Ossi Tukio:
Projection: Second Pair Defence
Strengths: Skating, Playmaking, Offensive abilities
Weaknesses: Defensive attributes, Physicality
Analysis:
Ossi Tukio is an all-or-nothing offensive defenceman. Whether you like
it or not, he is constantly involving himself offensively in whatever
way he can. He has top-tier skating, in terms of both mobility and
speed, which makes him a dangerous threat in transition with or
without the puck. He has great vision and passing abilities, creating
opportunities from nothing with passes through sticks and open lanes
alike. His puck control and stick handling are pretty good too, but
there’s room for improvement there. Overall, if there’s an offensive
defenceman I’d recommend a team take a flier on, it would be Tukio.
The reason he is such a high-risk, high-reward player is because of his
defensive abilities. Offensively, he might be one of the best
defencemen in this draft, essentially acting as a fourth forward while
he’s on the ice. When his team is without the puck, though, he can
almost be a liability. I find that he gets caught puck-watching in his
own zone, looking for an opportunity to create a turnover and
transition the puck himself, rather than taking his assignment and
playing defence. He doesn’t have the best body positioning, his
defensive stick is okay but needs work, and he doesn’t win board
battles all that often. He also could use his size more to keep
opponents to the perimeter or just box them out in front of his own
net.