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Rangers Draft F Leevi Aaltonen in 5th Rd. (130th) Pick


Phil

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Name: Leevi Aaltonen

Position: LW

Shoots: L

Current Team: KalPa / Liiga

 

 

Aaltonen is very active on his feet, has excellent acceleration and can torch opponents with high-end speed, Future Considerations 2019

 

slick offensive play-maker … undersized but highly skilled … plays with his heart on his sleeve … excellent footwork … creative on the power, ISS Hockey 2017

 

 

Elite Prospects Profile: https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/347570/leevi-aaltonen

 

 

Current Statistics

HockeyDB.com Page:http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=215601

Team Player Page:https://kalpa.fi/en-gb/article/etusivu/leevi-aaltonen/108/

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The Blueshirts used their fifth-round pick (130th overall) to select forward Leevi Aaltonen. Aaltonen, 18, skated in 29 games with KalPa's U20 team in Jr. A SM-liiga this past season, registering 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points, along with a plus-nine rating and 28 penalty minutes. Among players in their U18 season or younger in Jr. A SM-liiga, he ranked third in points per game (1.24) in 2018-19. Aaltonen also recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in six playoff games during the season. He tallied one assist in seven games with KalPa in Liiga during the past season, and he was one of 12 players in their U18 season or younger who notched at least one point in Liiga in 2018-19.

 

The 5-9, 177-pounder has played in KalPa's organization for four seasons (2015-16 - 2018-19). Aaltonen helped KalPa's U20 team win the Jr. A SM-liiga Championship in 2017-18 and KalPa's U18 team win the Jr. B SM-sarja Championship in 2016-17. In 2015-16, Aaltonen won the Timo Jutila Award as the Jr. C SM-sarja (Finland's U16 league) Rookie of the Year, and he led the league in points during the season (70; 26 goals and 44 assists in 27 games).

 

Internationally, the Mikkeli, Finland native has represented his country in several tournaments. Most recently, Aaltonen registered five points (one goal, four assists) and a plus-four rating in five games while representing Finland at the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship. He led Finland in assists and tied for the team lead in points in the tournament. Aaltonen recorded two assists in five games at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and he also registered five points (three goals, two assists) in four games at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He helped Finland win a gold medal at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship, as he tallied two goals and posted a plus-two rating in seven games during the tournament. In addition, Aaltonen was teammates with Kaapo Kakko at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship.

 

Entering the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Aaltonen was ranked No. 29 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of European skaters eligible for this year's Draft.

 

https://www.nhl.com/rangers/news/rangers-make-eight-selections-in-2019-nhl-entry-draft/c-308009228

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Excerpt from the 2019 Black Book.

 

The first thing you notice with Aaltonen is the pace at which he plays; he’s got really quick feet, excellent acceleration and great top speed. If you combine his excellent skating abilities with his good compete level, you have a player who’s very easy to notice on the ice. Despite his size, he competes hard, gets involved physically along the boards, and he’s a very good forechecker. A significant portion of his offensive game came from his feet. By keeping his feet moving, he’s tough to contain for opposing defensemen who can’t keep up with him. He plays much bigger than his listed size, and his compete level mixed with his speed brings value to any penalty-killing unit. Offensively, he’s a shoot-first type of forward who is not shy when it comes to putting pucks on net. He has a quick release and an above-average velocity on his wrist shot. However, he can be a bit too one-dimensional when he tries to create offense; he struggles with his decision-making, his passing game, and his vision is below-average. He can be ineffective during a game despite how hard he works, as his hockey IQ is poor and he can’t always process the game quickly enough. If opponents are able to block his shooting lanes, he has trouble distributing pucks. Alternatively, if he does succeed in getting through, he’s a bit too slow to find open teammates in the offensive zone. Aaltonen has good skills, quick hands, good shooting skills, and a solid compete level. The question marks surrounding him are related to his hockey IQ, playmaking abilities and his size.
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