[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Take a Heikki Edition):

LHC Heikki Ruohonen is a name I keep seeing this Draft season, but I have to confess- I don't know too much about him, and there's not a lot of info out there to digest on him. I have watched a couple of games that he participated in, at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, but I didn't take note of him. It would seem I'm not the only one, as this young man has only really started to make waves this season, with some stellar numbers. In international competition for Team Finland, Ruohonen has been used as a defensive C, but even then, he showed flashes of high offensive skill. At this time, he has so far amassed 19 goals and 45 points in 36 games for Kiekko-Espoo of Finland's U-20 league, and wears the "A" for that club. He's the main offensive play-driver for a low-scoring squad, and doesn't have the deepest supporting cast to help him out- he's 7 points ahead of the next highest scorer on his team, 20 points ahead of the player in third place, and leads the team by 7 goals. In January, he was the most productive player in the U-20, with 14 points in 6 games. What is disappointing, and concerning, is that he hasn't yet had a call-up to one of the higher men's leagues, as most prospects in Europe get at his age. He's quite young for a draft-eligible player, with a June 19th birthday, and he stands 6'1",196lbs.

Ruohonen's has some stirling fancy stats that show him to be an elite two-way player, with excellent tracking data defensively. According to what little I've read, he has vision and IQ, and can spot teammates in the slot with high-end passes. He can power through the neutral zone for nice entries, and is inside-driven with the puck. He shows manipulation skills through his handling and body orientation. Ruohonen is "relatively quick", and leans into opponents on the rush to beat them to the inside lane. Sounds to me like he needs to improve his skating. At any rate, keep an eye on this player...