Kasper Puutio

August 2023 – Puutio burst onto poolies’ radar at last year’s WJC, where he scored seven clutch points in seven games to lead the Finns from the back end. There was not much in his past to suggest he would post such a dynamic performance, however: half-a-point per game in his WHL draft year followed by 13 points in 80 Liiga games across two campaigns. The fact that he produced at essentially the same low rate again in 2022-23 suggests that one tournament may have been an outlier. He is an excellent shutdown defenceman who consistently neutralizes rushes and shuts down zone entries. His problem continues to be poor decision-making with possession. He will have to think quicker and play smarter to adapt to the speed at higher levels. Ben Gehrels

September 2022 – Puutio distinguished himself at this year’s World Junior Championships: en route to winning a silver medal with the Finns, he led all defensemen in goals and was named “Best Defenseman” of the tournament. That distinction is particularly impressive given the excellent tournaments had by other defensemen like Olen Zellweger (Canada) and Emil Andrae (Sweden). Puutio will return to the Liiga in 2022-23 to play with KalPa again, where he will look to build on the 10 points in 51 games he managed in 2021-22. Ben Gehrels