It seems it's been a long time since we took D in the first round. His rankings across different lists were very consistent in this range. Big player, good skater, offensive instincts, good defensively. What's not to like?
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So the key here is that it's one of the safer picks you could have made. Expected prospect success is the metric that describes whether a player will have an NHL career - e.g., isn't going to bust. It's weighted but the assumption is that they play more than 100 games in an NHL sweater, by looking at players of similar size and position who scored at similar rates in similar situations.
Of the guys ranked as first round talents, Valikmaki ranks behind only* Gabe Vilardi, Nick Suzuki and Jason Robertson, with 65% of his cohorts going on to have NHL careers. And, of course, Vilardi and Suzuki were both gone by the time the Flames got to pick. Interestingly, Jesper Boqvist of the SHL, a second round ranked center, has a 78% success rate, but a low ceiling for production.
*There's an asterisk here as Cale Makar and Elias Pettersson don't have an expected success rating because they don't have any cohorts (Makar because the AJHL is total junk, and Pettersson because there haven't been enough 17 year olds in the Allsvenskan who have scored as much as he has to compare him to).
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I don't know any of these guys but I'm happy they kept the pick and added another Defense prospect.
In three years he can be on the bottom pairing of a team making a Cup run. I think that's better than giving up picks and paying big $'s for a veteran.
trying to find contract information on Valimaki...
if he was loaned by his Finnish team to Tri City he will be eligible to play in the AHL next season. (Honka exemption to the NHL/CHL agreement)
That would be awesome! To be able to start developing his pro game right away would be a nice surprise. He's got the frame, so it's all about developing the skill set at the pro level.
Pronunciation guide: You-So Valley-Mackey. Not too hard.
