The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Die By The Blade community. It was a combination of staff writers and over 200 readers that ranked Buffalo Sabres players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2023. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player. Staff votes counted equally with reader votes.
Henri Jokiharju
Drafted: 2017, Round 1, #29 overall
Position: Defense
Born: Jun 17, 1999
2022-2023 stats: Buffalo Sabres – 60 GP – 3-10-13, -12, 30 PIM
2022 T25U25 Ranking: 16
Coming in at #14 on the Sabres Top 25 Under 25 list is Henri Jokiharju, who has had an up and down career thus far in Buffalo.
Plagued with inconstancy and injuries, Jokiharju has yet to play a full season with the Sabres since being traded from Chicago after his rookie season back in 2019. Averaging just under 59 games played a season, the 24 year old defensemen from Finland has struggled to find his footing in the NHL after being drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL draft.
Despite his struggles, Jokiharju is still young and has time to continue his development, although it needs to come sooner rather than later. He still has good value as a third line pairing, and will have the opportunity to prove that he can contribute to this team, even as younger players start to push for playing time.
In terms of assets, Jokiharju has a nice two-way game and contributes on offense with his playmaking and puck handling. And while he struggles to be consistent on defence, he has shown at times that he is capable of playing in a top 4 role.
Jokiharju’s statistical production has also been relatively constant over his time with the Sabres, as he has scored three goals in each of the last three seasons, while putting up 55 total points over the last four years, with 19 being his career high in 21-22.
In regards to his current contract situation with the Sabres, Jokiharju was re-signed in September of 2021 to a three-year deal lasting through 2023-24, at $2.5 million per season, per CapFriendly.