Mikko Lahtinen - Junior Review [1/2]

[Beketov 8,639]

C | 6' 3" | 190 lb. | Age: 18 | 

 

It's not uncommon for young men growing up in Finland to play hockey. It's not uncommon either that many of them want to play at a professional level. Mikko Lahtinen is no exception. At the age of 5 he picked up his first hockey stick and was off the the races from there. A natural talent on skates Mikko quickly learned that he was capable of greatness, blowing through the competition in his minor hockey days and leaving opposing goalies scratching their heads, or worse, crying in the younger years, and wondering how he managed to get the puck past them. Going pro was the only career path Mikko ever had, the decision was simply where to go?

 

The NHL and the KHL were the obvious choices of course. The two largest leagues in the world house the best of the best and he had no doubts he could make an NHL, or at the very least a KHL, team. To most young men this would have been a dream come true but not so for Mikko Lahtinen. When he was 15, well on his way to a pro career and ready to start being scouted to the NHL, the Helsinki Titans of the VHL signed a future legend: Matt Thompson. The Titans were, of course, well known to Mikko, he grew up only an hour outside of Helsinki and watched them growing up. However the VHL had never peaked his interest as a destination until he saw Thompson don the uniform. The future VHL Hall of Famer immediately brought a cup to Helsinki and with it the hearts of many. On the day of the Season 66 Continental Cup parade Mikko made his decision, he was going to the VHL. It took 3 years of watching and waiting before he became eligible but no one was going to stop him.

 

The first step in following in Thomson's footsteps was to get a legendary VHL agent and Mikko did exactly that; signing with the same agency as a matter of fact: the Beketov agency. One of the oldest agencies in the league, Beketov was thrilled to sign Lahtinen on and began immediately spreading his name around the minor league while their star, Thompson, finished up his farewell tour in Malmo. Mikko would choose the Mississauga Hounds to begin his VHL career. The flight out took nearly 12 hours but he was on his way to the VHL, that's all that mattered. Landing in Mississauga Mikko was immediately put to work and put up respectable numbers in his 27 regular season games: 8 goals and 8 assists for 16 points. Sadly the playoffs were a different story with the Hounds being ultimately eliminated in 5 games which Mikko only scoring 2 points. It was never going to be a long tenure with the Hounds though.

 

With the VHLM draft upcoming and scouts swooping around Mikko fully expected to get drafted in one of the top three spots, all owned by the Saskatoon Wild whom everyone expected to dominate in Season 69. Ultimately it was not to be. Mikko watched the first three picks come and go without his name being called. Las Vegas greedily snatched their shot at the young man of course, picking him up 4th overall. Mikko could not blame Vegas of course but they were ultimately a very rundown team going into season 69 with low expectations. He had 1 poor playoff showing already, and did not care for the idea of missing them completely. Low and behold, however, fate intervened. As Mikko was boarding the plane that would take him to Vegas he received a very quick email from the Wild's General Manager.

 

"If you want to come to Saskatoon we'd love to have you and I think I can make a deal."

 

That deal wound up being made shortly after and the rest could go down in VHLM history. Since joining the Wild they have not lost. As of writing this Mikko sits with 42 points in 26 games and the Wild have won 24 straight and have only lost a single game on the season. Will that streak come to an end? Almost certainly but the Wild are making a case for potentially being the best VHLM team in history and a young man from Finland who wants to be the next Matt Thompson is right in the middle of it.

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Review:

What can I really say here? This is a perfect example of how a Junior Review should be.

Interesting to read about Mikko. Nice to see you go the C route. That'll be fun to watch for your career.

I guess I'll have to stop your pucks since I just created a goalie.

Approved.