Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shines in the Finnish net in a 5-2 exhibition-game victory against host Canada.
photo: Matt Zambonin / HHOF-IIHF Images
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is amongst the league leaders in nearly every statistical category for goaltenders in the Ontario Hockey League, but as he gets set to switch his focus to the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, the Sudbury Wolves puck stopper isn’t completely satisfied.
“Of course you want them to be better,” he said. “But it’s not too bad. It’s something to improve, but it’s not too bad. I feel like I’ve adjusted to the game pretty well and it’s getting better all the time so yeah it’s good.”
The 19-year-old shone in Finland’s 5-2 exhibition-game victory at Rogers Arena against host Canada with 31 saves (93.9%).
After getting a taste of pro hockey in Finland, the Sabres prospect is in North America learning the game on the smaller rink with the hopes of turning pro with Buffalo.
Through his first 26 games with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, the 54th selection at the 2017 NHL Draft has a 19-5-1 record to go along with a 2.49 goals-against average and a 92.3 save percentage.
“I like it here. It’s great to get used to the North American game and to the smaller rinks so it’s good,” Luukkonen said. “It’s a smaller rink and the speed, which comes from that. The players are much faster so I have to adjust.”
Growing up in Finland, Luukkonen was an avid floorball and football (soccer) player. He played football until the age of 15, before turning his focus solely to hockey.
At 6-foot-5 (195 cm) and 209-pound (95 kg), Luukkonen naturally looked up to fellow big man between the pipes in Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.
“He’s a good goalie and of course all the Finnish goalies are a big thing for all the younger Finnish goalies,” Luukkonen said. “Always he doesn’t give up on the play, he fights through the screens and tries to find every puck so I like that.”
Luukkonen will once again be a fixture between the pipes for Finland at the World Juniors. The fact that Luukkonen has spent this season playing in North America and is already used to the smaller rink will be a benefit, according to coach Jussi Ahokas.
“It’s a big difference for the goalies, the angles,” Ahokas said. “The angles, I think, is the biggest thing for how to play. The difference is how the play (develops) a little faster maybe. He’s had a lot of games and he’s seen a lot of pucks in Sudbury. He’s been able to see all kinds of situations and I think right now he’s more calm, he doesn’t overplay - that’s the biggest thing for me. You can see he has good confidence right now.”
At last year’s Under-20 event the native of Espoo, Finland had an 87.8 save percentage and a 3.13 goals-against average while appearing in all five games. As a returning player, Ahokas expects Luukkonen to play more of a leadership role on this year’s team.
“Of course you want them to be better,” he said. “But it’s not too bad. It’s something to improve, but it’s not too bad. I feel like I’ve adjusted to the game pretty well and it’s getting better all the time so yeah it’s good.”
The 19-year-old shone in Finland’s 5-2 exhibition-game victory at Rogers Arena against host Canada with 31 saves (93.9%).
After getting a taste of pro hockey in Finland, the Sabres prospect is in North America learning the game on the smaller rink with the hopes of turning pro with Buffalo.
Through his first 26 games with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, the 54th selection at the 2017 NHL Draft has a 19-5-1 record to go along with a 2.49 goals-against average and a 92.3 save percentage.
“I like it here. It’s great to get used to the North American game and to the smaller rinks so it’s good,” Luukkonen said. “It’s a smaller rink and the speed, which comes from that. The players are much faster so I have to adjust.”
Growing up in Finland, Luukkonen was an avid floorball and football (soccer) player. He played football until the age of 15, before turning his focus solely to hockey.
At 6-foot-5 (195 cm) and 209-pound (95 kg), Luukkonen naturally looked up to fellow big man between the pipes in Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.
“He’s a good goalie and of course all the Finnish goalies are a big thing for all the younger Finnish goalies,” Luukkonen said. “Always he doesn’t give up on the play, he fights through the screens and tries to find every puck so I like that.”
Luukkonen will once again be a fixture between the pipes for Finland at the World Juniors. The fact that Luukkonen has spent this season playing in North America and is already used to the smaller rink will be a benefit, according to coach Jussi Ahokas.
“It’s a big difference for the goalies, the angles,” Ahokas said. “The angles, I think, is the biggest thing for how to play. The difference is how the play (develops) a little faster maybe. He’s had a lot of games and he’s seen a lot of pucks in Sudbury. He’s been able to see all kinds of situations and I think right now he’s more calm, he doesn’t overplay - that’s the biggest thing for me. You can see he has good confidence right now.”
At last year’s Under-20 event the native of Espoo, Finland had an 87.8 save percentage and a 3.13 goals-against average while appearing in all five games. As a returning player, Ahokas expects Luukkonen to play more of a leadership role on this year’s team.
He played all the games, he was important and he’s improved again this year and that’s a great thing for us. He’s one of the guys. He leads on his own terms, for sure. He’s one of the leaders for sure.
After needing to defeat Latvia in the relegation round to avoid a demotion in 2017, Finland lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals at the 2018 tournament.
As a returning coach, Ahokas has a solid understanding of where his team needs to improve in order to advance past the quarter-finals.
“We have to be better at scoring and we of course have to have a little bit better… we have to be a little bit better at everything,” he said. “We lost in the penalty shots in that game against the Czechs, we had quite a bit of chances, but we couldn’t finish, utilize the chances so we have to be better at that.”
While the Finns will likely be without Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Miro Heiskanen who are all with their respective NHL clubs, Ahokas is confident this year’s Under-20 team can have better success.
“We have of course (Rasmus) Kupari, (Aleksi) Heponiemi, but we still have a couple guys who we are not sure (about) who are with their NHL clubs,” Ahokas said. “I think we’re going to have a different kind of a setup. Our offence is really strong. But I think we’re going to have. Good team there.”
For Luukkonen, the World Juniors is another opportunity for him to prove to the Sabres his game is on the right track. The 19-year-old signed a three-year entry-level contract with Buffalo in June and is in regular contact with the Sabres about his game.
“Of course they wanted me to play a lot of games and improve my game that way. Everyone has been happy the way the games have been going,” Luukkonen said. “The game here is a lot faster so you have to be more composed and more calm in the net. You can’t overplay yourself so that’s something I’ve been working on.”
As a returning coach, Ahokas has a solid understanding of where his team needs to improve in order to advance past the quarter-finals.
“We have to be better at scoring and we of course have to have a little bit better… we have to be a little bit better at everything,” he said. “We lost in the penalty shots in that game against the Czechs, we had quite a bit of chances, but we couldn’t finish, utilize the chances so we have to be better at that.”
While the Finns will likely be without Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Miro Heiskanen who are all with their respective NHL clubs, Ahokas is confident this year’s Under-20 team can have better success.
“We have of course (Rasmus) Kupari, (Aleksi) Heponiemi, but we still have a couple guys who we are not sure (about) who are with their NHL clubs,” Ahokas said. “I think we’re going to have a different kind of a setup. Our offence is really strong. But I think we’re going to have. Good team there.”
For Luukkonen, the World Juniors is another opportunity for him to prove to the Sabres his game is on the right track. The 19-year-old signed a three-year entry-level contract with Buffalo in June and is in regular contact with the Sabres about his game.
“Of course they wanted me to play a lot of games and improve my game that way. Everyone has been happy the way the games have been going,” Luukkonen said. “The game here is a lot faster so you have to be more composed and more calm in the net. You can’t overplay yourself so that’s something I’ve been working on.”