With pick #54 in the NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres have taken Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, goaltender from Finland.
Luukkonen stands 6’4’’ and was rated as the #1 European goaltending prospect by NHL Central Scouting. He is slated to play in the Finnish Liiga next year, and comes with plenty of international experience, playing for Finland’s international junior teams for the past three years – he’s another guy who should be in Buffalo for next year’s World Juniors.
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In addition to ideal size, Luukkonen has the agility to move side-to-side with ease and recover from mistakes. He’s also a good puck-handler, and stays calm in the crease, even when surrounded by traffic. Rebound control is still an issue, but it’s an issue for just about every 18-year old goalie.
Here’s what the scouts have to say about Luukkonen:
At 6’4″ tall, Luukkonen has the ideal size that NHL teams are currently looking for. He also gets out well, cutting down angles and taking up a lot of net. Luukkonen has strong legs, giving him an excellent push off the post. He gets side-to-side extremely quick. Luukkonen keeps his shoulders square to the puck when moving across the crease, and when tracking rebounds.
He is very good down low, with very quick legs. Luukkonen is a butterfly goalie who gets in-and-out of his stance extremely quickly. With his size, he still has his shoulders above the crossbar, even when playing in the butterfly. Luukkonen is also very athletic, which helps him to make highlight reel saves on those rare occasions that he finds himself out of position. He has a decent glove and blocker to take away the top of the net. They can get even quicker though. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t at the elite level his legs are currently at. – Last Word on Sports
Big, ‘take up a lot of net’ goalie who has good legs and battles to stop puck. Finds way to make saves. – Craig Button, TSN
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Luukkonen was also featured in this episode of Prospect Avenue from Sabres.com