Fantasy Summary
Gifted offensive center with strong skating and stickhandling. Needs to improve his defensive game and on-puck habits, but could be a top-six producer at the NHL level.
Observations
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July 2022 – Kaskimäki was drafted 73rd overall by the St. Louis Blues. Pat Quinn
May 2022 – Kaskimäki had a successful draft-year campaign, scoring 19 goals and adding 21 assists in 31 U20 games in Finland and scoring his first two professional points in the Liiga, earning a goal and an assist in four games for HIFK. The prospect also wore an A at the U18 Worlds, scoring four points in six gams for Finland at the tournament.
A high-end skater with good puck skills, Kaskimäki weaves in and out of pressure very well, and mans the transition quite well. He can connect plays at high speeds and make himself an option off the puck, while having the one-on-one skill to be a handful for defenders, especially at the junior level. His defensive game and vision need to come quite a long way for him to stick as a center at the pro level, and projects better as a winger given his strengths and weaknesses, but Kaskimäki is definitely worth a top-75 pick