Jesse Nurmi

June 2023 – Nurmi was selected 113rd overall by the Islanders. Pat Quinn

June 2023 – Nurmi’s past season with KooKoo at the U20 level has been solid, leading his team in scoring with 50 points in 41 games. He put up a decent amount of goals with 21, only two behind first place on his squad.

A creative offensive player with decent playmaking, Nurmi has seen a lot of growth in his game, in areas that come as a surprise given how physically frail he is. His forechecking is probably his biggest strength now, as he relentlessly pursues defenders and makes getting out of their zone a mess. His physique gets in the way a lot, as he bounces off shoulder shrugs and fails to stick to his opponents, but his energy partly makes up for it. He boasts a decent but not overly impressive release as well, though he projects more as a playmaker at the next level. Overall, Nurmi could become a very interesting bottom-six checking winger with enough time to add weight on his frame. Hadi Kalakeche