Sven Reikkinen Rookie Experience

[Devise 4,475]

To sum up Sven Reikkinen's rookie season experience in a sentence, well let's go to the words of the player himself. The only words he'd share following the end of London's elimination in the playoffs and the culmination of his rookie season were "It was less than expected for sure." 

 

When Sven was drafted 5th overall in the S78 entry draft London thought they were getting a promising power play quarterback who also had an underrated presence on the penalty kill due to both his defensive abilities and the fact that he'd play a lot of minutes being a very disciplined player. What they got, in his rookie S78 season was only half what was advertised. 

 

Season	GP	G	A	P	+/-	SHT	PIM	HIT	SB	GW	PPG	SHG
78 (LDN)	72	5	8	13	-2	76	0	3	134	0	3	0
Totals	72	5	8	13	-2	76	0	3	134	0	3	0

 

 

The shot blocking penalty kill supporting player that stayed out of the box is exactly what London got from Sven. However the offensive prowess was missing entirely in S78. With only 5 goals, 3 of which came on the power play, London fans and coach were left to only wonder what exactly was keeping Sven from truly breaking free. The offensive player that established himself with 70 points for Las Vegas in S79 only showed up in glimpses and flashed in S78. As Sven was rather quiet during his struggles as the season wore on, to gauge what his experience truly was like we look to the sentiment of his teammates and coaches. 

His defensive partners for much of the season as well as the direct defensive coaching staff all said they felt like he was settling into it. One thing we heard a lot was that he was very confident in his abilities before the season started, confident that the mantra of their being some Devise player agency skater curse was a myth. He seemed ready to go. But as his offensive game struggled, it became clear that he was a bit more nervous on the offensive side of the puck. That said his coaches did say they were impressed with his focus, and his ability to maintain a consistent role on the team in spite of the offensive struggles. London wound up being a very competitive team in S78 despite the early playoff exit. Sven himself according to his GM does recognize his contributions to that. For fans the experience is probably simply underwhelming. The contributions defensively, on the penalty kill, staying out of the box probably bought Sven a season of rookie jitters. However there are going to be a lot of eyes in London on Sven for his sophomore season. 13 points won't be acceptable for another season, and he'll have to start being the power play point and goal producer that he was drafted to be sooner rather than later. 

 

Heading into the middle of the off-season preparing for his World Junior competition Sven did speak with media and while he didn't answer any questions about VHL specific business he did say the following about London. "I love it in London, I appreciate that they are being patient with me as I develop and I feel I'm ready to break out. Rookie season is over, it is what it is. You get better you move on. That's what I'm prepared to do."