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sulovilen · 05-18-2020, 03:45 PM

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733 words, x2 draft media, ready for grading

Walton Stromberg joins Maine Timber as the 25th overall pick

Maine Timber made a splash in the S54 SMJHL Entry Draft, as they made a whopping amount of ten picks in the first five rounds. The future looks bright for the Timber, and one reason for that may be their 25th pick, which they used on Walton Stromberg, who was one of the late risers in the draft. Stromberg was recently chosen to the Finnish WJC tournament roster, which may have contributed to him going surprisingly early in the draft. He is not very well known outside Finland, but he may be a diamond in the rough, and Timber should be happy with their European scouting.

Stromberg is a young center prospect straight out of Tampere, Finland. Growing up in the hockey capital of Finland, he has always lived and loved hockey. Growing up next to an outdoor hockey rink, he has spent countless hours playing hockey with friends mostly way older than him. That’s where his hockey IQ comes from, having to find ways to outsmart physically more mature players. Here’s his complete profile.

Strengths

Personality. He’s very focused and ambitious, yet super calm. He may seem lackadaisical on the outside, but it’s just because he has nerves of steel and he’s smart enough not to use his energy on things that don’t matter for winning. That’s why he you will never catch him cheating for offense.

Hockey IQ. Like mentioned, he’s a smart player, and has great awareness on both sides of the ice. But his high hockey IQ shows best in his vision: at times he’s able to make passes that seem practically impossible. The way he feeds his wingers with saucer passes sometimes make him look like he’s an artist and a mathematician at the same time.

Stickhandling. Besides his vision and passing ability, he can carry the puck on his stick like it’s on a magnet, and at times makes defenders look dumb with his dekes. His stickhandling isn’t limited to offensive gimmicks, as he’s also a great at making stick checks and stealing pucks in the defensive zone.

Weaknesses

For a long time, he only played pond hockey, and only started playing competitive hockey at a relatively old age. That’s why he’s still learning to use his strengths in competitive, high-tempo games. Physically he is still quite raw, but luckily he has quite good natural strength and stamina. He however still has a long way to go before being considered a franchise level prospect. We should also raise some concerns about how he’s able to adapt to Northern America, both on and off the ice.

What to expect?

Being a Finn, he has been playing on a bigger rink, and that may require some adjusting to his playing style. He’s also not exactly a cosmopolite by nature, so moving to an environment where everything, starting from the language, is new to him, may produce some difficulties at first. Lucky for him he got drafted to Maine and not to a big metropolis, which could have been even more of a culture shock. Lucky for him, a fellow Finn Jesse Seppänen (left winger drafted by Maine with the 31st pick) will be facing the same change.

Stromberg has a big upside, but we can’t expect wonders from him in the short-term future. He will go through some growing pains and it will take time to get settled in Maine and adjust to the North American hockey style and culture. However, with a good head on his shoulders, he will find ways to develop himself, mitigate his weaknesses, fortify his strengths and eventually he will take a bigger role in the Timber roster. For determining what kind of a player he will be in his prime, we need to see some more games from him.

Fun fact

Stromberg and Seppänen definitely are not the first wave of Finns rushing to Maine. In the years 1821-1929 around 350,000 Finns immigrated to the United States. Finns were looking for places that remind them of Finland, which is the reason Maine was one of the main destinations. There were around 3,000 Finns living in Maine in the year 1930, which means that there’s still a lot of people with (at least partly) Finnish roots living in Maine. The Finnish American Heritage Society of Maine also still remains active, promoting the Finnish heritage.

***Faelax*** · 05-18-2020, 03:50 PM

Excited to have you on board!

*CementHands* · 05-18-2020, 05:40 PM

very glad to have you aboard!

suavemente · 05-18-2020, 06:29 PM

Hype! Great Media!

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