Avalanche Draft Profile: Juuso Valimaki

Get to Know Juuso Valimaki

Date of Birth: 10/6/1998
Place of Birth: Nokia, FIN
Ht: 6’2″ Wt: 201 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Defense
Team (League): Tri-City Americans (WHL)

Statistics

What Scouts See

Future Considerations:

A strong, minute-munching, two-way, dependable blueliner…not a lot of high-end offensive flash or dash to his game, but just makes the right play consistently…good vision and puck moving ability, has no panic to his game and waits for his options…can sling the puck around with strong accurate passes…his hockey sense allows him to read and react to the play well in advance…very committed to blocking shots

Dennis Schellenberg, Hockey Prospectus:

A mature and responsible two-way defenseman who makes good decisions with the puck. Not the most flashy player but he shows poise with the puck and plays very reliably at both ends. Shows some leadership skills, especially when quarterbacking the powerplay.

What BSN Avalanche sees

Valimaki is your typical “Steady Eddie” type of defenseman who can contribute both offense and defense but his number one trait is consistency and reliability. Valimaki isn’t particularly flashy and won’t dazzle you with skills but he’ll make the right decision in every situation and rarely gets caught out of position.

With the puck, he’s extremely poised and patient, allowing him to move it with ease and efficiency. He’s not an aggressive attacker like Cale Makar but he contributes regularly, even helping quarterback Tri-City’s power play at times this season. The offense won’t translate at the same level but his steady, reliable defense will be his hallmark when he gets to the NHL.

Highlights

NHL Potential

Valimaki isn’t quite in the same class as Makar or fellow Finn Miro Heiskanen in terms of upside but he’s a very good prospect in his own right and should push for a top ten selection. He’s a likely top four defender down the road and if he squeezes every single ounce of talent out of himself, he could find himself on a top pairing in time. He likely won’t see much power play time in the NHL but he should be a mainstay on penalty kill units and should still chip in plenty of offense along the way.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

Valimaki is a great fit for the Avalanche. He’s left-handed with good size and has no major holes in his game. He’s a clean prospect through and through and while his offense might be a bit misleading this year, his confidence has clearly grown on that side of the ice and he could balance the Avalanche blue line in the future.

If both players develop, he could pair with current Avs prospect Nicolas Meloche to give the Avalanche a dangerous two-way pairing that can just as easily score points on you as drive you into the wall with impunity.