Prospect update: Sami Vatanen.
From The Hockey News:
JYP's Sami Vatanen, 18, recently broke the Finnish SM-liiga rookie defenseman points record when he scored his sixth goal and 28th point of the season, one more than Tero Konttinen amassed playing for Pori Ässät in 2006-07.
Vatanen, an Anaheim Ducks fourth-rounder (106th overall) in 2009, is averaging 19:44 of ice time per game and has emerged as an offensive force on the squad; he's currently ranked fifth in team scoring with 29 points in 51 games - 14 points ahead of the next JYP defenseman.
"The whole season's been a surprise," he said. "I didn't think that I'd be playing a regular shift in the SM-liiga, I thought I'd play a couple of games and then go back to juniors or the Mestis (Finnish Div. 1) farm team. I've been playing in a much bigger role than I expected.
"I don't know what really happened a few years ago, all of a sudden my development was just off the charts, or straight up. Not sure why, but I hope I'll keep developing like this."
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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