With the first of 3 second-round picks, the Detroit Red Wings have drafted defenseman Antti Tuomisto 34th overall.
With the 35th overall pick, Red Wings take defenseman Anti Tuomisto from Finland— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) June 22, 2019
With the 35th pick in the 2019 #NHLDraft, the #RedWings select D Antti Tuomisto.#DRWDraft | #LGRW— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 22, 2019
Detroit takes big defenseman Antti Tuomisto. Hard shooter. Might come over as he hasnt committed to an SM-Liiga team— Steve Kournianos (@TheDraftAnalyst) June 22, 2019
https://t.co/u62inZvDwz— Sarah Lindenau (@Lindy72) June 22, 2019
At #35, #RedWings select D Antti Tuomisto. Profile: https://t.co/SFvyjNO6n9— Red Wings Prospects (@DRWProspects) June 22, 2019
Detroit is making big bets in this draft. Just added another towering defenseman to the mix. Antti Tuomisto is a pretty raw talent. Needs a lot of development time, but there are some solid tools for him to build off of. Was 83 on my list.— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) June 22, 2019
Red Line Report said of #RedWings Antti Tuomisto: “Huge, mobile d-man was one of our fastest risers.”— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) June 22, 2019
Tuomisto is a guy that really rose up the rankings this season and has true top-four upside in the NHL given his offensive production and impressive work ethic.— Sarah Lindenau (@Lindy72) June 22, 2019
#RedWings second pick Antti Tuomisto is another right-shooting defenseman. 6-4, 193, from Finland. They also have picks 54 and 60 in second round. #NHLDraft— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) June 22, 2019
Quoting FinnishProspects.com:
2019-04-12 at Finland – USA, U18 by Markus Suhone
There are good basic elements to Antti Tuomisto’s game. The Finn’s gap control is fine and he manages to reduce the attacking player’s space in the offensive zone. As a power play quarterback, Tuomisto looks for a simple and safe pass with no risk of turnover.
His first shift of the game didn’t start well, though. Tuomisto lost control of the puck in the neutral zone, which almost led to an odd-man rush for USA. At the beginning, Tuomisto was a bit shaky with the puck.
Tuomisto’s straight line speed is quite slow and he doesn’t gain a lot of momentum during his few first steps. His lateral movement is better but it requires anticipating the play. All things considered, he relies heavily on his positioning.
The Finn uses his body well near the boards. He has a big body but there’s a plenty of room to fill out. On the downside, Tuomisto has a tendency to get himself off balance under the pressure. He compensates it by using his stick to cover passing and shooting lanes effectively.
From EliteProspects:
Ranked #77 by THE ATHLETICRanked #104 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COMRanked #70 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONSRanked #44 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEYRanked #15 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)Ranked #86 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COMRanked #53 by TSN/McKenzie
Tuomisto has a cannon of a point shot, with both accuracy and power. His hands are quite smooth, McKeen’s Hockey
2019 When he’s on his game, he makes a good first pass with good accuracy, Hockeyprospect.com 2019
He displays powerful strides and is hard to knock off the puck, Future Considerations 2019
From The Hockey News’s Steven Ellis:
Antti Tuomisto, D, 18 (Assat, Finland U-20 – No. 15 EU)
When I put a feeler out on Twitter to find out who other people liked as potential steals for the draft, Tuomisto was one that came up multiple times. And there’s a good reason why: Tuomisto had an impressive 26 assists and 35 points in 45 games to go along with 15 assists in 19 games with Finland’s U-18 team. These are impressive numbers for any forward, but Tuomisto is a big 6-foot-4 defenseman. Tuomisto is a guy that really rose up the rankings this season and has true top-four upside in the NHL given his offensive production and impressive work ethic.
Quoting The Sports Forecaster:
Owns tremendous size, combined with plenty of offensive acumen and mobility for his huge frame. Has an excellent point shot, so he can be a big weapon with the man advantage. Needs to improve his defensive-zone coverage and become a safer blueliner in order to maximize his appearances at the highest level. Will also need to fill out completely and use his frame optimally against quality forwards.
Long Range Potential: Aggressive, offensive defenseman with upside.
From Michigan Hockey’s Stefan Kubus:
No. 35 – Detroit Red Wings
Antti Tuomisto | Assat U20 (SM-liiga) |Pori, Finland
The Red Wings have selected another 6-foot-4 European defenseman with their first pick in the second round. Reports say he is interested in playing college hockey this upcoming season. “Tuomisto has a cannon of a point shot, with both accuracy and power,” said a scouting report in McKeen’s Hockey. “His hands are quite smooth.”
Update:
Dobber Hockey on #RedWings Antti Tuomisto: “An offensive defenseman with good skating ability, Tuomisto is still somewhat lanky because of a late growth spurt. Has a very good shot, heavy and accurate. Pretty good puck skills, too, but there’s room for upgrade.”— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) June 22, 2019
More from Red Line Report on #RedWings Antti Tuomisto: “Developing into a very complete package with tremendous size and strength, plus the footwork to stick with quicker forwards down low.”— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) June 22, 2019
Update #2: Here’s MLive’s Ansar Khan:
Tuomisto is 6-4 and 193 pounds and shoots right. He had nine goals and 26 assists, along with 49 penalty minutes of Assat Jr. in the Finnish league.
Red Line Report said of Tuomisto: “Huge, mobile d-man was one of our fastest risers.”
The scouting service added: “Big blue-liner was never on anyone’s radar coming into season, but every time we saw him he just kept getting better and became a real RLR favourite. Skating is so much smoother now with vastly increased agility. Puck-handling skills have grown exponentially. Developing into a very complete package with tremendous size and strength, plus the footwork to stick with quicker forwards down low. Uses a long, active stick to break up plays, then transitions the play up ice with head-man passes. Real workhorse on the blue line — out in all key situations. Has the confidence to carry the puck up, move up into the rush and even lead the break. Uses long strides to get back and break up plays from behind. Love his attitude; gets chippy with forwards — rugged along the walls and strong in battles. Puck skills have progressed to the point where he’s a solid PP contributor — shots are consistently hard and low.”
The Free Press’s Helene St. James weighs in:
He’s another big guy – 6-foot-4, who shoots right. He has a hard and accurate shot, and also makes a good first pass. He had nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points in 45 games with Assat U20 in Finland’s Junior A SM league. Tuomisto had two assists in five games at the World Junior Championship.
That makes it two big puck-moving defensemen in a row as Steve Yzerman puts his imprint on the Wings in his first big task since taking over as general manager.
Update #3:
Welcome to Hockeytown, Antti! #DRWDraft | #LGRW pic.twitter.com/g9pdqt3GFT— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 22, 2019
Update #4: From NHL.com:
• Tuomisto ranked third in scoring among all defensemen in Finland’s junior league after notching 9-26—35 in 45 games for Assat’s junior club. His strong 2018-19 campaign saw him named to the league’s Second All-Star Team.
• Internationally, Tuomisto represented Team Finland at the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and 2019 Under-18 World Championship.
• His father, Petri Tuomisto, also grew up playing hockey in the Assat hockey system before spending three seasons with the University of Alaska Anchorage of the NCAA. He followed up his academic career with four seasons of professional hockey spread across Finland and France.
• Models his style of play after Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.
Tuomisto is an offensive-minded defender with good wheels and sharp shot. But he isn’t strong in his own zone, so there’s lots of work needed for him to become a pro. He projects as a number-four defender who can run the second power-play.
Among DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji’s second day notes:
Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman stayed focused on the blue line to open the second day of the draft.
With the 35th pick, the Wings selected big defenseman Antti Tuomisto of Assat Pori, which is the same team that Otto Kivenmaki, last year’s seventh-round pick, plays for in Finland.
Listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, he joins first-round pick Moritz Seider as big defensemen in the Wings prospect pool.
Red Line Report said of Tuomisto: “Big blue-liner was never on anyone’s radar coming into season, but every time we saw him he just kept getting better and became a real RLR favourite. Skating is so much smoother now with vastly increased agility. Puckhandling skills have grown exponentially. Developing into a very complete package with tremendous size and strength, plus the footwork to stick with quicker forwards down low. Uses a long, active stick to break up plays, then transitions the play up ice with head-man passes. Real workhorse on the blue line – out in all key situations. Has the confidence to carry the puck up, move up into the rush and even lead the break. Uses long strides to get back and break up plays from behind. Love his attitude; gets chippy with forwards – rugged along the walls and strong in battles. Puck skills have progressed to the point where he’s a solid PP contributor – shots are consistently hard and low.”
