CreaseAndAssist Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 4th Round (122nd Overall) LD, Aron Kiviharju - 5'10", 184lbs Kiviharju is a breakout wizard who controls the game from the back end. He gives constant false information to opponents through his eyes and body orientation and always uses the middle lane when possible. He plays a calculated style where he facilitates others and commands the game from the back end while not taking unnecessary risks himself. His passing skill on breakouts also extends to his ability to run a power play from the point. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 (edited) More on Aron Kiviharju Kiviharju isn’t large and he knows it. To counteract his physical limitations and average tool-kit, he makes sure that he’s difficult to read. He doesn’t telegraph his intentions on most play types, ranging from his breakout passes, to when he’s quarterbacking a powerplay. He has advanced off-looks and understands how to use his body posture in combination with his playmaking to keep opposing defenses from taking his passing lanes from him. His precision playmaking extends through all three zones and it’s the foundation of his game. His best trait is his ability to recognize the skating trajectory and positioning of his teammates when he’s not looking at them. Some players have better instincts than others for knowing the timing and trajectory of where their teammates will be in advance for a pass, and that’s the defining quality of Kiviharju’s game. He’s a mental mapping machine, and can stretch the length of the ice. #52 by Bob McKenzie (TSN) #60 by Craig Button (TSN) #7 by NHL Central Scouting (Euro skaters) #60 by the Hockey News #69 by HockeyProspect.com Some of you might be surprised by our ranking of Kiviharju, but it comes down to a philosophical approach of what we prefer in a defender. We naturally prefer bigger, meaner, and larger defenseman who can really skate, and that’s the opposite of Kiviharju’s game. If we rank a smaller defenseman high, it’s because we feel they are dynamic enough offensively, which isn’t the case with Kiviharju. He’s a gifted playmaker, but he’s not a great handler or shooter and lacks the skating needed to break down a line like Buium, Levshunov, Parekh or Dickinson as some examples. His tool-kit is weaker than we are comfortable with at this stage in his development, especially when factoring in his injury history and although he’s very smart and we really appreciate that attribute, we feel there’s too much risk involved in his game when looking at his development to rank him too high. Small, puck moving defenseman are extremely rare at the NHL level, and are likely only going to be rarer in the coming years. Some of you might disagree with us, and that’s perfectly fine, but we wanted to give our thought process as to why he’s ranked lower than you might see elsewhere. Edited June 29 by CreaseAndAssist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 (edited) 5th Round, 140th Overall D, Sebastian Soini (Ilves JR, Fin Jr.) 6'2", 183lbs Right Shot He’s got solid mobility and good four-step quickness, able to continuously beat forecheckers with his feet before making the first pass. The first thing you notice with Soini is how solid his skating skills are. He’s fluid and powerful on the ice for a player with his frame. He used his skating well to defend, he can be aggressive with his gaps, and he uses his good recovery skating when needed. He can also be elusive to skate himself out of trouble. He’s a good athlete, and those are among his best traits as a prospect. He played his best hockey of the season at the February Five Nations U18 tournament, where he was able to put his skating skills on full display. He also demonstrated some good physicality in his zone. He’s not a mean player, but he can finish hits and make it tough on opposing players coming to his side of the ice. There aren’t many Finnish prospects in this year’s draft with more experience against men than Sebastian Soini. The 6-foot-2 blueliner already debuted with KOOVEE last season and spent the majority of his draft year in Mestis, also appearing in a few Liiga games early in the season. With such a resume, you’d think he would have been a more important player for the Finnish U18 team, but he wasn’t on the Hlinka Gretzky Cup roster and ended up being the final cut ahead of the U18s. A big part of Soini’s game and future projection is centred on his skating ability, which ranks as a slightly above-average tool on our scale. As Elite Prospects Dir. of European scouting Lassi Alanen noted in an early game report from this season: “He’s got solid mobility and good four-step quickness, able to continuously beat forecheckers with his feet before making the first pass. He also gained the offensive zone multiple times with straight-line rushes, even if he couldn’t convert them into concrete offence.” Edited June 29 by CreaseAndAssist 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 (edited) 5th round (142nd Overall) G, Chase Wutzke (Red Deer, WHL) 6'2", 161lbs Catches Left Ranked #9 by NHL Central Scouting (NA goaltenders) The first thing that jumps out about Wutzke is how mobile he is while down in the butterfly. His edgework is strong, and he is adept at keeping himself in the frame of the net. This is bolstered by the fact that he doesn’t have an overly aggressive mindset and rarely makes movements that result in him being out of position. Wutzke is also very good at controlling pucks that are sent towards his hands. He directs pucks into good areas, and even reacts well to screen and tip attempts. ELEVATOR PITCH His mobility while down in the butterfly is the first thing that catches your eye. Great at adapting to chaotic environments and isn’t afraid to throw in some old-school technique when required. Edited June 29 by CreaseAndAssist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 6th Round (174th Overall) D, Stevie Leskovar (Brampton, OHL) 6'4", 198lbs Shoots Left (2-10-12, 113 PIM's and is a +11 in 61 games) Rugged, stay at home defenseman. Not ranked by anyone, 19-year old. This assessment was from a few years ago by Eliteprospects: Stevie Leskovar is a big left shot defender who is a well-rounded skater. Leskovar is difficult to knock off the puck on the forecheck with his size and solid skating style. He moves pucks well in transition plays, and is confident to quarterback the rush when needed. He has a heavy shot from the blue line, and was very effective on the powerplay with his one timers. Defensively, he can play a shutdown role on the PK. He has the speed, and size to step up to close gaps anywhere on the ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 Defense, defense, and some more defense… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 (edited) From the Score Buium being available at No. 12 was a bit of a shock. His offensive game speaks for itself considering his point totals, but it's his rapidly developing defensive game that truly makes Buium such a coveted prospect. The idea of him and Brock Faber on a pairing for a decade should excite Wild fans. Ritchie had a big rookie campaign in the WHL two seasons ago but didn't build on it enough this year to maintain first-round status. And, two years ago, Kiviharju was a projected top-five talent. Nashville made a superb bet on upside in the middle rounds. Edited June 29 by Jimtown guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallyTigerShark Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 I love the late picks of Soini and Leskovar. Hopefully they can develop and contribute. This was a fantastic draft by the Wild and I love the acquisition of Lauko. Our system and current got better the last 48 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 18 hours ago, TallyTigerShark said: I love the late picks of Soini and Leskovar. Hopefully they can develop and contribute. This was a fantastic draft by the Wild and I love the acquisition of Lauko. Our system and current got better the last 48 hours. The nice thing about Lauko was we didn't really give up anything significant for him and he's young and can be a forechecking monster. Soini intrigues me more than Leskovar which reminds me of that Eden Prairie we kid had down in Iowa for a few seasons. Just a bigger kid who didn't mind to drop the gloves once in a while. IMO those guys are a dime a dozen and I don't think he really has an NHL projection / future. Soini sounds like he's athletic with a little sandpaper to his game. Kiviharju sounds like a Finnish clone of prime Jared Spurgeon when healthy...but he does have a disturbing injury history already. So will he be kind of like defense version of Mason Shaw whose knee would let him down at the most inopportune times so he could never really get much of a chance? Buium sounds like a solid Top 4 defenseman; kind of a shorter poor man's version of Cale Makar. He looked awesome as a freshman last year with Denver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbgarnett Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 (edited) https://twitter.com/MichaelPagani/status/1807606254589669676 Edited July 1 by bbgarnett 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 I saw the little video they snuck out there on Day 2 of the draft. Its a bold thing for him to say, but we'll say more about it on our draft review show which we will record this afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I just listen that again - 4th round draft was saying that he is a steal. Wow. How he could know at his young age that he is a steal or not steal of the draft without playing any time in NHL yet? Definitely, he is not a modest guy, but too bold. Do not remember this before that any draft was saying to the GM's ear - I am a steal, especially, if he is prone to injuries. Only time will show what kind of steal he is and for who. So far lots of questions regarding him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Crease And Assist: Episode #47: 2024 Minnesota Wild Draft & Free Agency Review We break down the entire draft class as well as our free agency moves. But we talk a lot about what Kiviharju said and while that drew a lot of buzz, we discuss whether we think that bravado is warranted or not. Lots of analysis of all our six selections. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 I’m not holding my breath on any of these guys other than Buium. Odds of all of these guys hitting are astronomical. If they get two players from this draft to make it to the NHL it will be a successful draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 Minnesota Wild club had a development camp last week. Here is some info from it: https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/minnesota-wild-dev-camp-recap-071324 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Samuel Hlavaj certainly has some moxie to him. It would be nice to have us have another talented goaltender in the system besides just Jesper Wallstedt. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts