Teemu Hartikainen
#35 / Left Wing / KalPa
6-1
201
May 3, 1990
Round 6, 2008 #163 overall
Wasama Trophy Winner, 2008-2009
Our favorite Finn is snakebitten. The goals aren't coming for him this year and he's aware of it. In our interview he mentioned that "sometimes, it can be a long time when the puck isn't going in the goal." He's capable of scoring goals, and he's got a reputation as a goal scorer among his peers. Eventually, that 4% shooting percentage will trend up but I don't think Teemu is going to have that 40 point season that he talked about in our interview. Based on the chart below of 19 year-olds in the SM-Liiga, he continues to be the range of Jere Lehtinen, Ville Nieminen, Mikko Koivu and Sami Kapanen.
Hartikainen has been battling a severe case of the flu over the last week, but has played through it, so there is hope that his inevitable takeoff was delayed by health. As we've seen with the Oilers, the flu saps the energy and stamina from these guys and I'm impressed that he's been able to play full games recently.
He remains a bright prospect in the organization - he's big, likes to crash the net with or without the puck and loves to hit as often as possible -- all qualities that the Oilers lack elsewhere through the organization.