Winnipeg Jets prospect, Henri Nikkanen, competed at the 2021 World Juniors for Finland. Here is an assessment of his performances at the WJC.
The first of three players that we will look at and grade their WJC performances is Henri Nikkanen. Nikkanen is the lone Winnipeg Jets prospect that played in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship that is unsigned by the Jets. The nineteen-year-old was drafted by Winnipeg in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
At the outset of the tournament, many people did not know much about Nikkanen. Most fans had not had the chance to watch Nikkanen live. Most Jets supporters had to read prospect reports or had to watch YouTube videos to keep tabs on Nikkanen.
It was exciting to see Nikkanen in action and he performed well. Nikkanen finished the tournament with two goals, one assist, and a +1 plus/minus in seven games.
Nikkanen’s best performance came in his WJC debut against Germany. In Finland’s opening game, Nikkanen had one goal and one assist.
Nikkanen’s only other point in the tournament came on a goal that started Finland’s quarterfinal comeback against Sweden. Nikkanen finished off a great passing play that ignited Finland’s epic comeback. You can see the goal below (Courtesy of @TSN_Sports)
Finland is on the board!!! pic.twitter.com/p1usWmay4g
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 2, 2021
Unfortunately for Nikkanen, he and his team were eliminated by the United States in the semifinals. They made up for it by beating Russia in the third place game and took home the bronze medal.
The future looks bright for Nikkanen and a fair WJC performance grade for him is a B-. He played extremely well positionally and showed his hockey sense. Nikkanen was a key player in front of the opposition net on Finland’s second powerplay unit and has the potential to turn himself into a great two-way forward.
The only down point of Nikkanen’s game is that he could not generate much offense against the heavyweights of the tournament. Nikkanen is not someone who picks up a tremendous amount of points, so that was somewhat expected.
All in all, Nikkanen should be extremely pleased with his efforts at the WJC. He is definitely one player that we could see signing with the Jets in the very near future.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: How would you rate Henri Nikkanen at the WJC? Leave your comments below!
*All Stats Provided by the IIHF*