The defender Max Laatikainen, 17, who is part of the Finnish team competing in the under-18 World Championships starting on Wednesday, is changing clubs in the Liiga. Vaasan Sport announced on Tuesday that they have signed a one-year contract with the defender who made his Liiga debut this season.

– Laatikainen has been part of the age group’s Leijona pipeline all along. He is an excellent skater who knows how to play the game. He has the right kind of playing courage and has already played a few Liiga games in Espoo. We see that he has the opportunity to clearly take a place in Sport’s roster, head coach Lauri Mikkola explains Laatikainen’s situation in Sport’s announcement.

The 181-centimeter tall Laatikainen moves to Vaasa from Kiekko-Espoo, where the young prospect played six Liiga games this season. Most of the season, the defender spent with Kiekko-Espoo’s U20 team, where he recorded 11 points (3+8) in 22 games.

This summer, the defender, who is eligible for the NHL draft, has a father who is a Liiga legend, Arto Laatikainen.

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