King Heffy Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Good hockey sense, leadership, and defensive ability? Yes please. Great value for a 4th. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Qwags Posted June 23, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted June 23, 2018 Was Captain for the Finnish U-18 team. Jet Black Jim does it again. 8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 23 minutes ago, 24K PureCool said: Well it is obvious that the Canucks scouts don't give a s**t about height. I'm fine with that (as long as it is not a goaltender). Depends what you mean by height. DiPietro is only 6'0". Not huge when a lot of goalies are 6'3" to 6'5" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeBee51 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 1 minute ago, Ghostsof1915 said: Depends what you mean by height. DiPietro is only 6'0". Not huge when a lot of goalies are 6'3" to 6'5" All that matters is stopping the puck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ghostsof1915 Posted June 23, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted June 23, 2018 2 minutes ago, CeeBee51 said: All that matters is stopping the puck. Nilsson is proof size isn't everything.... 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EoH Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 We’re going to be the smallest team to ever win the cup. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 1 minute ago, EoH said: We’re going to be the smallest team to ever win the cup. Speed kills? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
189lb enforcers? Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Good luck, kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) More scouting reports (courtesy FinnProspects.com): – “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 And lots of game scouting reports here: https://finnprospects.com/player/toni-utunen/ Edited June 23, 2018 by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHL rocks Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 37 minutes ago, YummyCakeFace said: Cool. Another small guy in a huge division In a few years when these guys are ready to play in the NHL most teams will be smaller... None of these kids will be in the NHL right away... it's about predicting which way the NHL is going and building a team that way... and the game is moving more and more towards speed and skill... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post doobiedoodoo Posted June 23, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted June 23, 2018 Have to say, I have liked this guy ever since I heard of him 30 minutes ago. 1 11 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rob_Zepp Posted June 23, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted June 23, 2018 A few had him as one of the risers in the draft and potentially sneaking into third round after starting season as unlikely to be drafted. For example, Larry Fisher had him as a top 10 riser in the draft. 2018 NHL Draft: 10 Risers from Fisher’s Top 100 for May Quote 10) Toni Utunen (LHD, Finland, Tappara Liiga) APRIL RANKING: 85 MAY RANKING: 61 VARIATION: +24 ANALYSIS: Utunen captained Finland to gold and was very efficient throughout the tournament despite not putting up big offensive numbers with just one goal and three points in seven games. He did lead the tournament with a plus-12 rating while logging big minutes in all situations. I hadn’t seen a ton of Utunen prior to this tournament, but I really liked what I saw there. He sure looked like a player and like the kind of defenceman that is thriving in today’s game. That’s a small sample size to be making comparisons, but I could see a bit of Tobias Enstrom in him. 1 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Vanderhoek Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 15 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said: Nilsson is proof size isn't everything.... as am I, WAIT no did I post that ? I mean you said cause Nilsson and cause he, so, what I mean is, yeah nevermind. FYI, liking the pick, seems like a solid option for the position he was taken. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonoman Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 17 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said: Nilsson is proof size isn't everything.... Ouch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Vintage Canuck- Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 “This is very special. I am very happy to be coming to Vancouver.” - Utunen 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Just now, sonoman said: Ouch Maybe a new goalie coach can change that...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuckYa Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 55 minutes ago, thejazz97 said: Toni Utunen Tappara / Liiga - 18/19 PLAYER FACTS Date of Birth Apr 27, 2000 Age 18 Place of Birth Kokkola, FIN Nation Finland Youth Team Hermes Position D Height 5'11" / 180 cm Weight 170 lbs / 77 kg Shoots L Contract 20/21 NHL Rights Vancouver Canucks / Unsigned Drafted 2018 round 5 #130 overall by Vancouver Canucks Agency PREMIUM NHL Draft Prospect eligible for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft Rankings Ranked #125 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM Ranked #110 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS Ranked #126 by ISS HOCKEY Ranked #145 by MCKEEN'S HOCKEY Ranked #64 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters) Highlights 1 1 Use/Embed statistics PLAYER STATISTICS S TEAM LEAGUE GP G A TP PIM +/- POST GP G A TP PIM +/- 2014-15 Tappara U16 Jr. C SM-sarja Q 7 1 4 5 10 | Tappara U16 Jr. C SM-sarja 30 7 17 24 16 | 2015-16 Tappara U18 “A” Jr. B SM-sarja 40 4 10 14 62 | Playoffs 3 0 0 0 12 Finland U16 (all) International-Jr 8 3 6 9 4 | 2016-17 Tappara U18 Jr. B SM-sarja 0 0 0 0 0 | Playoffs 4 0 0 0 2 Tappara U20 Jr. A SM-liiga 39 1 10 11 10 12 | Playoffs 2 0 0 0 0 -1 Tappara Liiga 1 0 0 0 0 0 | Finland U17 (all) International-Jr 3 1 0 1 0 | Finland U18 WJC-18 7 1 1 2 0 4 | Finland U18 (all) International-Jr 20 1 1 2 10 | 2017-18 Tappara U18 Jr. B SM-sarja 0 0 0 0 0 | Playoffs 3 1 1 2 4 Tappara U20 Jr. A SM-liiga 0 0 0 0 0 0 | Playoffs 6 0 2 2 6 3 Tappara Liiga 11 0 0 0 0 0 | LeKi Mestis 28 2 10 12 12 2 | Playoffs 5 0 1 1 0 -2 Finland U18 “C” WJC-18 7 1 2 3 0 12 | Finland U18 (all) International-Jr 25 5 8 13 14 | 2018-19 Tappara Liiga - - - - - | TOURNAMENT STATISTICS S TEAM LEAGUE GP G A TP PIM +/- POST GP G A TP PIM +/- 2014-15 Finland Selects U15 WSI U15 7 3 2 5 8 | 2015-16 Finland U16 “C” YOG 6 3 3 6 3 1 | 2016-17 Finland U18 Hlinka Memorial 4 0 0 0 4 0 | 2017-18 Tappara Champions HL 2 0 2 2 2 3 | LeKi Suomen Cup 3 0 5 5 2 0 | Finland U18 Hlinka Memorial 4 1 2 3 2 | Toni Utunen - 5’10”, 172 lbs Some solid international performances for Finland once had Toni Utunen projected to go much higher in the draft. An underwhelming season offensively, however, has Utunen slipping down draft boards, to the point he might not get picked at all. Utunen played in the second tier Finnish league, Mestis, putting up two goals and 12 points in 28 games. That was enough to lead all junior-aged defencemen in the Mestis, however. Scouting reports paint a picture of a solid two-way defenceman, that plays very well defensively, limiting both his opponent’s time with the puck and his own mistakes. He lacks the dynamic skating ability to create offence off the rush and isn’t creative enough to create much in the offensive zone, but he’s capable at distributing the puck on the power play and has a decent slap shot that hints at some untapped offensive ability. It’s not hard to draw a parallel to Sami Vatanen. Both were captains of their U-18 international squads and both played in a lower tier of Finnish hockey in their draft years — Utunen in Mestis and Vatanen in the Jr. A SM-Liiga. Vatanen, too, had an underwhelming draft year, managing just 10 points in 20 games in the Finnish junior league. Utunen has great defensive awareness, but also has those two words that the Canucks love: character and compete. His leadership and willingness to battle and block shots in the defensive zone are attributes that will help him on his path to making the NHL. Combine that with his well-rounded game and Utunen could be a late-round steal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putgolzin Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 19 minutes ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said: More scouting reports (courtesy FinnProspects.com): – “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 And lots of game scouting reports here: https://finnprospects.com/player/toni-utunen/ For a fourth, I can definitely accept this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB5 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 57 minutes ago, YummyCakeFace said: Cool. Another small guy in a huge division Teams that try and copy what every one else is doing are teams that end up behind the times when their draft picks mature. The league is evolving to speed and skill and that is what we see today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rob_Zepp Posted June 23, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted June 23, 2018 Utunen brings the unique aspect of being a Dman from Finland. CDC hasn't had an ability to critique a Dman from Finland in a long while. I also understand he likes video games but has had his flu shot. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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