Draft Radar Scouting Report: Europe Edition Pt. 1
The next two editions of the Draft Radar series will focus on six European skaters we have yet to cover throughout the year, as we round out our draft previews.
According to NHL Central Scouting’s list of European skaters, there are roughly ten players expected to hear their name called throughout the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. Depending on how day one of the draft goes, there could be as many as 15.
Throughout the Draft Radar Series, we’ve covered guys like Ivar Stenberg, Alberts Smits, Viggo Björck, Niklas Aaram-Olsen, and Malte Gustafsson. However, there are still six important names to know ahead of the first round, some that could be considered by the New York Rangers.
As we kick off this two part series, let's take a deeper dive into Oliver Suvanto, Juho Piiparinen, and Marcus Nordmark.
Oliver Suvanto - Center, Tappara Tampere, SM-Liiga
Natural centers are few and far between in this draft class, which means Oliver Suvanto will certainly be a name many teams check in on. The Rangers should be no exception to this considering they are in dire need of help down the middle. At 6-3, 207 pounds, Suvanto is a left-shot center who has size on his side but isn’t expected to bring a ton of offense to the NHL. A defensively responsible two-way player, he reminds me a bit of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, or perhaps a Pierre-Luc Dubois with less pedigree considering most mock drafts have him going somewhere in the middle of the first round.
Suvanto spent the majority of this season playing with Tappara’s pro team in SM-Liiga where he had two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 48 games played. Appearing in three games with their U20 team, he registered three goals for three total points. At the U18 World Juniors, he picked up a goal and an assist for three points, but struggled at the U20 World’s with just two goals in seven games. He looked his best at the Hlinka Gretzky Tournament, but held his own in a men’s league for most of the season.
As you can see in his highlight reel, he was a driving force alongside Oscar Hemming in international play, namely Hlinka Gretzky. Things that stand out the most with his play are good instincts, an active net-front presence, and good resilience in the sense that he seldom gives up on a play.
For as much as the Rangers need centers, there are two main reasons I don’t see him being of much help to them. For starters, the chances of him being available with the 26th overall pick are slim and reaching for him at five is insensible. In the event he does fall to 26, perhaps you take him if you feel he’s the best available player. But I just feel he lacks that sort of star power the Rangers really need to be prioritizing in this draft.
If we can agree Kotkaniemi and Dubois are fair compareables, perhaps that is completely fine for a guy projected to be a mid-round pick that can fall later but it’s not enough to go out of your way to target. Whereas Alexander Command is a guy I can see bouncing up and down a lineup, I feel Suvanto maxes out as a third line center.
