It’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 at the NHL Draft in 2021 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. For his efforts, Tuomaala signed a three-year entry-level-contract shocking some, to include myself. But there may be a reason why, and I will explain that later in this piece.
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
After doing some digging, one of our writers Clare McManus sent me a great tweet as to why Tuomaala may have been inked to a contract, when the Flyers have Tyson Foerster waiting in the wings:
Tuomaala was selected by the Sudbury Wolves at the 2020 CHL Import Draft. It will be interesting to see if Tuomaala actually plays in the OHL this coming season, which is a possibility. Bringing Tuomaala from overseas could be one reason why the Flyers inked him to an entry-level-contract. In addition, his entry-level contract with the Flyers is slide-rule eligible. He was drafted out of Europe, so Tuomaala falls outside the CHL/AHL age rule. Tuomaala could theoretically play for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms before the age of 20.
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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.
