Kasimir Kaskisuo THW Close-Up:
Team: Minnesota Wilderness
Date of Birth: 10/02/1993
Place of Birth: Espoo, Finland
Ht: 6’2.25″ Wt: 201 lbs
Catches: Left
Position: Goalie
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2014
Twitter: @Kaskisuo
THW Ranking: N/A
Other Rankings:
ISS (North American Goalies): N/A
CSS (North American Goalies): 9
Future Considerations: N/A
Craig Button: N/A
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North America? No Problem!
For a goalie that had never played in North America, Kasimir Kaskisuo sure did make the most of his first season overseas.
Hailing from Espoo, Finland, Kaskisuo spent most of his hockey career in Finnish developmental leagues such as the Jr. A SM-liiga, Jr. B SM-sarja, and Jr. B SM-sarja Q. Even though Kaskisuo missed out on his Jr. C season because of injury, the goalie steadily progressed through the Finnish junior leagues – showing improvement almost every year as he graduated from Jokerit’s U18 team to their U20 program.
After finishing off the 2012-2013 hockey season (13 GP, 2.72 GAA, .905 Save Percentage) with Jokerit’s U20 team, Kaskisuo made the journey overseas to the NAHL (North American Hockey League). While the Finnish goalie might have been a relative unknown when he took over starting duties in the Minnesota Wilderness’ crease, he certainly made his name ring in hockey circles by posting some of the best numbers in the NAHL.
Despite the fact that Kaskisuo missed some time because of injury, he still managed to appear in 32 games and register a 1.48 GAA and .944 Save Percentage – good for tops in the league in both of the aforementioned categories. Given Kaskisuo’s impressive body of work in his first season in North America, it’s certainly not surprising to see the goalie shoot up in CSS’s final draft rankings as the netminder jumped seven spots from his midterm ranking (no. 16 to no. 9).
With Kaskisuo committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for the 2014-2015 hockey season, fans should be able to get a better look at the goalie and his continued play in North America. Even though Kaskisuo will be battling with fellow NAHL netminder Chase Perry and fellow countryman Jonas Johansson for selection in this year’s draft, Kaskisuo has certainly earned all of what he worked for during this past hockey season, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a team invest stock into such a promising netminder.
Scout’s Honour:
“Third year eligible late developing Finn goaltender who presently plays for the Minnesota Wilderness in the NAHL, but has committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.”
– Bill Placzek, Draftsite.com
“Besides the awesome name, Kaskisuo also happens to be pretty good at stopping pucks. The 20-year-old native of Finland is tied for the best save percentage in the North American League at .948, while boasting a 1.35 goals-against average, just a fraction off the leader. The current member of the Minnesota Wilderness will join the Bulldogs next season.”
– Ryan Kennedy, TheHockeyNews.com (January 2014)
“Minnesota-Duluth found the goalie they’ve been looking for in MN Wilderness (NAHL) stopper by way of Finland, Kasimir Kaskisuo, a 6’2 draft eligible who has played his way onto a lot of radars this winter. The Jokerit (Finland) alumni furthers a line of Europeans heading to College Hockey, and as the amount of college-ready netminders clearly available is extremely small right now, Kaskisuo had been a hotly regarded commodity from the NCHC to Hockey East.”
– Jasper Kozak-Miller, OverTheBoards.Net
Where He’ll End Up In June:
Kaskisuo will likely wind up being drafted somewhere in the mid-to-late stages of the NHL Entry Draft.
Statistics:
Bio/Interviews:
International Tournaments:
- No international tournaments recorded.
NHL ETA:
- 3-5 Years
Risk/Reward Analysis:
- Risk: 2/5 Reward: 3.5-4.5/5
NHL Potential:
- Number one starting goaltender.
Strengths:
- Calm demeanor
- Relaxed in net
- Good mental acuity
- Athleticism
- Compact movements
- Good technique
Flaws/Aspects He Needs to Work On:
- Rebound control
Fantasy Potential:
- 8-8.5/10
NHL Comparable:
- Composed nature in net resembles that of Carey Price.