Perspective: is this the surprising star acquisition for next season in the League?

The league’s preseason opening Pitsiturnaus is a controversial event every year. Can any conclusions be drawn for the upcoming season from a tournament held at the beginning of August? The teams have barely had time to practice together, and the matches are also of limited length.

Knowing that it’s not wise to say much based on preseason games, I will make my own picks for the tournament’s players and teams.

On an individual level, the most striking player was Vaasan Sport’s center acquisition George Diaco, 24. The Canadian talent caught my attention with his soft hands and especially his game-reading skills. In the offensive zone, he managed to distribute clever passes even in tight spaces.

Last season, Diaco played for Kalmar HC in HockeyAllsvenskan. In 52 games, he posted impressive stats of 25+29=54.

The risk with Diaco is his small size, as he measures 175 centimeters and weighs 73 kilograms. If he can’t handle the league’s physical battles, his understanding of the game and skilled hands will be of no use.

Diaco reminds me of the American winger A.J. Vanderbeck, who briefly played for Pelicans last season. The small-sized winger had plenty of skill, but it was really difficult for him to even get scoring chances at even strength. With proper physical training, Vanderbeck could have become a superstar-level league player. We’ll see how Diaco fares.

Another foreign reinforcement that impressed at the Pitsiturnaus was HPK’s Brendan Ranford. The sturdy winger played in the top league in Slovakia last season and scored 51 points in 51 games with 19+32=51. He seems to fit perfectly into the league.

Team-level strengths and weaknesses

In the Pitsiturnaus, the teams that stood out were the champion HPK, Ässät, and Lukko. Even at this stage, these three teams seemed to have the most sense in their play, although the results for the Rauma team were poor.

TPS and Jokers still have the most work to do on their game. The Turku team occasionally performed impressively in the offensive zone, but in their own end, the team constantly seemed to be at a loss when it came to starting the play.

The Jokers, on the other hand, had particular issues with their defensive play, as serious marking mistakes occurred from time to time. In their forechecking, the Joker jerseys seemed strong. The offensive play also functioned beautifully, but mainly thanks to skilled individuals rather than team play.

Will these power dynamics hold true at the start of the league season? That remains to be seen, but based on the Pitsiturnaus, a slower start can be predicted for Jokers and TPS, while especially HPK may be ready to go as soon as the puck drops in September.