[Noma's Watch] SM-liiga's regular season

[Noma]

Now when the regular season has ended, I go through the most notable players from NHL fan's/fantasy manager's point of view in every SM-liiga team.

KalPa Kuopio
KalPa won their first regular season title ever this season. Their scoring leader was 23-year-old speedy winger Sakari Salminen who ended up with 24 goals and 23 assists in 53 games. He'd have the speed and skill to be an NHLer, but the lack of size and strength will probably be the issue that keeps him in Europe. Iiro Pakarinen that was drafted last summer by the Panthers in 7th round, finished the season with 10 goals 3 assists in 54 games. He is rumoured to join HIFK Helsinki next season.

Pelicans Lahti
Pelicans was fighting for its spot in the SM-liiga last season in the relegation series, but this season they finished on the second place in the league. A lot of their success was based on their foreign reinforcements. Ryan Lasch led the whole league in scoring with 24 goals and 38 assists in 59 games. He moved two years ago from NCAA to Europe as an undrafted free agent, and he will probably have a hard time to get to the NHL because of his small size. Justin Hodgman, another undrafted forward, was their second best scorer with 14 goals and 39 assists in 59 games. He is very good all-round forward and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the NHL some day. Joonas Jarvinen is a undrafted 22-year-old defender, that made his breakthrough in the SM-liiga this season. He produced decent numbers (5+18) in the offensive end and also gathered 125 PIM along the way. He has the size (6'3" / 220 lbs) to be an NHLer and he is also very good in positioning and good skater.

HIFK Helsinki
The reigning champion from last year, HIFK Helsinki, finished this season in the third place. Their leading scorer was, expectedly, Mikael Granlund with 20 goals and 31 assists in only 45 games. Everyone knows Granlund's potential and he is a lock to be an NHLer next season. Another notable MG in HIFK is naturally his brother, Markus Granlund. He was supposed to play this season mostly in the juniors, but he got to start the season up and he was never sent down. He finished the season with impressive 15 goals 19 assists in 47 games and won the rookie scoring race by a mile. He is really unterrated prospect right now, and I consider him as great buy-low target in the leagues with farm teams.

JYP Jyvaskyla
JYP's leading scorer was former Stanley Cup champion and 245 games NHL veteran Eric Perrin with 59 points in 58 games. The most notable player from NHL point of view is of course Ducks defensive prospect Sami Vatanen he finished the season with 14 goals and 28 assists in 49 games and was also +11. He took 299 shots in the whole season, in average six per game.

Assat Pori
Assat took a major hit late in the season while their leading scorer Tomas Zaborsky got injured in a fight for the rest of the season. He won the goal-scoring title in the whole league with 35 goals and added 24 assists to that in 52 games. He is looking for a one-way NHL contract for next season or he is probably going to the KHL. Buffalo's first round pick from last summer, Joel Armia started the season slowly but improved his game and producing towards the end of the season. He finished with 18 goals and 20 assists in 54 games and will probably play another season in Finland before moving to North America. Aki Juusela could be an interesting dark horse in very deep leagues to sign. He played only 15 games in the SM-liiga this season producing 5 points there, but he produced 53 points in 32 games in the juniors this season. He has the size (6'1" / 192 lbs) to become a good power forward some day.

Jokerit Helsinki
Jokerit's scoring leader this season was 23-year-old Dane Nichlas Hardt. He ended up with 41 points in 53 games, but I doubt he will ever play in the NHL due to his lack of size and strength. Just after Hardt in the scoring table is Detroit prospect Teemu Pulkkinen. Pulkkinen was a little disappointment this season scoring only 16 goals and 21 assists in 56 games after a strong rookie campaign last season with almost a point-per-game pace. I still think he has all the potential to be a good 25-30 goal scorer in the NHL so there's no reason to sell low with this guy. One of the most hyped Finns in this summer's draft is Teuvo Teravainen. He has been projected to be even a top 10 pick and I think there really is a reason for it too. He scored 11 goals and 7 assists in 40 games and has been playing in Jokerit's top line lately. He definitely has great NHL upside, though he still needs 2-3 to develop before moving there. Teemu Eronen that was drafted last summer in the seventh round by the Blues went also forward with his development this season. The offensive defender ended up with 27 points in 46 games. He still has to improve his defensive game though to be an elite defender even in the SM-liiga.

Karpat Oulu
Karpat's leading scorer this season was 31-year-old Czech native Ivan Huml with 46 points in 54 games. The first name in the scoring table that could wake some interest in the NHL fantasy managers is Panthers prospect Joonas Donskoi. He scored 8 goals and 17 assists in 52 games, most of the points coming in the second half of the season. He will probably play one more season in SM-liiga and then move across the pond to try his wings in the NHL. Probably the most interesting name in the team is Predators' second round pick last summer, Miikka Salomaki. The gritty winger ended up with 12 goals and 9 assists, but the most notable part of his game are the hits and agitating he does all the time. Dustin Brown is a good comparison for him and he really was worth the second round pick in my opinion.

Espoo Blues
Last season's finalist Espoo Blues finished eighth this season. Their leading scorer was 35-year-old Swede Joakim Eriksson with 37 points in 47 games. But there was also two names in the roster that have to mentioned in a fantasy column. St. Louis Blues' 4th round pick in 2010 Jani Hakanpaa took a big role in Espoo's back lines after their best D-man Ville Lajunen moved to the KHL early in the season. Hakanpaa has a good frame, 6'5" / 218 lbs, and will probably have a shot in the NHL in the near future. Another interesting name is 2013 draft eligible forward Juuso Ikonen. 1995-born winger was called up in February and he started to produce immediately. He finished with 4 goals and 5 assists in 20 games and if his development doesn't stop, he will have a good chance to be picked in the first round in 2013.

Lukko Rauma
Former third-round pick of Dallas Stars from 2005 Perttu Lindgren led Lukko in scoring with 13 goals and 26 assists in 48 games. He wants to move back to the NHL next season, but most likely option is he won't get a one-way contract and moves to the KHL.

TPS Turku
TPS's leading scorer this season was 34-year-old center Ville Vahalahti with 21 goals and 29 assists in 59 games. Their top prospect is 1994-born and 2013 draft eligible defender Rasmus Ristolainen that played his season in the SM-liiga and finished with 3 goals and 5 assists in 40 games. He also gathered 78 PIM. He is projected to be even a top 10 pick in 2013 draft.

SaiPa Lappeenranta
SaiPa was led in scoring by 26-year-old winger Jesse Saarinen who ended up with 12 goals and 31 assists in 59 games. He doesn't have any value in anything related to the NHL and neither has anyone else in SaiPa.

Tappara Tampere
26-year-old center Jussi Makkonen led Tappara in scoring this season. He ended up with 7 goals and 26 assists in 60 games. The most notable player in Tappara is 2013 draft eligible 1995-born center Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov. He finished the season with 7 goals and 9 assists in 32 games. He is competing to be even the 1st overall pick next year and will probably pivot Tappara's second line next season. 20-year-old center Arttu Ilomaki was called up from the juniors (where he produced impressive 55 points in 41 games) late in the season and made an immediate impact. He scored 4 goals and added 7 assists in just 14 games and could be a late round flier in this summer's draft.

HPK Hameenlinna
HPK was second to last this season in the league and was led in scoring by 28-year-old Canadian Alex Leavitt. He produced 8 goals and 24 assists in 57 games. Like SaiPa, HPK has no players with NHL potential.

Ilves Tampere
The most successful team in Finnish hockey history, Ilves, finished last this season. Their leading scorer was former Edmonton Oilers first round pick Jesse Niinimaki with 5 goals and 31 assists in 47 games. Second in scoring was another Edmonton Oilers pick Toni Rajala with 16 goals and 13 assists in 51 games. He has already confirmed he will play in North America next season and will compete for a place in Oilers roster in the training camp. Joonas Rask, Nashville's 7th round pick in 2010, signed a two-year ELC contract with the Preds this spring. He will however play next season in Jokerit before crossing the pond. Another notable prospect in Ilves' roster is Dallas prospect Jyrki Jokipakka. He was Ilves' leading D-man this season and if his development curve continues like this, he will be an NHLer in 1-2 years.