[Sandman]

C Aatu Raty,6'1"181lbs (Karpat, Liiga,SWE): 3g/3a/6pts in 35 games, as a power-forward playing against men. He showed much better against his own age-group in the U20 league, with 7pts in 8g. He took part in the 2020 WJC, where he was the youngest player in the tournament, playing mostly 4th-line minutes, scoring 3pts in 7 games. Raty is a big, natural center that can play all 3 forward positions. He is a tireless worker who plays at a high pace, with or without the puck. For a few years, he was touted as a potential first-overall pick, but he's become very enigmatic. Raty is the type of C that's highly sought after, as he plays a sound, 200ft game.

Raty is naturally a shoot-first guy, but he displays great playmaking skills and vision-he can deliver to his wingers at high-speed. He's the kind of player that wants the puck on his stick, as he's always ready to make a pass or shoot, and he can do both with minimal time and space- and he can get the puck through tight spaces. As mentioned, he plays a great 200ft game- he reads the play in the defensive zone extremely well, and his positioning is top-notch. He supports his D down low, takes away the middle of the ice, and when the puck is in his possession, he starts the rush going the other way. His skating is excellent, albeit perhaps not elite, but when he gets going at top speed- it's like a freight train coming through. All aspects of his stride are solid, and he has great balance, and puck-protection. He can perform many directional changes every rush. Always non-stop action- hustles and keeps his feet moving, regardless of whether he has the puck or not. One of his best assets though, might be his shooting, as he has great hands, a powerful shot, and a quick release- but even better is his ability to find time and open space to unleash his accurate wrister. Another of his gifts that's talked about is his elite stickhandling skills- he can move through multiple defenders in traffic, and beat them on the rush.

Raty plays a power-forward game that's physical, chippy, and aggressive. He gets involved in all the dirty areas, and uses his size and strength to his advantage. He will compete in the corners, and along the wall to win pucks. He's effective in the cycle, and extends the play to allow teammates to set up and get open, and he exhibits high-battle in net-front situations. Raty makes a positive impact in transition, both offensive and defensive- he has the speed, puck control, and awareness to skate or pass the puck through the neutral zone with a clean entry, or thwart the rush coming in.

The team that drafts Raty will need to show patience. In the two years prior to this one, his willingness to score from high-danger areas has been steadily diminishing, and since his numbers two years ago were mostly goals with fewer assists, this has killed the amount of points he's put up. He's supposed to be a shooter. With his ascension up from the U18 league in 2018-19, to the men's league this year and higher competition, it's become more and more difficult to do it all by himself-and perhaps he's found the adjustment hard. Now, he has to take the split second to scan for options when he's in high danger for smart plays, or make himself available when he doesn't have the puck- which has sapped his confidence. He's playing a lot more on the perimeter now, as he lacks patience and is afraid to make mistakes. There are those that say he may not have been ready for pro just yet- which is ok, players develop at different rates. He was much more comfortable this year when he played with his own age group. In addition, Karpat has been in an ultra-tight playoff race all year, where 9 of the Liiga's 15 teams had a winning percentage of .655 or higher, and only 3 points separated 3rd from 7th- meaning he was relegated to only 11:37 avg ice-time per night (15th out of 17 forwards). Consider this as well: Karpat was one of the stingiest teams in a league known for being stingy, and only scored 2.47 goals/game (but Raty still generated an above-average 11.8 shots/60 minutes). For a long time, Raty had lost his love of the game, so he may need to be brought along slowly. In addition, he needs time to fill out, and get stronger- which will help his skating come up a notch. At worst, you're getting a middle-6 C with size, speed, and two-way ability-who can chip in on offense and kill penalties. There's still a player here.