New Jersey Devils: 5 Possible 2nd-Round Picks In NHL Draft
By Nick Villano
Mikko Kokkonen
Mikko Kokkonen’s size scares me a little, I won’t lie to you, but he can really move the puck, and that’s the direction the NHL is moving in. He’s safe when it comes to that Bruins pick. He’ll never be your best defenseman (at least, hopefully not) but he’s reliable, and does most things well. Have you seen some iterations of the Devils defense? Reliable would be wonderful right now.
He is a shade under six feet tall, and comes in at 190 lbs. He’s a fine weight for his size, but in today’s NHL he’s considered undersized overall. The Finnish defenseman has been playing in the Liiga for his first full season this year. He’s played with adults for small parts of the past two years, but this was the first time he played a full season.
He scored 19 points in 56 games. It’s a fine output for a fine defenseman. He has much work to do before he can become an NHL defenseman, but he’s getting exponentially better year after year. It’s a weak year for overall defensive upside. When that’s the case, it’s nice to get something safe at pick 60. He’s so safe, he didn’t even get a picture. We had to find a file of Finnish people.
Sure, safe isn’t going to get you a great draft grade. These analysts want you to find a player who could be a difference maker from every pick. The thing is, reliability can be a difference maker. Actually, more accurately, not having reliability can be its own difference maker. Kokkonen may never be great, but he can be something we get behind.