NHL Draft Prospect Profiles: Eetu Tuulola

Get to Know Eetu Tuulola

Date of Birth: March 17, 1998 (18)
Place of Birth: Hameenlinna, Finland
Ht: 6’3” Wt: 227 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: Right Wing
Team: HPK (Liiga)

Statistics

What Scouts See
Curtis Joe, EliteProspects
A sizey winger with great offensive instincts. Drives to the net hard and leans into his hits. Displays slick puckhandling skills and a hard shot that he needs to use more. Skates with balance, but needs to get faster. Works very hard and doesn’t take shifts off. Needs to be more active in his own end and pressure the opposition into making more rushed plays. All-in-all, a competitive winger with the size and skills to be a difference maker in games.

Future Considerations
Tuulola is a prime example of the Finnish dedication to solid two-way, unsel sh hockey. He plays a pest game to get under his opponents skin. He uses every inch and pound of his frame to go to the dirty areas of the ice, clears room in the crease and plays hard along the wall. Tuulola enjoys to get his nose dirty and is seemingly always available for a little scrum after the whistle. He plays with a physical edge and finished his checks. [. . .] We love his tenacity and willingness to do whatever it takes to get his team in a good situation to succeed. Offensively, Tuulola is still rather unpolished, but solid, and the tools are there for him to be a good player if his development continues on pace.

HockeyProspect.com
He usually makes good decisions inside the offensive zone but his vision seems average. His biggest weakness is however his footspeed. It limits him in several ways. While he likes to be physical, as a forechecker he would often arrive to the puck-carrier and complete the hit when the puck was already safely passed. He can also be rather easily forced wide on zone-entries as defensemen tend to quickly close down on him. Making in-game adjustments to the puck changing direction is a bit of an issue.

Highlights

NHL Potential
With poor top speed and some underdeveloped offensive tools, Eetu Tuulola’s NHL projection tops out as a third line two-way power winger.

Expected Draft Position
With just 9 goals and 5 assists in Jr. A SM-liiga last season Tuulola hasn’t shown enough offense in combination with his two way and physical play to justify a high selection in the draft. Scouts rank him towards the end of the third round or later.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization
Tuulola has the size, smarts, and work ethic that make him the kind of prospect you don’t have to worry about very much. The type of work he has to do to become an NHL player is relatively simple compared to some of the other low percentage prospects found in the second half of the NHL Entry Draft, so Tuulola is a compelling low risk, low upside prospect for mid round pick. In the Avalanche organization Tuulola would be a long term problem with the potential to eventually replace Cody McLeod on the low end and Blake Comeau on the high end.