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Contributing at even strength, penalty kill, powerplay, and goalie out situations, Rasanen was a key player throughout that tournament. He posted impressive boxcars of 7 GP, 3-6-9, +8 and led the champion Finns in points and plus while being named one of the top three players on his team. A right-shooting centre, he also dominated the faceoff circle, averaging 20 draws per game and winning an impressive 69% of them.

It was a pleasant surprise two months later when the Oilers not only snagged this guy in the draft, but were able to do so in the sixth round when there had been considerable talk of him going much higher. One example is Steve Kournianos of The Draft Analystwho ranked Rasanen as a mid-second round pick(#47 overall), praising him highly for his two-way skills:

All signs point towards this special teams dynamo becoming one of the better two-way players this draft produces. Not only does he do it all on the ice — playmaking, speed, escapability, tenacity, versatility — but he’s a student of the game who spends time honing his craft away from the rink. Rasanen clubbed the international circuit to a tune of almost a point per game, and he’s close to 200 pounds before turning 18 in June. He won’t disappoint teams in search of skill players, but the fact that he forechecks and backchecks better than most of his draft peers makes him even more desirable. In a draft thin on two-way types with a strong understanding of both sides of the red line, there’s a strong possibility Rasanen gets gobbled up earlier than anticipated. He’s strong at the dot and can be leaned on for tough checking assignments, yet he has a hunter’s mindset in that he is always looking to make opponents pay for the slightest mistake. Rasanen is a very good skater with a variety of moves to get inside the offensive zone, and he immediately identifies multiple pass options and greets them with a clean, crisp set-up. Rasanen has excellent work habits and should be groomed for positions of significant responsibility.

Well, thatsounds pretty good. NHL Draft Black Book was slightly less glowing, but still had plenty of positives on the Finn:

Rasanen is a hard-working right-shot two-way center who plays a sound game in the defensive zone and doesn’t mind sacrificing his body to make plays, as he is willing to engage in one and one battles. He’s got an active defensive stick, can cause turnovers and is a quite good penalty killer. Rasanen’s skating is only average, he can bring the puck up ice and has good enough vision to make plays. His puck skills are just OK and despite the improvement in his offensive game it is more realistic to project him as a checking forward at the next level, as he lacks a dynamic element to his game.

Ask Team USA about that last remark, but perhaps that second paragraph explains how he dropped right out of the top 100. At #153, however, the former captain of Finland at both the U-16 and U-17 levels looks to have been something of a steal, even as he projects as a long-term investment at best.

After two full seasons in the Finnish U-20 league, he will be coming to North America this upcoming season where he will play for Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. That is likely a one-year plan as he prepares to transition to NCAA, a similar path followed by the last young man we profiled in the Cult of Hockey‘s prospect series, William Lagesson of Sweden. The NCAA route is becoming increasingly popular for European prospects, having in recent years produced future NHLers like Gustav Nyquist, Carl Hagelin, and Erik Haula, to name three guys identified by local prospect expert Guy Flaming in this prescient Coming Down the Pipearticle from way back in 2010 when all three were still in college.