There had been rumblings for weeks that 2017 first-round pick Urho Vaakanainen would be playing for the Bruins organization in North America this upcoming season, so it was no surprise when the B’s announced Wednesday that the young, stay-at-home defenseman had signed a three-year entry-level deal with Boston.
The Finnish defenseman will be paid an average of $925,000 per season plus bonuses over the course of the three-year deal, and will be at Bruins' training camp along with several other young, left-shot d-men (Jakub Zboril, Jeremy Lauzon). Perhaps one of will flash in training camp, the way young forwards Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk did last fall, and play their way onto the NHL roster as the Bruins continue their years-long search for another frontline left-shot D-man. The expectation, however, is that Vaakanainen will spend this upcoming season in AHL Providence, where he can develop at the pro level and begin to tap into any offensive skills that haven’t really flashed to this point in his young hockey career.
Vaakanainen spent the 2017-18 season playing for SaiPa in the Finnish Liiga, posting 4 goals and 11 points in 43 games while leading defensemen on his team with a plus-8 rating. Vaakanainen played for Team Finland in last winter’s World Junior championships and finished with an assist and a plus-3 rating in five tournament games. In that tournament he showed the two biggest things he brings to the table: Good skating wheels and solid defensive instincts.
In 2016-17, Vaakanainen played 41 regular-season games in the Finnish League and posted two goals and six points.
The ceiling for Vaakanainen remains in question. He has the size, skating ability and two-way game to potentially play top-four minutes, but he'll need to show more puck-moving and offensive abilities. It will be difficult to tell whether that kind of top pair potential is there for him until he begins to get some pro experience under his belt in North America, and thus it was important for the Bruins to sign him this week and get him to Boston this fall.