Photo Credit: Amy Irvin/The Hockey Writers
t’s no secret to anyone that follows Flyers hockey that this team is in need of a sniper, well most teams in the NHL covet a high end scoring player.
With the 46th pick yesterday at the NHL Draft Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers top brass selected Samu Tuomaala. Tuomaala hails from Oulu, Finland, and last season he played for Kärpät in the Liiga league where he torched his opponents for 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points in 30 games played.
He’s a guy we targeted. We kind of thought he would probably go at the end of the first or somewhere in the 20s and he fell. A real talented winger. Great skater. Real dynamic speed. Loves to shoot the puck. Talented kid. He’s going to take a little time to get stronger and put on a little weight. A talented kid that has real good offensive upside. – AGM Brent Flahr
This young man in Tuomaala models his game after David Pastrnak. Tuomaala said in the press conference yesterday that he has to improve one-on-one battles for the puck, and he wants to get stronger physically.
Adding muscle (Bigger and stronger) is usually the common theme of young prospects at his age of 18. They are usually a bit raw, but fill out in a year to two years. Tuomaala loves to shoot the puck. He’s a shoot first player, not a playmaker.
The Flyers have had playmakers a plenty, especially with the man advantage, now they drafted a finisher. He possesses a quick wrist shot, and Tuomaala can quickly move his hands to change the angle on it. Tuomaala has an accurate shot, and it generates a ton of power. Don’t forget about his good slap shot and one-timer.
Tuomaala is also a good defensive player. He is strong positionally, and he will fight for pucks. Tuomaala just has a knack for the puck, and he’s a good skater. The Flyers really got a high value pick here at 46.
“A quick sniper who plays a lot heavier than his measurements may indicate, Tuomaala teamed up with fellow winger Ville Koivunento to lead Karpat U20 to within one game of the SM-Sarja championship. He also put on a show for Finland at the under-18 world championship, posting a team-best 11 points in seven games.” – Steve Kournianos, The Draft Analyst
An 18-year-old in Tuomaala was the first Finn drafted by the Flyers since 2006 in Joonas Lehtivuori. How will Tuomaala pan out is anyone’s guess, but the Flyers definitely drafted a shoot first or sniper in Tuomaala.
Flyers Notes:
It appears Fletcher will look to add a 4C or fourth liner, plus a 1B goaltender. He also wanted to get ahead of free agency:
“Yeah, I’m not sure we’ll have the cap space to get into those types of players, the higher end 3C’s. I think we have some internal candidates that we’ll look at.”– Chuck Fletcher
