Teemu Lehtinen Jr. Biography [2/2]

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Teemu Lehtinen Jr. Biography

Born to former Toronto Legion core member Teemu Lehtinen, Teemu Lehtinen Jr. is officially a Canadian citizen however he is Finnish at heart. When people say "like father like son" Teemu Lehtinen Jr. (TLJ) embodies that saying. Not only is there play style extremely similar, they both have had similar prospect trajectories. Growing up TLJ was on the map as a prospect, dare I say he was a phenom while his dad was on the Toronto Legion. Even then scouts were comparing Lehtinen Jr. to his father and went as far as to say that he was a more balanced player than his father. That held true, and coverage over this prospect was strong while he was playing in the Toronto youth systems until his father was traded to Cologne. It was a difficult move for TLJ as he lived in Canada all of his life, did not speak German, and the youth leagues were clearly inferior to those in Canada. There were points where TLJ thought about moving back to Canada however that never materialized. His career stalled, there was little to no competition for him and while he begged his father to move back to Canada, they never did. TLJ not only fell off the prospect map, he was completely off the radar and those who came to watch him noticed the lack of competition for a player like him -- he was impossible to judge. 

This all changed following his father's retirement from the Victory Hockey League (VHL). Once his father retired they moved to Finland -- not Canada. Who knows what may have become of TLJ had they moved back to Canada, however one can easily say that moving back to Finland was an amazing move for the career of the next Lehtinen. Finland's youth system is less heralded and talented than that of Canada, however their development is held in high regard. Every single day Lehtinen Jr. would train with his father, he would lift, skate and shoot with him until he had to be carried off the ice by his dad. It was as if he was training too hard, however progress was made and there was an argument to see that this was all "worth it." It was amazing how TLJ had ascended back into the prospect scene and within time he reached the top 30, then the top 20, and now the top 15 for all S68 VHL prospects. His development, however, is never ending. He is now 17, however his story of finally making it back into "the scene" truly began when he was 15. 

 

When he was 15 he moved to Helsinki and in the youth system there he originally became the third in command, he was not the alpha. He started off as a very dynamic two-way player who could both score and pass. The other two plays were older as TLJ played up two years, he knew those two would leave the next year to join the VHLm and tried his best to help their VHLm stock. A major issue with that is that neither of those players are primarily scorers and that is something that he had learned quite quickly. Group that with training with his father it is easy to see where his development would end up taking him. Lehtinen Jr. was relied on for scoring and for helping those two prospects gain recognition within the scouting community, however the opposite occurred. TLJ over time started to become the alpha of the team, often times scoring two to three goals per game while the other two would focus on the playmaking and defensive side of the game. It was an easy way to play the game, skate hard, get into scoring opportunities and expect the puck to be place perfectly onto your stick. Life was good and easy, TLJ gained his recognition however it could not last forever.

The following season was much more difficult with his two line mates leaving for the VHLm his scoring opportunities dried up. Instead of having eight to ten major opportunities to score, he was relegated to having three to four opportunities to score. Most players would have experienced a major regression at that point however he seemed to thrive and develop from having a more difficult time on the ice. TLJ became more efficient in terms of scoring, his shots were placed better and his development as a goal scorer was immense. He no longer relied on having line mates who could give him great opportunities, he created them himself. If his teammates could not pass it to him, he would beat defenders himself, either by going wide or by stick handling through packed defenses. His 16 year old year could not have gone any better, however it polarized himself more and more as a prospect. He got better at everything he was already good at instead of improving in areas of his game which he is below average at. 

 

His 17 year old year changed his trajectory and made it possible for him to eventually become a top 10 prospect or better. Despite his father's advice of "becoming elite and what you are good at and letting your teammates do the rest" TLJ decided it was best if he rounds out other parts of his game while remaining great at scoring, skating, and stick handling. He focused in his final year in the Helsinki youth system to try to become an elite two-way forward. He helped his defense, and this time by actually playing defense instead of scoring goals. Lifting sticks and poking pucks loose led to even more odd-man opportunities for Lehtinen Jr. which led to what he loved the most -- goals. He finally became a complete prospect and it was clear what his next step had to be -- he had to dominate the VHLm. It was time for him to come over to the VHLm and he went straight to the Mexico City Kings. Lehtinen Jr. has been chasing his dream for a while and he will continue to be like his father as he chases his dream, a goal scorer with a dream of being the best at what he does well. 

[chillzone 231]

Review: You did a great job painting the joy and challenge of chasing a father’s legacy. As a newcomer to the VHL, It was fun diving into the Lehtinen Family’s achievements in the world of Hockey. Def rooting for Jr and hope that he does big things in the VHL! Nice read, Sixers.