JOONA KOPPANEN - Center - 20 - Drafted 2016 #135 Overall
LAST UPDATED 2/17/19
Boston’s 5th rounder in 2016, this Finnish center has intimidating size at 6’5 216lbs. Koppanen uses his size to play a physical, defensive game, and has good faceoff taking ability, but his offense needs some serious work before he can become a valuable pro player. While he does a decent job crashing the net to score on rebounds, Koppanen’s skating, offensive awareness, passing, and shooting are all soundly below average. That being said, age is certainly on Koppanen’s side, as he turns 21 during the 2018-2019 season. He seems like a prospect who, if given adequate time in the AHL for further development, could develop into a nice bottom-6 forward for the Bruins. If his offense doesn’t develop, however, Koppanen could be limited to “AAAA” player status. As of right now, though, Koppanen has been demoted to (and struggled to produce in) the ECHL, which is as close to a death sentence as a prospect can get. Obviously, as a 20-year-old, he still has time, but given his inability to produce or North American ice it's looking more and more likely that Koppanen's strong physical gifts will not amount to anything truly impactful in affiliated hockey.
Boston’s 5th rounder in 2016, this Finnish center has intimidating size at 6’5 216lbs. Koppanen uses his size to play a physical, defensive game, and has good faceoff taking ability, but his offense needs some serious work before he can become a valuable pro player. While he does a decent job crashing the net to score on rebounds, Koppanen’s skating, offensive awareness, passing, and shooting are all soundly below average. That being said, age is certainly on Koppanen’s side, as he turns 21 during the 2018-2019 season. He seems like a prospect who, if given adequate time in the AHL for further development, could develop into a nice bottom-6 forward for the Bruins. If his offense doesn’t develop, however, Koppanen could be limited to “AAAA” player status. As of right now, though, Koppanen has been demoted to (and struggled to produce in) the ECHL, which is as close to a death sentence as a prospect can get. Obviously, as a 20-year-old, he still has time, but given his inability to produce or North American ice it's looking more and more likely that Koppanen's strong physical gifts will not amount to anything truly impactful in affiliated hockey.
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