Aleks Haatanen

August 2021 – Haatanen was not selected in the 2021 NHL Draft. Nick Richard

October 2020 – Haatanen passed through the 2020 NHL Draft without a selection. He will re-enter the draft in 2021.  Jokke Nevalainen

June 2019 – Haatanen did not get drafted in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He is now eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.  Jokke Nevalainen

March 2019 – Haatanen spent most of his draft season in Jr. A SM-liiga which is the top junior level in Finland. While there, he put up 14 goals and 44 points in 38 games which is excellent production considering his age. He also played 14 games in Mestis which is the second-highest pro level in Finland and put up two goals and nine points there. Additionally, he played two games at the top level in Liiga but only got minimal ice time there. At the international level, Haatanen played seven games with Finland’s U20 team and had six assists in those games. So he has put up points pretty much everywhere he’s played.

Haatanen is an offensive winger with lots of talent. He’s more of a playmaker but has good finishing abilities as well, including a quick release. He has great vision and passing skills. He keeps his head up and reads the game really well. His puck-skills are great, and he can make opposing defenders look foolish in one-on-one situations. His skating is also very good, and he’s capable of making plays at top speed. He’s fine defensively, and a good backchecker capable of stealing pucks. The biggest concern around Haatanen is his ability to play a team game. He’s often very individualistic and even selfish at times. He needs to improve his decision-making and simplify his game to have success at the pro level. He’s also undersized (5-9, 179) and one of the older players in his draft class. All those things combined make him a very risky prospect. But his game has been trending in the right direction during his draft season. Haatanen is likely going to be drafted in the late rounds of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. In deep fantasy hockey leagues, he’s worth consideration as a late round gamble because of his offensive upside.  Jokke Nevalainen