Claimed: Kristjan Härmä Rookie Report

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Kristjan Härmä Rookie Report

 

 

Kristjan Härmä is a 17-year old prospect finishing up his tenure with HC Tallinn in the Estonian Meistriliiga. The young Estonian spent 2 seasons playing with the team and set the record for youngest player to ever set foot on the ice in the Meistriliiga. Härmä is looking to make his impact on the hockey world and to bring the country of Estonia to the forefront. To help develop the game further in his country and become the first Estonian superstar. Härmä stands at a less than attractive 5'11" but makes up for his average height with a stocky build and a weight of 209lbs. Kristjan is built like a brick shithouse and can work his way with the puck up the ice with ease. 

 

 

Pros:

 

Scoring - Härmä has a rocket of a shot. While his windup is great on his slapshot, he also possess a natural burner on the backhand. Kristjan can place the puck from his backhand wherever he wants it to be and rarely misses. All of the Estonian wingers shots show incredible location skills and gets a lot of gas on every shot he takes - be a wrister, slapshot or backhand. With proper coaching and the right situation to bloom, Härmä could become the top scorer in the VHLM and become the mainstay for the team that picks up the winger. His shot is beautiful and continues to develop into something more deadly with each scouting trip we went to visit him. Grade: A+

 

Skating  - Kristjan has a very pure stride and once at full speed, he is a bullet out of a gun. His blazing speed and ability to control himself at top speeds allows him to get into situations where he's often in a favorable spot to receive a pass to put the puck home or simply outrun the defenders for a breakaway chance. His ability to remain upright even during some very nasty hits also gives him the ability to fight through nasty checks and devastate surprised defenders who thought that he would give up the puck or simply hit the deck. Härmä still has some growth for his skating and getting him some ice time with a proper trainer could end up benefitting him very very much and put him among the elite skaters in the VHLM. Grade: A

 

Puck Handling - The area that the 17 year old winger has truly set himself apart from many joining the VHLM would be puck handling. Kristjan is a wizard with the puck. His ability to put the puck through multiple defenders and turn other skaters inside out is elite. In a game where we scouted U18 from many different nations (FInland, Sweden, Latvia), Kristjan pulled multiple moves on other young players from these countries that made people in the stands audibly gasp as one. Kristjan knows where the puck is at all times and has near ESP when it comes to where the puck will be going next. Given more development and time to develop into the pro game - Härmä could become the best puck handler in the game. Grade: S

 

Cons:

 

Strength - Kristjan struggles sometimes making progress against bigger defenders and often loses physical battles in the corner. While his skating is good enough to allow him to stay horizontal in most situations, he needs to work on his strength when it comes to battles for the puck in the corners and driving to the net. What many would attribute to these problems would be his lack of height. While Kristjan is a solid young man with a large frame and well developed muscles for his age - he needs a weight training plan badly. Given time to add more muscle mass and learn to control his body better in these situations. We believe that he can turn this negative into a positive. Grade: C

 

Passing - This con is mainly due to a personality trait than actual skill. Kristjan has spent his entire early life competing against other young players from multiple other countries. These players have gotten showered in compliments and become the apple of many-a-scouts eye. So over time he has developed the trait to strive for goals and be the one putting the puck in the net. He has been quoted with talking about how everyone remembers the goal scorer and not the passer, no matter how spectacular the pass was that led to the goal. Härmä has shown multiple times that the latent skill for passing is there in his skillset but that he's not been able to develop the skill because he seeks glory in goals. Grade: B- (if utilized)

 

Defense - Don't let the fact that we have listed defense as a con for Kristjan confuse you that he isn't talented in the area. Kristjan just hasn't been given the proper chance to really show this skill off other than at tournaments agaisnt kids in other countries. The Estonian hockey league is filled with mostly players that were not on Kristjan's level. He overpowered them consistently and showed that none of them were even close to touching him in other situations. Not having to play defense because you're always on offense is not a con but more of a question mark. In his times playing on the international state, Kristjan has performed a bit middlingly but with proper coaching he could become a very well rounded two way player. He definitely possesses the skills to be a good defender and may end up surprising at some point with his actual defensive skill. Grade: ??