It’s not often that a 7th round pick is actually at the draft, but left-winger Juuso Pärssinen was present in Vancouver Saturday afternoon. Learn a little more about him in the video above, please read more below.
What the scouts are saying
HockeyProspect
spent the majority of the season in the junior league with TPS’ U20 team, where he scored 13 goals and 22 points in 36 games. He also scored one goal in 7 games in Liiga and played in various international tournaments for Finland at the U-18 level, notably scoring 9 goals and 15 points in 24 games.
The big center is not a player with big upside offensively. Nevertheless, he has above-average smarts and he’s also good away from the puck. He lacks some footspeed as well, but has great anticipation on the ice and a good active stick. These attributes make him an asset on the PK unit. His quick stick also helps him create some turnovers on the ice, stealing pucks away from opponents. He’s got a good compete level in the defensive zone and has a strong positional game. He has a good work ethic as well, and is not best quickest skater, but he’s good on the forecheck and takes good pursuit angles. In his zone, he often acted like a 3rd defenseman on the ice. He provided strong support down low, helping his defensemen retrieve pucks. However, he’ll need to add some speed to his game. His top speed and acceleration leave something to be desired at the moment. Despite this, he’s quick to change directions, which can make it tough for defenders to face him along the boards when he’s controlling the puck from there.
He’s also offensively limited. His skill level is decent, but lacks some consistency and he has not showed enough skills to warrant a top-6 projection. His hands and shot are also decent, but he has never showed anything that could lead us to believe that he can be an offensive player at the next level. He can be useful on the power play when using his size in front of the net. Parssinen has value as a possible late pick because of his work ethic, defensive game and smarts, but lacks the necessary offensive upside to be taken higher in the draft.
