Iltahleti’s Vesa Parviainen posted an article about Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen.
Regrettably, the article comes out of Google Translate as word salad, so here’s a summary of the article’s points about Kiiskinen, who’s posted 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points in 36 games played with HPK Hameenlinna:
- Kiiskinen has helped HPK rally from a last-place status under coach Mikko Manner, who raves about Kiiskinen’s “ability and craving to score goals” while playing a team-first game;
- Kiiskinen is from the Lahti area, but he chose to leave the hometown Lahti Pelicans for HPK over the summer, and thus far, coach Manner is impressed by Kiiskien’s resilience, commitment to the team, and play at the World Junior Championship;
- Coach Manner also praises Kiiskinen for not falling into a “sophomore slump” as the team’s veterans and management attempt to afford Kiiskinen a full season’s worth of strong production;
- And as Kiiskinen has another year of his contract with HPK remaining, coach Manner hopes that the young center will remain in Finland, but he concedes that Kiiskinen may head over to North America to play in the AHL, which Manner believes is a tricky league to break through.
