dpn1 Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 9 hours ago, Horvat is a Boss said: He only scores against Canada He should do well in the NHL as there are lots of Canadians in this League. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Googlie Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 (edited) I can see he and Juolevi being a reliable defense pairing for years to come - both for Finland and the Canucks (Edit) both shoot left, and play left D, so prolly not going to happen Edited August 2, 2019 by Googlie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildwood12 Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 I hear Utunen asked to be captain of his team at the summer showcase. Looks like he wants to lead as well. I’m looking forward when he makes his nhl debut. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 27 minutes ago, wildwood12 said: I hear Utunen asked to be captain of his team at the summer showcase. Looks like he wants to lead as well. I’m looking forward when he makes his nhl debut. I know that he’s developing well and far ahead of the curve given his draft position, but he’s still a long shot for making the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrago Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 (edited) Big game yesterday 2 goals and an assist against Canada. Edited August 2, 2019 by thrago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theo5789 Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, wildwood12 said: I hear Utunen asked to be captain of his team at the summer showcase. Looks like he wants to lead as well. I’m looking forward when he makes his nhl debut. Wait he asked to be captain rather than be given the captaincy? I sense entitlement issues here!  (Sarcasm for those who can't detect it) Edited August 2, 2019 by theo5789 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollieo Del Fuego Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Utunen plays smart, mistake free hockey....he has a hell of a wrister and knows where to put it...he is going to get bigger, but plays pretty big already. I think he will be ready in 2-3 years and be a bit better (and similar too) Stecher... Asking to be Captain just shows how much confidence he has.... Edited August 3, 2019 by Rollieo Del Fuego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAlien Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Some praise from Ruutu, who’s Finland’s assistant coach at the WJSS: 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred65 Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 I'd like to know if he as on the ice for any of the Canadians goals. That might be some thing even better than his 2 goals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAZY_4_NAZZY Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/canucks-prospect-utunen-wants-to-captain-finland-at-world-juniors~1743019 Haven't heard him speak before so it was nice seeing this interview with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ForzaTikare Posted August 30, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 https://www.eprinkside.com/2019/8/30/cohen-canucks-prospect-defender-toni-utunen-is-starting-to-strut-his-offensive-stuff 1 2 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAlien Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Good writeup on Utunen's progression from EP Rink: Quote Hockey I.Q., good or bad, is one of the items that usually jumps off the page midway through a hockey game. And after two or three you have a baseline idea. Utunen made safe clears. He could make a nice touch pass and otherwise, his passing was accurate. His speed was good. His one-timer was on display and it was already above average. They had a sharpness to them; they were accurate and hard. It was a weapon as a point on the power play. Early on it was being reported that he could be a defensive defenseman because he played that role in Liga. That’s now proving to be wrong, but what it did was set the expectations bar pretty low for this player in a market that sometimes expects too much from their prospects. They did the Finn a favour. He was able to avoid a lot of that and instead raise the bar with his play rather than what people think he can do. There wasn’t a ton of talk surrounding this prospect until the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championships in Vancouver. In a moment against Team Canada, Utunen went down the ice, in a tie game and managed to bury a wrist shot in the Quarterfinals to eliminate the opposition and send his country into the semi-finals en route to a gold medal. That goal was talked about quite a bit, for obvious reasons, and that may have been the start of him opening some eyes with his play. In seven games he had two goals and two assists. He took home another gold medal; he won his first in the U18s. Another big moment for Utunen was in the 2019 World Junior Summer Showcase. There is little doubt that he will make the Finnish World Junior roster again but now he showed himself to be much more of an offensive threat. His wrist shot went from having a fast release to a lightning-fast release. It’s not always hard but he gets it away quickly and it’s usually on-net. He’s now 176 pounds so maybe it’s strength. In this tournament, he was the No. 3 defender. Different coaches slot defenseman in different spots and Utunen is very versatile, so seeing him move around isn’t a shock. Defensively, he closes the gap quickly, he takes away time and space and he has an active stick. He’s very disciplined and doesn’t take dumb penalties. He doesn’t force anything offensively or defensively and he’s very calm out there. These are some really good traits that coaches love. He didn’t get top power play time and yet he still had three points in five games. He had a three-point game against Canada. In an 8-3 win, he had two goals. He was a +2 and once again people were pleasantly surprised to see this from a draft pick for which they didn’t hold many expectations. At 19, Utunen is going to return to Tappara for probably the last time. If all goes well and he has a good season there along with a solid 2020 World Junior Championship, then he will likely come over to North America and the Canucks might have a tough decision to make at that time. Whether or not to place him in the AHL with Utica to start or to see if he’s ready to make the team out of camp. The good thing for Utunen is there will be an opportunity at the position if he is ready. I project him to be either a second or third-pairing defenseman with an excellent chance of not only playing in the NHL but staying there for a good length of time. He’s playing with some great players on the national team and he looks every bit as good as them. He can cover top competition and so far he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s 176 pounds currently so he’ll have to put on some more muscle and add a bit more speed. All of these things are possible and someday soon he should be able to reach his full potential and if that happens — it’s a steal of a pick. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theo5789 Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 57 minutes ago, GoldenAlien said: Good writeup on Utunen's progression from EP Rink: Benning potentially finding some hidden talent again? No way, it can't be true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanleysteamersmyl Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 He reminds me of a smaller player who had a long career in the NHL - Toby Enstrom. Toby Enstrom Position: D • Shoots: Left 5-10, 180lb (178cm, 81kg) Born: November 5, 1984 (Age: 34-303d) in Nordingra, Sweden se Draft: Atlanta, 8th round (239th overall), 2003 NHL Entry Games 719 54g 254a 308 points Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho_Path Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 I've liked this pick since I saw him at the Youngstars tournament in Penticton last year. Looking forward to his progression. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Barzal Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Hopefully he can give Juolevi some competition for the other top four slot beside Quinn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC2 Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Sounds like he could develop into a solid 3rd pairing defenseman. He sounds like Tanev, makes safe defensive plays, not the biggest player and has a weak wrister but accurate. Hopefully he is a little more durable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobayashi Maru Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 (edited) Very glad to hear all of these reports. To be honest watching him play, I’ve never seen enough to think he would be anything more than an NHL/AHL tweener. Could be taking a step though. Edited September 8, 2019 by Kobayashi Maru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Ward Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 What happened to Utunen? He is on the roster for Tappara but doesn't appear to have played a single game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpn1 Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 29 minutes ago, Dixon Ward said: What happened to Utunen? He is on the roster for Tappara but doesn't appear to have played a single game? I think he is hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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