Pats hope for Finnishing touch
June 29, 2006
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
The Regina Pats are eager to give Finnish power forward Niko Snellman a crash course on Canadian hockey.
He has already passed the entrance exam.
"He's not a shrinking violet that's for sure," offered Pats GM Brent Parker after using the 41st pick in Wednesday's CHL import draft to choose the 18-year-old left winger, whom the Nashville Predators selected in the fourth round (105th overall) of last weekend's NHL entry draft.
The 6-foot-1, 191-pounder isn't your run-of-the-mill European.
"Snellman is a wrecking ball," Predators assistant GM Paul Fenton told Nashvillecitypaper.com following the NHL draft. "When people see him coming on the ice, they go the other way. He doesn't have the speed of a Jordin Tootoo, but he drives through people like Jordin does."
This is the first time the Pats have drafted a player from Finland, a country which is known for producing grittier, Canadian-style skaters. The Pats believe Snellman's physical tools could help ease his transition to the North American game.
"We had pretty good success last year taking a guy who some people didn't think would score because he was not a prototypical European player," noted Parker, who selected Czech sniper Petr Kalus third overall in the 2005 draft. "That has to be a big part of your selection process is finding guys who are going to adapt to the game the way it's played over here."
Prior to the NHL draft, Snellman was the 93rd-ranked skater in Europe according to NHL Central Scouting. In 23 games last season, he posted four goals, four assists and 74 penalty minutes in the Finnish junior league.
Snellman also played for Team Finland at the 2004 Viking Cup junior A tournament in Alberta, where he recorded zero points but led all players with 32 penalty minutes.
"His best asset is his physical play," Predators European scout Janne Kekalainen reported on the Predators Web site. "He hits extremely hard and extremely well. He's got great, great passion for the game and determination. He's got good skills and good hockey sense too. He didn't produce a lot this year, but I don't see that as a problem in the future because he can play with good players. He can pass the puck and he can make decisions. He needs to improve his skating ability a bit, but I'm pretty sure that it will come in the future."
The Predators had an eye on Snellman for some time.
"The first game I saw him in, he was just unbelievable," Kekalainen added. "He made great passes for guys. They just had to put in empty netters. Also he made some punishing hits and in a fashion that not many people can do. That just convinced me thoroughly about him."
Parker doesn't anticipate any trouble bringing Snellman to North America, noting that he has talked to the player's agent and the transfer papers are already in transit.
The Pats received information from a number of NHL sources which suggest Snellman could be an impact WHL player. Parker said one scout referred to him as "a beast."
"We hope to play him with a good skilled centreman where he can go to the net hard and score those hard-nosed goals," added the Pats GM. "It's so hard to say (if he'll pan out). I hope he adapts when he gets over here. By all accounts his style of game is going to give him a chance to do that."