Joose Antonen THW Close Up:
Date of birth: 04/28/1995
Place of birth: Tampere, Finland
Ht: 6’2″ Wt: 179 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: Center
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2013
THW Rankings: 118 (April edition)
Other Rankings:
NHL Aggregate: 125
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Joose Antonen has a big body and room to grow into it. He is an intriguing physical package with size, strength and decent skating speed. Antonen is almost certain to get picked in this draft as a player who could end up playing in a variety of different roles on an NHL team in the future.
He still needs to grow into his frame, but he uses his size and reach to be an effective player in the defensive zone. He has a powerful skating stride as well and decent north-south speed.
Antonen definitely boasts significant offensive upside. He has shown an ability to cycle the puck down low maintaining possession. He has a pretty strong wrist shot and he isn’t afraid to play in front of the net and take the puck to the net. He is unafraid to engage physically.
He scored five goals and 11 points in 30 games playing senior hockey this season for JYP-Akatemia in the second tier of Finnish hockey.
Where he will end up in June: Antonen is likely to get picked up in the fourth or fifth round.
Scout’s Honor:
‘Physical Finnish wing who skates with power and is well balanced. Strong game down low and along the circles and wall. Drives to the front, and has an emerging offensive side and strong wrister.’
Bill Placzek – Draft Site
Statistics:
International Tournaments:
-He scored a goal in seven games during the 2012 U-18 World championships.
-Antonen is representing Finland in this year’s U-18 World championships as well.
ETA = 4-5 years
Risk-Reward Analysis: Risk = 3/5 Reward 3/5
NHL Potential: Third line forward
Strengths:
Size/strength
Physicality
Competitiveness
Shot
Playing in ‘dirty’ areas
Powerful skating stride
Flaws/aspects he needs to work on:
All-round offensive game
Defensive acumen
Quickness
Fantasy Hockey Potential: Offensive = 6/10 Defensive = 6/10
NHL Player Comparison:
Zack Smith
Boyd Gordon
Jay Beagle
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