Panthers keep collecting Finland-born prospects

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers' search for high-scoring prospects continues to take them to Finland.
The Panthers used two of their five selections in the 2017 NHL Draft on a forward from Finland: Aleksi Heponiemi in the second round (No. 40) and Sebastian Repo in the sixth round (No. 184). This followed the free agent signing of forward Henrik Haapala, the leading scorer in the Finnish Elite League last season, and the selection of center Henrik Borgstrom with the No. 23 pick of the 2016 NHL Draft.

The Panthers have selected a forward from Finland in one of the first three rounds of the NHL Draft four times in the past five years, including center Aleksander Barkov at No. 2 in 2013 and forward Juho Lammikko in the third round (No. 65) in 2014.
"We have a great scout in Finland," Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said, referring to Jari Kekalainen, the brother of Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. "He got us Barkov and Borgstrom. We really trust his instincts and his vision and his scouting. He fought hard for these guys. We like what they bring to the table. The Finnish players play hard, they're passionate, they play a North American-style game and they also have a lot of skill and desire to play in the NHL."
Barkov, who won't turn 22 until Sept. 2, has played four seasons with the Panthers and arguably is their best player. He could be joined this season by one or more of his fellow Finns, with 23-year-old Haapala perhaps the most likely candidate. Tallon said he could envision Haapala, who had 60 points (15 goals, 45 assists) in 51 games last season with Tappara of Liiga, skating on the Panthers' second line with Vincent Trocheck and Radim Vrbata.
Tallon also didn't dismiss the possibility of Borgstrom, 19, jumping to the NHL after an impressive freshman season at the University of Denver, when he had 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists) in 37 games to help the Pioneers win the national championship.

"He's got the most upside I've seen in a long time," said Panthers goalie prospect Evan Cowley, who was Borgstrom's teammate at Denver. "He's super crafty with the puck, exciting to watch. He's putting butts in seats in Denver. People really want to come watch him. They're almost as amazed as we are when we're seeing stuff in games. He can pull out some really cool stuff, especially in big times. It's going to be exciting for a lot of years to come."
Heponiemi, 18, had 86 points (28 goals, 58 assists) in 72 games for Swift Current of the Western Hockey League last season but likely needs to bulk up from 5-foot-10, 149 pounds before he's ready to play in the NHL.
Repo, 21, didn't put up the kind of offensive numbers as Borgstrom or Heponiemi but has a body more suited for the NHL (6-2, 198). Repo had 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 46 games last season for Tappara, the team Barkov played for before he was drafted.
"He's like a god there," Repo said. "Barkov is a pretty popular in Finland. Everyone likes Florida."
The Panthers are hoping any or all of the four newest Finns can one day contribute the way Barkov has.
"First of all, the credit goes to the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation," said Jason Bukala, the Panthers director of amateur scouting. "They've had a nice run on a lot of different levels and they have a model over there that's clearly working. They deserve a lot of credit for that.
"Jari Kekalainen, there's a lot of great scouts in this game, but he does his homework and he's an outstanding scout and he's done a great job of identifying some real high-quality Finnish players, and he battles for them. And at the end of the day, he's right way more times than he's wrong. Until he makes some glaring mistake, I guess we'll keep rolling out those equations."