Oilers Sign Iiro Pakarinen To Entry Level Deal

According to Capgeek, NHL.com, and now Bob Stauffer, the Oilers have signed winger Iiro Pakarinen to a two year entry level deal.s

SURELY A HOUSEHOLD NAME

Iiro Pakarinen...where have I heard that name before?

Oh, right.

At 22 years old, Pakarinen (listed at 6', 198 lbs) played sixty games with Helsinki of the SM-Liiga this past season.  He notched thirty points, good for fourth on the team.

FLASHBACK

Copper and Blue's Derek Zona chatted with Iiro Pakarinen back in 2010.

I had the opportunity to chat with Pakarinen and ask him about his game.  I asked him if he thought that (Teemu) Hartikainen's assessment was accurate.  "Yes, the things that Teemu said to you are true," he said.  "I play a very similar game to him.  I have a pretty hard shot with good accuracy.  I'm strong in the corners and on the boards, and I like to lay heavy hits".  What about the offensive game, I wondered.  Is Iiro a stickhandler, a setup man, a finisher?  "I try to shoot every place where I am,", he said, echoing coach Pekka Virta's philosophy.

Pakarinen was drafted 184th overall in the 2011 NHL draft.  This is a deal that will see him make 70K in the AHL, and his cap hit will be 812K if he makes it up to the big club.  I can get behind these numbers.

PAKARINEN ON FILM

Here's some action of Iiro Pakarinen from the 2014 IIHF

Scoring a shootout goal against Switzerland

Putting one behind Ben Scrivens

...and one behind Bobrovsky

I like what I see.  Even if the deal is a complete bust, this is a deal that's low risk with the potential for some real upside.  Thumbs up all around.