New York Rangers prospects in Finland show potential

The majority of New York Rangers prospects in Europe are from Sweden,but there are three potential Blueshirts playing in Finland.

With Kaapo Kakko finishing his rookie season with the New York Rangers, the team has one of the highest profile Finns in the NHL.  There are three prospects currently playing in Finland and they all have NHL potential, some as early as next season.

Lauri Pajuniemi (RW) – 2018 5th round, #132

Speaking of Kakko, one of his teammates last season with TPS Turku was Pajuniemi,  another right wing.  After two season in Liiga, the top professional league in Finland, Pajuniemi had a breakout season offensively at age 20.

In 49 games, Pajuniemi scored 26 goals and totaled 40 points.  Those 40 points were good for 27th overall in Liiga, but his goals total was eye-popping. His 26 goals was third overall in Liiga.  He scored two more goals than Oiler prospect Jesse Puljujarvi who played seven more games.

He was deadly on he power play with half of his goals coming with the man advantage.  Those 13 power play goals were second most in Liiga.   He averaged just over 15 minutes of ice time per game for TPS Turkku, who finished 11th overall in the 15 team league.

Pajuniemi will turn 21 in September so it is very possible that the Rangers will try to ink him to an Entry Level Contract.  He is a right handed shot who is 6 feet tall and weighs 183 pounds.

Is he for real?   On one hand you have to look at the level of competition in Liiga.   It’s a league where a 17-year old Kaapo Kakko scored 22 goals last season.  It’s also a league where 37-year old Jarkko Immonen scored 21 goals and had 44 points.  For you Rangers historians, you’ll remember that Immonen was one of the players the Rangers got from Toronto in the Brian Leetch deal in 2004.

On the other hand, you have to consider that Pajuniemi made his Liiga debut in 2017-18 at age 18. He had shown a knack for scoring in Finnish junior hockey, scoring 28 goals and 76 points in 45 games in 2015-16.  Considering that he is two years older than Kakko, he may be ready to make the move across the Atlantic.

Leevi Aaltonen (W) – 2019 5th round, #130

Like Pajuniemi, 19-year old Leevi Aaltonen was taken by the Rangers in the fifth round of the Entry Draft, just one year later.   He played most of this season with KalPa in Liiga, scoring one goal and seven points in 45 games.

Here is Aaltonen scoring his first goal, a power play game winner for KalPa.

Aaltonen has been averaging under ten minutes of ice time per game and his plus/minus was -13, reflecting his lack of professional experience.

The Rangers are in no rush to bring Aaltonen over from Finland and will let him continue to play in Liiga and get experience.   He just turned 19 in January so look for him to stay in Finland for at least one or two more years.  The team owns his rights until June 2023.