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  • Wild Get Another Big Center, Draft Rasmus Kumpulainen 53rd Overall

    Image courtesy of © Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
    Thomas Williams

    By Thomas Williams -

    With their first pick of the second day of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Minnesota Wild decided to return to the well of getting a big, 6-foot-3 center this year, selecting Rasmus Kumpulainen at 53rd overall.

    Kumpulainen spent most of his draft year playing in the Finnish Under-20 junior league, where he scored 11 goals and 34 points in 41 games. 

    In the same essence of selecting Charlie Stramel with their first pick, the Wild continued the same trend by selecting Kumpuliainen. Both listed at the same height and relatively the same weight class; both centers are known more for physicality and some puckhandling. Skating is the one area where they need improvement.

    You can see it as another kick at the can for a big center, but some scouts like the Finnish center as an under-the-radar prospect.

    "Kumpulainen is partly made in the mould of a typical big-bodied two-way centre, but there’s also more skill than might initially meet the eye," the Elite Prospects 2023 Draft Guide read. "Especially for a player his size, he’s got a deft touch and large handling radius. He doesn’t appear to have the shooting or playmaking skill to compete for a scoring title at the next level, but he facilitates his linemates rather well by protecting pucks along the boards and taking them to the inside while also providing a solid off-puck scoring threat. There’s also the defensive value he provides by being engaged and physical when necessary."

    No matter what, he seems to be a project that has the existing tools that could explode overseas.

    By Thomas Williams  

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    Protec

    The Wild now have a guy named Rasmus. That's a plus in my book. Being the only Euro guy in this draft for the Wild, I have only moderate expectations. There's time for Finland pro-league to develop the player there and perhaps the Wild think his development will pick up some momentum. There's always gonna be some conjecture about who's taken where. RasmuKampu has size and isn't afraid to be physical. Those are good qualities and he was good in International play.

     

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    mnfaninnc

    What does 11 goals and 34 points in 41 games really mean in a Finnish league?

    Well Mikko Koivu's 1st season in U-20 had him with 4 goals and 12 points in 30 games. At the time, Elite Prospects said Koivu was a good skater with good offense. He was a large body but didn't use the frame enough. 

    So, this guy's offense is questioned when he outscored Koivu his 1st run through the U-20s, and he is more physical than Koivu? I wonder what Angry Rasmus looks like?

    I don't know when Kumpulainen grew out to 6'3", but there is a transition time for skating when you have that growth spurt. Perhaps his spurt was more recent and he hasn't quite figured out the new stride yet?

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    Mateo3xm
    On 6/29/2023 at 12:46 PM, MNCountryLife said:

    Eggs are no longer in one basket.  Our depth at Center is definitely growing.  

    It’s growing sure, but I’m worried none are going to be more than 3rd line Centers. The scouting report on this dude was not flattering.

    when you’re in the first round I think they should take a risk and they didn’t.

     

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    Mateo3xm
    On 6/29/2023 at 1:53 PM, Protec said:

    The Wild now have a guy named Rasmus. That's a plus in my book. Being the only Euro guy in this draft for the Wild, I have only moderate expectations. There's time for Finland pro-league to develop the player there and perhaps the Wild think his development will pick up some momentum. There's always gonna be some conjecture about who's taken where. RasmuKampu has size and isn't afraid to be physical. Those are good qualities and he was good in International play.

     

    Did you read some scouting reports on him?

    they weren’t great. Said he wasn’t a great skater either.

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    Mateo3xm
    On 6/29/2023 at 8:27 PM, mnfaninnc said:

    What does 11 goals and 34 points in 41 games really mean in a Finnish league?

    Well Mikko Koivu's 1st season in U-20 had him with 4 goals and 12 points in 30 games. At the time, Elite Prospects said Koivu was a good skater with good offense. He was a large body but didn't use the frame enough. 

    So, this guy's offense is questioned when he outscored Koivu his 1st run through the U-20s, and he is more physical than Koivu? I wonder what Angry Rasmus looks like?

    I don't know when Kumpulainen grew out to 6'3", but there is a transition time for skating when you have that growth spurt. Perhaps his spurt was more recent and he hasn't quite figured out the new stride yet?

    He was drafted in 2001..

    the year he was drafted he had 45pts in 26 games in U20.

    I think you are quoting his draft -minus 1 year where he had 12pts in 30 games.

     

    in Rasmus Kumpulainen draft year he had 34pts in 41 games

    In his draft - minus 1 year he had 17pts in 43 games.

     

    so this guy we drafted wasn’t even a point per game in his draft year and Koivu was almost 2 points per game in his draft year.

     

    Rasmus Kumpulainen supposedly isn’t a good skater as well.

     

    I like the optimism here but it’s a little unsettling the more you really look into the guys we drafted.

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    Protec
    Quote

    It’s growing sure, but I’m worried none are going to be more than 3rd line Centers. The scouting report on this dude was not flattering.

    when you’re in the first round I think they should take a risk and they didn’t.

    when you’re in the first round I think they should take a risk and you read some scouting reports on him?

    they weren’t great. Said he wasn’t a great skater either.
     

    I don’t weigh the online reports and profiles too highly. When you look at the varying opinions, it’s not hard to see that they parrot each other’s points. I have more faith that the Wild and other organizations are doing better scouting and have much better information on players than what we get which is some Twitter clips and crappy YouTube vids along with the numbers. 
     

    It felt good when the Wild got Boldy cause there was a high level of certainty he would be an NHL player. It was kinda weird when they got Rossi cause I didn’t see the future NHL superstar personally but that was a big risk high in the 1st...

    The Wild did it then, to a degree each draft til now. If they had taken Lundell in 2020, perhaps they take a wing or smaller center like Stennbergg this week? It’s how the cookie crumbles. 

    Based on the rankings, I thought the Wild might wanna reach to get Heidt out of that second tier group of centers since his skating and scoring was so good.(21st) He was supposed to go 1st round and can win face offs. 5’11 isn’t too small.

    MN got some really good potential in their first three picks I think. Based on how little control you have, I really like what the Wild did this season. It balances out the prospect pool nicely. Next year’s draft will be one they can go back to best player.
     

    What if the Wild had taken Heidt, a NA center before Edstrom, Stenberg, or Perreault, Musty, who are wings at 21st and got Stramel & RasmuKampu at 53rd and 64th, everyone would look at it totally different. 

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    mnfaninnc
    3 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

    He was drafted in 2001..

    the year he was drafted he had 45pts in 26 games in U20.

    I think you are quoting his draft -minus 1 year where he had 12pts in 30 games.

    Could be, I tried to do the age math for a comparison and wasn't sure which year of Koivu's to say. I didn't think that Kumpulainen played U-20 at 16, so it didn't cross my mind to check. 

    I still think he may have had a later growth spurt and that is the reason for his skating deficiency, he's still getting used to the new stride. At least, that's what I'm going with. 

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    Mateo3xm
    11 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    Could be, I tried to do the age math for a comparison and wasn't sure which year of Koivu's to say. I didn't think that Kumpulainen played U-20 at 16, so it didn't cross my mind to check. 

    I still think he may have had a later growth spurt and that is the reason for his skating deficiency, he's still getting used to the new stride. At least, that's what I'm going with. 

    Well I hope you’re right.

    only time will tell with these picks.

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    mnfaninnc
    10 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

    Well I hope you’re right.

    only time will tell with these picks.

    Also, my point was not to compare these numbers with Koivu, or to suggest that Kumpulainen was a little (bigger) version of Koivu. My point was to try and add context to Kumpulainen's numbers by taking a guy we are familiar with who also played in that same league to show where he was at in the same age group. 

    It seems that with the Swedes and Finns that they take a very structured approach to developing their athletes and their numbers may be a little more consistent in comparison over time than the numbers put up in NA. Trying to dissect numbers through different leagues, however, is cumbersome. 34 points in the Finnish U-20 is far different than 34 points in the WHL.  

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