Antti Pennanen: NHL scouts after Liiga star?
The first two months of the league’s super season have been marked by drama. Three head coaches have been fired, and one has prematurely ended their coaching career.
The head coach of the Lions, Antti Pennanen, has noticed the struggles of the coaches.
– I feel sorry for the coaches. You always want to be on the side of the coaches. There seems to be pressure in many places: in management and among the players. At the beginning of the season, we saw strange and funny goals. That was probably due to the pressure. And you take care of your own concern that the pressure is sufficient, Pennanen said to Leijonat.com referring to his last comment to the media.
According to Pennanen, the pressure is not only visible on the necks of the coaches and players.
– The pressure tolerance of the entire organization is being tested at the moment. It is, after all, a huge stake that one could drop out of the league.
At the beginning of the season, Pennanen has been pleased with the level of individuals, but the league’s gameplay has been weaker than expected.
– The start of the season was not the kind of hockey I would have wanted. Is it due to the short preparation or the fact that the pressure is high and the players are in a new situation? When I have watched the players, there are many interesting players, Pennanen says.
– Has the level of play risen? The same players are playing as before, but the stakes in each game have raised the level of individual games.
What about any of the league players selected for the EHT being a particularly positive surprise?
– Yes, Daniel Mäkiaho has of course surprised. Perhaps Peetro Seppälä has been overlooked in Lukko, considering how good his overall defensive play is and how he has helped Lukko succeed, Pennanen assesses.
– Miska Kukkonen is not new, but how tough and physical he can be at his best is something that I understand also interests NHL scouts.
The Kukkonen mentioned by Pennanen performed very strongly at the national team training camp last spring. However, strong performances did not carry over to securing a spot in the World Championships. The 26-year-old defenseman has recorded 3+5=8 points in 17 games for HPK this season.
The Buffalo Sabres drafted Kukkonen in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. Since no NHL contract was made, the Sabres’ rights to Kukkonen have already expired.
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