Jari Viuhkola

He has been one of the most plesant suprises this year for the Blackhawks, and has been one of the top players in the SM-Liiga. Ive only seen offensive stats for him, so could any of you finnish posters who have seen him comment on his defenseive play?

Well, Jari's defensive play is in good shape also. Few years back he played the center in the line that was put always against the best line of the opponent. The role was very defending.

I think Jari is pretty good in defensive role. He is very smart player and eventhough he isn't any rocket on skates, his positioning is always very smart. He is the most important player when playing 4 against 5.

In overall I think Viuhkola will make it to NHL next year. This season has been fantastic for him. He has been playing in Sm-liiga for many years and yet he is not too old. I think after this year he'll be ready. Great player and the best center in Sm-liiga in my oppinion.

Yes, Jari is kind of a two-way center. Like Jeff said, Viuhkola's the most important player in Kärpät when they're killing a penalty. And he's always there in the last minutes of the game, no matter if his team is leading / losing by a goal. He takes a lot of important face-offs.

He isn't a rocket on skates, but he isn't that slow either. His positioning is very, very good. He can shield the puck very well also. Sometimes he seems to be a bit 'lazy', much like Lasse Pirjetä of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Phlegmatic would be the right word I suppose. That has been the problem with him in the past two-three years, but now he is playing with a better attidute, or at least that's what I think. Or maybe he has just improved on his skating, his attidute hasn't been bad really. He can handle the pressure well, he scores loads in the play-offs and last minute tying goals.

He's one of the few NHL-quality players in the SM-liiga, alongside with Pärssinen and maybe Metropolit. He will definately play in the NHL next season or whenever they'll play NHL again. His best friend, Lasse Kukkonen, is already playing in Chicago / Norfolk and that isn't a bad thing either.

Let's play the praise down a bit, in the last two-three games Viuhkola has played like crap, but he has still managed to score twice in those games.