| Emil Hemming | TPS | Liiga | R | RW | 6’1″ | 187 | Vaasa, FIN | 2006 | 2023-2024: A |
Game Rating: A-
Comments: Hemming is a strong powerful right shot right wing who already has an NHL frame to work with. He showed an athletic knees over toes skating posture with a powerful stride that finishes with a hard toe snap and a flat edge return leg. Offensively he handled poor passes without slowing down while keeping his eyes up looking for the next play. He finished the night with a game high five shots and showed the hand strength to fire a bullet even when a defender had his stick blade in his release point. He scored two goals with the first coming on a quick release snap shot from just inside the right face-off dot on a partial breakaway. On the play he recognized that the goalie was leaning to his right anticipating that Hemming would move towards the middle lane and he fired a snapper up over his glove as the goalie was shuffling to his right. The second goal was an absolute power play snipe that went short side shelf just by the goaltender’s ear. Hemming is a high end 2024 draft prospect who expects to score goals and worked to put himself in position to have multiple scoring opportunities during the game.
| Mitja Jokinen | TPS | Liiga | L | D | 5’10” | 152 | Raisio, FIN | 2006 | 2023-2024: B+ |
Game Rating: B
Comments: Jokinen is an undersized left shot defender with the footwork to play either side. He showed quick fluid powerful strides, an easy pivot and an explosive backwards inside edge thrust that allowed him to hold the offensive blueline longer than most of his peers. Defensively he relied on his anticipation to establish body positioning early and once his feet were planted the ice was his. He uses a longer stick and a hidden poke check to take away his opponent’s time and space while defending line rushes or when shutting down the cycle. Offensively he was well prepared as he constantly scanned the ice before receiving a pass or gathering a loose puck. HIs passes were hard and flat but when the situation called for a touch pass Jokinen could lay one into space. He had the primary assist on the U18s third goal where he was running switches as the power play quarterback from top of the umbrella to the right flank. In the moments leading up to the goal he handled a few bouncing passes cleanly and made a nice 10′ backhand sauce pass to the eventual goal scorer (#12 Hemming). Standing at just under 5’10’ Jokinen is going to have to be very dynamic offensively to have a shot at being a high 2024 draft pick, but there is a lot to like about his game management / awareness and his puck moving abilities in the transition game.
| Julius Miettinen | HIFK U20 | U20 SM | L | LW | 6’2″ | 187 | Helsinki, FIN | 2006 | 2023-2024: B |
Game Rating: C+
Comments: Miettinen is a long left shot forward who played the right wing. At this point he showed an knees over toes chest high skating posture with a 3/4 length stride that has an almost circular or oval path on his return leg and he is a bit ‘hoppy’ on his cross-overs. He was second in overall ice time among U18 players (18:21) and led all forwards in power play TOI (3:15) by almost 0:25 seconds but in our opinion he looked more busy on his shifts than he was impactful. With that said there is still a lot to like about his size and willingness to battle along the walls or stand at the top of the crease. He finished the game with zero points, zero shots on goal and 2 PIMs for one handed hook in the defensive zone.
Joona Saarelainen | KalPa | Liiga | L | C | 5’9″ | 172 | Mikkeli, FIN | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Rating: B-
Comments: Saarelainen is an undersized left shot center who played the game on his inside edges using his powerful stride to attack, both offensively and defensively, whenever possible. As the F1 on the forecheck he used his speed to not let his opponent get the net to keep him contained in the strong side corner. After his man moved the puck he did not mindlessly follow the pass, Instead he looked to finish his check to eliminate his man from jumping into the play. Defensively he defended with his stick on the ice showing a high compete, but there were times when the larger stronger U19s were able to roll off contact into the scoring area. He finished -1 on the game after a net front scrum where his man pushed him into the mass of bodies and then tapped the puck into an open net. On the night he finished third on the U18s with 17:54 TOI including 1:41 on the power play and 1:17 on the penalty kill.
| Lauri Sinivuori | HIFK U20 | U20 SM | L | LW | 6’0″ | 154 | Mikkeli, FIN | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Rating: B
Comments: Sinivuori is a hard working direct left shot left wing with a high end motor. We feel as he gains strength his stride will lengthen and he will become more fluid, but we liked his shoulder width athletic skating base and how his return leg allowed his skate to land on his flat edge. At this point he is still looks light but he finished his checks with authority and he had the awareness to not get himself caught on the wall side of 50/50 puck battles. He led the U18’s in ice time (18:54) and was a contributor to both special team’s units (1:45 PP, 8th among forwards) but his real value came on the penalty kill where his attention to detail and willingness to get big low to block shots was something that his teammates fed off of (3 blocks while shorthanded). Offensively he played a simple game looking to generate opportunities off the cycle or by being a hard middle lane drive on line rushes.
| Ville Vaarala | Tappara U20 | U20 SM | L | C | 6’0″ | 170 | Tampere, FIN | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Rating: B
Comments: Vaarala is a left shot forward who played right wing wing. He is listed at 6’0, but his upright skating posture made him look taller than that and much closer to a solid 6’1′. He showed a powerful stride and very good straight line speed, especially as a puck carrier when driving wide. Among the U18 forwards he had the low for minutes played (10:25) but he had two grade ‘A’ scoring opportunities and finished with a goal. His goal came as he dug and dug for a loose puck in crease and he was able to pop it in from just off to the side of the net. His second scoring opportunity came as he bulled his way down the right dot lane lowering his shoulder to gain body positioning on the defender and then fired a backhand that caught the goalie off guard but caught him on the right elbow. Both of these plays happened early in the first period so we were thinking we were going to see a lot more of Vaarala, but it just didn’t happen. At this point he is a long shot to be drafted, but he maybe he grew over the off season, added strength and he is player who deserves more of our attention.
| Veeti Vaisanen | KooKoo | Liiga | L | D | 6’0″ | 165 | Hamina, FIN | 2006 | 2023-2024: A- |
Game Rating: C+
Comments: Vaisanen is a slightly below average sized left shot defender who played primarily the right side, but showed the versatility to kill penalties on either side. He showed a powerful shoulder width skating base while keeping his hips low and his shoulders high that allowed him to strong through contact. We liked that he did not cross his feet while pivoting and instead just did a quick heel to heel pivot while keeping his shoulders at the same level, meaning there was no bouncing or bobbing. Defensively he moved on passes and recognized when to attack opponents who were bobbling the puck. He worked to set his gaps early and often times while the U19s rush or regroup was starting Vaisanen was skating forwards at a stick’s length from his man ready to take away time and space. Offensively there a few times early in the first period where he overcomplicated things, but he settled in to use his partner and he made multiple long corner to corner reverses that got the U19 forwards going the wrong direction. Truthfully after seeing him play big minutes at the 2023 U18 World Championships we expected to see him on the ice more than he was (12:44, 5th among Dmen), but he was solid and unnoticeable in this game and overall we view that as a positive.
| Topias Hynninen | Jukurit | Liiga | L | RW | 5’9″ | 161 | Vihti, FIN | 2005 | 2023-2024: A- |
Game Rating: B
Comments: Hynninen is an undersized left shot forward who, depending on the situation, took shifts at both wings. He showed a quick first three steps with an easy glide that allowed him to be at top speed almost immediately and he was able to play at pace with very little effort. Positioned on the right flank he led the U19 team in power play TOI (3:51) and from that spot he had the primary assist after one-touching a flat hard pass through the royal road that caught the U18 penalty killers with their toe caps headed in the wrong direction. It wasn’t his primary role but he was used as a penalty killer, including late in the game while the U18’s pulled their goalie for an extended 6 on 4 attack. While killing the 6 on 4 it was easy to see him communicating with his teammates by calling out switches in coverage and / or pointing out potential U18 one-timer options to his teammates. As a penalty killer there were a few times when he turned his back to the puck after getting over extended and reaching. Offensively he showed an understanding of how to create width and depth on line rushes and we liked that, although he is fast, he was not in a hurry to get to / into the scoring area. He finished with two grade ‘A’ scoring opportunities with both coming on quick sticks in the slot after out muscling his opponent for the loose puck. As we move into the season one thing to keep watch on is that he had 4 shots blocked. Two came where the U18 defender baited him into thinking he had a clear shooting lane and then they extended their stick into his release point to deflect the shot wide, The other two (one on PP) came on snap shots where it looked like he has made up his mind that he was shooting no matter what was in front of him. None of the blocks were a big deal because they did not lead to odd man rushes going the other way, but it is something to keep an eye on.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Average player size by league;
U14 – 5’5” , 127lbs
U15 – 5’7” , 136lbs
U16 – 5’8” , 149lbs
U18 – 5’11” , 168lbs
NCDC – 6’0” , 183lbs (Tier 3)
BCHL – 5’11” , 179lbs (Tier 2)
AJHL – 5’11” , 176lbs (Tier 2)
NAHL – 5’11” , 173lbs (Tier 2)
USHL – 5’11” , 174lbs (Tier 1)
NCAA D3 – 5’10” , 170lbs
NCAA D1 – 6’0” , 190lbs
WHL – 6’0” , 188lbs
OHL – 6’0” , 185lbs
QMJHL – 5’11” , 179lbs
ECHL – 5’11” , 183lbs
AHL – 6’0” , 194lbs
NHL – 6’1.5” , 206lbs
NHL All-Star – 6’1” , 201lbs
Data compiled by ChatGPT