Kasper Simontaival // Scouting Report #5
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 172lbs.
D.O.B.: 1/11/02
Stats: 25 Goals, 32 Assists, 57 Points, 48 games played
Team: Tappara U20, U20 SM-Sarja
Position: Right Wing
Blue line to Blue Line time: 1.41
Most outstanding stat: scored 12.95% of Tappara’s goals (29.01 INV%)
Letter, (A-F)=Consistency, A is most consistent
Number, (1-5)=tier of talent, 1 being highest
Rank:
39th by EliteProspects.com
47th by Future Considerations
51st by TSN/Craig Button
34th by McKeens Hockey
21st by NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters)
78th by TSN/Bob McKenzie
37th by Dr. Tee Scouting
Scouting report
What’s up guys? And for my 5th scouting report of the 2020 season we will be going over one of the most talented potential 2nd round players in this years draft, Kasper Simontaival, and this guy is extremely fun to watch, and ever since I watched Scouch’s video on him he’s been one of my favorite players in the draft, and I’ve been very excited to do one on him, so what are we waiting for? Let’s dive right in!
Move - 1C
Simontaival has top notch skating. He plays a game that has a big part of it revolves around his skating. There are some inconsistencies here and there, but for the most part he’s a great skater.
Simontaival’s 1.41 seconds going blue line to blue line are the 4th fastest that I 've tracked behind Alexander Pashin, Jean-Luc Foudy, and Joni Jurmo who are dubbed some of the best skaters in the 2020 draft. Simontaival definitely deserves to be up in that conversation as well. He uses quick crossovers like Ozzy Wiesblatt to gain speed in the neutral zone, and to keep his momentum moving while in turns, and in regroups. His straight line is incredible, and once he gets going he’s one of the best players in the draft. His mobility helps him to make quick fakes, and to be at a decent speed when he’s actually trying. His agility is another great thing in Simontaival’s game, he can make quick turns, and maintain control of the puck maneuvering in, and out of traffic. This helps his playmaking greatly as it allows him to shake off defenders, and draw them away from the middle of the ice to open up quality high danger passing lanes, and scoring chances. Although there is tremendous upside with Simontaival’s skating game, it can be filled with wild inconsistencies and he can tend to sleep on back checks when he’s tired and running out of energy. This is partly to do with his size, as he’s one of the smallest, and weakest players in the draft. With added muscle to his frame, and legs he will be able to endure longer shifts, and will be able to go at 100% for a lot longer than just 1 shift in a game. With hard work I see Kasper Simontaival becoming one of the best skaters to ever come out of this year's draft. He’s already so good at everything in the skating department of his game, now it’s just a matter of building off of that.
Dangle - 2B
Simontaival’s stickhandling fits extremely well with his high tempo type game, especially with his skating. He’s got a Vasili Ponomaryov type stickhandling feel to his game at times.
Simontaival has great hands. His hands are mostly powered by his speed similar to Vasili Ponomaryov, and Tim Stützle. They use their speed, and agility to get in open space, and their hands to make quick moves in tight, and then finish off with a good shot in close to the net. His hands also translate into his overall playmaking ability where he can come down the left side of the ice, high, up top on the circle and send an accurate backhand or forehand pass. He’s able to squeeze in tight areas while maintaining control of the puck. They way that he can look so smooth, yet powerful on the puck is very close to that of Dmitri Ovchinnikov. He can get things done with the puck thanks to his skating, and stickhandling. The way that he can shake off defenders with ease, and do that 3, 4 times is amazing, and a great skill to have as a small player. He knows how to control the play with his stickhandling which is another very rare skill of his you don’t often see with young players like him. Despite this he can sometimes be a little inconsistent. He’s a player that you really have to catch on a good day, or he can sometimes be a little “eh?” Adding strength to his lower, and upper body will do him great as he can get pushed off the puck easily like many players at his size will. He’s an elite stickhandler that will improve even more as he matures.
Snipe - 3B
Simontaival isn’t exactly what I would call an elite goal scoring winger.
He has a good ability to get open, and trail behind players to get a good shot off, and this really translated greatly into the fact that he scored 12.95% of Tappara’s goals this year. His shot is accurate, and when in close to the net he has the release to get a good shot off quickly but that’s usually not what he does espicially since he plays a bit of a perimeter game. Don’t get me wrong, when you catch Simontaival on a good day, you’re going to get an aggressive puck moving winger that can be reliable in his own end, but during more often instances he can be caught,I guess not the as the best shooter as he usually should be. The thing that Simontaival really just needs to improve on is his overall perception on which shot to use at which time. He and al the tools to have a really good shot in the future, and has a pretty good one now but the fact is there are definitely things he can improve on. It’s similar to Jack Hughes here he was a prolific goal scorer with great hands, but there where definitely things he could improve on. But with extra strength added to his frame this will be another thing that will improve greatly.
Defensive mindset - 1C
Simontaival is a great defensive player when you catch him on a good day like many other players, and departments of his own game.
Simontaival has great positioning in the defensive zone and is always willing to cover defensemen while there pinching. It’s really what he does in the offensive zone that makes him such an effective player on the defensive zone. He has decent hockey IQ, but he really makes up for that with his hard back checking, and the pressure that he provides on the cycle game, and the “high paced, everyone get open” game. He’s got all of things right in his own end, and is very reliable when he’s not tired. There are a lot of instances where he will stop skating, get lost in the defensive end, and get caught puck watching which can open up dangerous scoring opportunities for the opposing team. He can get pushed around very easily without control of the puck, and this really all leads back to his size, and strength in general. Sometimes he can go past this and really be a great two way winger. But like most players at 5’9” and lower, as long as there is a good thing there is usually a bad thing to back it up. And for Simontaival this is his passing. There are some instances where he can make perfect breakout passes, and other times when he can make horrific ones. Sometimes he can completely ignore his teammates, and simply will skate around in circles until he gets either knocked off of the puck, or loses control of it. Still, there are many cases where you will feel a lot more comfortable with Simontaival skating the puck up the ice with his speed besides him passing the puck and risking a turnover. Overall, in the defensive end Simontaival’s game can be ravalled with inconsistencies. But when he plays his game, things are the exact polar opposite. In time this should improve as he, and his game matures.
Overall - 1D
Overall, Simontaival’s game can be revolved around of you catch him on a good day or not. He has all the talent and speed to be the best player in the world, but if he can’t find a way to be that smart, strong player that can be reliable in all three zones of the ice the I see a very good chance of Simontaival never playing in the NHL. Looking on the bright side of Kasper Simontaival, he has tremendous potential to be a great 1st line winger that’s got great skating, and an outstanding ability to pass the puck.
Playmaking, dynamic wing
Player Comparison: Mitch Marner
This was a very hard one, since there’s not many players with the same skill set as Simontaival, but in the end I chose Mitch Marner. There both good skaters, Simontaival may be a little faster, but Marner, and Simontaival both have that very dynamic, and playmaking feel to their game.
More reports: Scouching, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JXY7gDILnRE