3. Urho Vaakanainen, D
Urho Vaakanainen is in an unenviable position. He’s a young defensive prospect on a team with an already capable d-corps, and he’s not quite developed enough to hide those mistakes that almost every young defenseman has when adjusting to the professional game.
He’s a little bit unbalanced, a little uneven. While praised for his fleet skating and puck-moving ability, there are times when he gets tripped up and doesn’t quite connect as one may think he should.
Sept. 23 was one of those nights, and Cassidy mentioned this to the press. Cassidy felt as though it was a poor showing for the young Finnish defenseman, and that’s not ideal news for a prospect trying to claw their way onto an Opening Night roster.
Cassidy felt as though Vaakanainen’s performance, while all-around sort of awkward in the way that’s expected of a less polished defenseman, truly suffered in the realm that the Finn might be most praised for: his skating.
"“I don’t think he skated well enough to skate people, to break out pucks. One of his strengths is his foot speed, and his defending with his foot speed. He got beat wide once tonight, that’s not typically his game [because] he’s pretty good that way… His feet need to be moving every night. I thought he could have been better in that area tonight, being a little bit more of a factor. I thought [Jakub] Zboril did a pretty good job that way, breaking out, getting up ice and supporting the rush. Not as much for Vaak tonight.” – Bruce Cassidy, as reported by Joe Haggerty for NBC Sports Boston"
I was reminded of something Jamie Langenbrunner, the Bruins’ Player Development Coordinator, said earlier this month about Vaakanainen. His words in retrospect are eerily prophetic and speak to how uneven prospect development can be.
Langenbrunner speaks specifically of Vaakanainen’s uneven time spent with Providence, where he scored four goals and 14 assists in 30 games, much of that coming in fits and spurts.
“That happens for a young kid,” Langenbrunner said. “I think with him, most kids his age aren’t playing in . Most 19-year-olds are still in junior. I think this year will be a big opportunity for him to take that next step. We feel that he has that ability.”
That’s… a good point, honestly. I think with Vaakanainen we should be less invested with the possibility that he’ll crack the Bruins lineup out of training camp (a feat which seems unlikely) and more in his development in Providence.
He’s still adjusting to the North American game. Give him time, and he may just blossom into a steady blueline asset for the B’s.