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Why we should be excited about Aatu Jamsen

Originally posted on Hockey Royalty | Last updated 10/27/21

The LA Kings seventh-round pick in 2020, Aatu Jamsen is putting together a strong season over in Finland.

Jamsen Career

I don’t think a lot of people were expecting Aatu Jamsen to be drafted in the NHL. Coming from the U18-SM-Sarja, Jamsen was a player that was unranked by the NHL central scouting. The skilled winger scored 21 goals and added 26 assists in 24 U18 games that year. After a very impressive season, the LA Kings decided to take a chance on Jamsen with their 7th round pick.

The majority of us were a bit surprised about this pick, but we all knew that Jamsen would be a long-term project. At 6-foot-1,154 pounds, Jamsen was clearly not ready to make the jump from U18 to pro, so he played the entire season in the U20 SM-sarja with the U20 Pelicans. Aatu dominated the U20 with 56 points in 36 games, finishing second in points. Outscoring a lot of top NHL prospects, Jamsen earned a spot on the U20 SM-sarja second All-Star teams.

This season

Jamsen started this year in the U20, where he was dominant, collecting 13 points in 7 games. He quickly earned a call up to the Pelicans’ first team and made his pro debut in the Liiga. In seven games, he scored a beautiful goal and added two assists. Surprisingly Jamsen was loaned to a Mestis (2nd Finland pro division) club before getting sent back to the U20 SM-sarja. I expect him to stay in junior for some time before probably ending the season with the Pelicans.

Eka matsi, eka maali

Ja millä tavalla#PelicansFi #Liiga pic.twitter.com/WFDBcdRUiC

— Lahden Pelicans (@PelicansFi) September 15, 2021

Jamsen’s development is awesome; he seems to be getting better and better every game. His ability to set up teammates and create dangerous scoring chances makes him a valuable player. Jamsen’s progression gives us hope to see him with the kings one day, even if he still has a long way to go.

Projections

Jamsen played in 3 exhibition games with the Finland U20 squad in preparation for the 2022 World Junior Championship. He will be fighting to gain a spot in a talented Finland team. If Jamsen can crack the lineup, he would gain a lot of respect in the NHL and could start to make a name for himself. It’s going to be interesting to see what Jamsen will do in the next couple of years as a lot of options would be available for him.

Would he stay in the Pelicans’ system, playing a limited role in one of the top men’s leagues in the world? Or would he join the LA Kings organizations to make a better transition in North America?

Personally, I would like to see him continue his development in Finland for 1 or 2 years, and when he is ready, the Kings could possibly bring him to their AHL or ECHL, trying to make him an NHLer one day.

This article first appeared on Hockey Royalty and was syndicated with permission.

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