Stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com and eliteprospects.com.
Next up on my list is defenseman Urho Vaakanainen! Vaakanainen appeared in the first two games of his NHL career for the Bruins last season, in which he failed to produce a single point. Drafted 18th overall of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Bruins, he also played in the first 30 games of his AHL career for the Bruins’ affiliate in the league, the Providence Bruins, through which he tallied four goals and ten assists. He then appeared in all four of the P-Bruins’ playoff games, in which he failed to put up any points. The 20-year-old defenseman has only played for the Bruins organization over his one season NHL and North American professional career.
Vaakanainen is one of (if not the) the most exciting prospects in the Bruins system right now. At the very least, he’s currently their top defensive prospect, and for good reason. He’s an excellent skater with great hockey sense, poise with the puck, and on-ice vision. He’s more of a stay-at-home defender and doesn’t put up a lot of points because of it, but that may change with time. Even if it doesn’t though, he’ll still have no problem being a top-pairing or at least top-four defender for the Bruins someday soon. He’s great at rushing the puck, always has his head up, and makes quick (and good) decisions with the puck. He has the ability to shut down plays off the rush and excel on the penalty kill, but needs to improve his shot if he wants to put up more points, especially the accuracy of it. He’s still young though and has only been in North America for a year, so he’ll certainly continue to improve. Overall, he’s adjusted very well to the North American game and looks to be a big part of the Bruins roster going forward once a spot opens up for him.
As for what we can expect out of Vaakanainen next season, he’ll bring the same things as last season, but he’ll be improved. Despite the fact that he looks like he’s ready for the NHL full-time this upcoming season, he’ll most likely play it out in Providence due to the fact that the Bruins currently have nine NHL defenseman under contract. But, he will almost certainly see time with the big club when injuries inevitably hit, as he’s more than ready for that. Regardless of where he plays, he’ll still be an excellent skater and a great shutdown defender who also has some offensive potential due to his style of play. He’ll likely start to realize that potential a little more this season as he continues to develop and mature as a player, which is obviously great news for the team. Overall, Vaakanainen is a really exciting prospect that will almost certainly be a big part of the Bruins’ roster someday, and likely someday soon. It’s really exciting to think of a top pairing of Charlie McAvoy and Vaakanainen, as at least on paper, they will complement each other nicely and be a force to be reckoned with at both ends of the ice. He could see a full-time role as soon as the 2020-21 season as at least one spot should open up with the contract of Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller, and Torey Krug all up, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens then.
Hockey Addict 