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Finland vs. Switzerland U-18 notes

April 15, 2017

By Grant McCagg

Heiskanen passed it more times to his d partner in one shift than Liljegren did in an entire game. The simple play is often the wisest. Nothing flashy from Heiskanen in the first…making the simple/safe plays and as always solid in his own zone. Often times the less said about the

Finland strikes first on the power play…nice feed by Ikonen to Talvatie, whose pass to the crease goes off the goalie right to Nyman, who deposits the rebound.

Vesalainen needed to show he could finish and create at the U18…and so far so good, as after four periods he has a goal and three assists. He gets the puck high in the slot later in the first period, slides laterally and unleashes a hard low writer that gets tipped by Nyman in front of the net.

Vesalainen has been the best player on the ice without question through two periods…skating, dangling, passing, competing, shooting. Has had a half dozen highlight reel plays…almost impossible to check when he’s entering the offensive zone with speed..using soft hands, length and puck protection skills to make Swiss cheese of the Switzerland defence. Demonstrating keen vision in this game..making several smart passes that created excellent scoring opportunities. Today at least…he looks like a top ten prospect…perhaps top five. May have a rise similar to Logan Brown’s last U18…but his could be even more dramatic. Struggling to score in men’s competition evidently didn’t ruin his confidence as he has tried all sorts of offensive moves and succeeded with all of them.

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  • Mike says

    April 16, 2017 at 7:38 am

    Vesalainen proves that it’s so much easier to score in junior games vs mens games, specially like Vesalainen having superb strenght.
    Vesalainen’s hockey IQ is a question still. He haven’t been productive in mens games at all.

    • Grant McCagg says

      April 16, 2017 at 9:58 am

      Why would a 17-year-old having struggles scoring goals versus men be considered an IQ issue? If you can dominate versus your peers, odds are when you are a man you will dominate versus men as well. He will still get stronger and quicker..and eventually he will gain his confidence versus men…he’s not the first really good player who couldn’t produce in a men’s league at 17. Did Mark Messier have a hockey IQ issue when he failed to produce in the WHA at 17 despite being big and strong? No..he just needed to mature.

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