Birthday: 01/01/1999
Birthplace: Joensuu, Finland
Position: D
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 187
NHL Draft: 2017: 1st Round, 18th Overall by Boston Bruins
Rankings:
#26 by Riding Pine Hockey
#30 by Future Considerations
#11 by HockeyProspect.com
#13 by McKeen’s Hockey
#8 by Central Scouting (EU Skaters)
Scouting Reports:
“Smart and efficient blue liner who excels more in a shut down role, Vaakanainen plays a reliable and intelligent game as he consistently makes the smart plays on both sides of the puck, strong in his own zone and can break up plays with strong positioning and a good active stick.” – Brandon Holmes, Riding Pine Hockey
“An intelligent, two-way defender…reads the play really well, has his head up all the time and makes quick decisions with the puck…great at turning the puck up ice with awareness of the play around him… moves the puck with easy plays and shows a solid first pass…possesses an accurate wrist shot from the blueline…is composed and does not panic with the puck when pressured…very little risk to his game and he does all the little things right…a great, smooth and balanced skater, plus he shows excellent speed when getting back to defend after joining the rush…backward skating and edge work are both at a high level…doesn’t play overly aggressively, but boxes out his man with some physicality at times and keeps a good gap…uses his stick actively to close off lanes…complete defender who has some top-four NHL upside.” – Future Considerations
Player Statistics provided by eliteprospects.com
First Star Scouting 