not play on the power play. He finished -1 on a goal that came on a clean 3on2 with a backchecker. While defending the rush Czechia attacked the middle lane before dishing wide. Talvikunnas was the weakside defenseman and was unfortunately caught outside the right dot lane so he could not recover to the middle lane for defensive support. By playing in straight lines and with an active stick he was effective as a penalty killer. We feel his skating posture is a bit stiff and there are times when his shoulders are way out in front of his toes, but at 6’4″ we realize he is still growing into himself and this can improve as he continues to train.
U17: Finland vs Russia, August 8, 2021: Talvikunnas totaled 13:35 in ice time including 0:59 while shorthanded. He did not play on the power play. He finished -1 on a play that originated with his forward making an offensive zone grey area turnover, but in all reality the big Finn was too hyper focused on the puck an did not realize that his partner had activated as the weakside defender which in turn allowed for a Russian breakaway. The positives, he is very strong showing little trouble clearing shooting or pinning opposing forwards to the wall. The puck was his during 50/50 battles. The negatives, at 6’4″ plus Talvikunnas is still growing into himself and he can look stiff while setting his gaps. There were also too many times when he crossed his feet prior to pivoting. We feel this is a skill he can work on through repetition.