The only ways I've heard it pronounced are 1. "Ray ala" with the stress on the Ray and 2. "Ra yala" with the stress more on the yala. I've always pronounced it the 2nd way. It couldn't be pronounced "halla" because in Finish, the j is typically a y sound.
I was reading the old THN draft preview thread and they mentioned Koivu (Saku) was listed at 5'9 162 in his draft year, immediately I thought of Rajala. If Rajala turns out to be like Koivu I think the team that picked him will be pleased. But, I feel Rajala has higher scoring potential than Koivu.
I was reading the old THN draft preview thread and they mentioned Koivu (Saku) was listed at 5'9 162 in his draft year, immediately I thought of Rajala. If Rajala turns out to be like Koivu I think the team that picked him will be pleased. But, I feel Rajala has higher scoring potential than Koivu.
Saku didn't come close to reaching his scoring potential due to linemates and injuries... Check out footage from him flying in as a rookie left winger with Montréal... Many contemporary fans who have only seen the later version of Saku are stunned with the talented and skill he showed.
I was reading the old THN draft preview thread and they mentioned Koivu (Saku) was listed at 5'9 162 in his draft year, immediately I thought of Rajala. If Rajala turns out to be like Koivu I think the team that picked him will be pleased. But, I feel Rajala has higher scoring potential than Koivu.
Obviously, that's quite a high comparison but I know how highly touted this player has been since he was fourteen. That being said, do you think some clubs may be shying away from him because they are seen players like Jani Rita or Tony Salmelainen not have as much success in North America despite similar skill sets?
Obviously, that's quite a high comparison but I know how highly touted this player has been since he was fourteen. That being said, do you think some clubs may be shying away from him because they are seen players like Jani Rita or Tony Salmelainen not have as much success in North America despite similar skill sets?
Tony Salmelainen never had a similar skill set, he was just a speedster and the biggest part of his hype back in europe came after two decent AHL seasons... Not comparable in hype, style or skill set.
Jani Rita is a bit closer, but still alot of his hype was from North America because of him having a bit of size...
I don't care about Rajala's lack of size if he has Saku's grit and desire. I think that was definitely not part of the repertoire of either Salmelainen or Rita.
If he has that inner drive, and all I've ever heard about him is that he does, then I think he will make it in the NHL.
Do anybody remember Petr Cajanek. I think he was playing for the Blues.
I think the 'aja' part in Rajala should be pronounced the same way it was for Cajanek.
R = Rrrrr
a = like in 'alternative'
j = y
a = same as for the first one
l = pronounced as it should be
a = like when you say ha!
That's what I think but it may be completely different.
Do anybody remember Petr Cajanek. I think he was playing for the Blues.
I think the 'aja' part in Rajala should be pronounced the same way it was for Cajanek.
R = Rrrrr
a = like in 'alternative'
j = y
a = same as for the first one
l = pronounced as it should be
a = like when you say ha!
That's what I think but it may be completely different.
Not sure about how to write it phonetically, but I think that would give close to the right pronounciation.
I'm really late to this thread -- which is two years old -- and I have two points.
No. 1, Rajala has done about zero to change the opinion of him since the thread started. He was skilled and extremely small then, he's skilled and extremely small now. I'll leave it up to the scouts to determine if he has what it takes to be a Martin St. Louis or yet another failed smaller guy.
No. 2, to all the folks early in the thread who "straightened out his birthday" by telling us it is 2/29/91. No offense, but I'm betting that's wrong ....since ... well ... there was no Feb. 29 in 1991.
I'm really late to this thread -- which is two years old -- and I have two points.
No. 1, Rajala has done about zero to change the opinion of him since the thread started. He was skilled and extremely small then, he's skilled and extremely small now. I'll leave it up to the scouts to determine if he has what it takes to be a Martin St. Louis or yet another failed smaller guy.
No. 2, to all the folks early in the thread who "straightened out his birthday" by telling us it is 2/29/91. No offense, but I'm betting that's wrong ....since ... well ... there was no Feb. 29 in 1991.
1. Extremely small? Since when is 5'10"/163 pounds (with room to grow) extremely small? Is Jordan Schroeder extremely small too?
2. I was going to say that that could've been a typo since 2 is next to 3 but I'll just go with
I don't care about Rajala's lack of size if he has Saku's grit and desire. I think that was definitely not part of the repertoire of either Salmelainen or Rita.
If he has that inner drive, and all I've ever heard about him is that he does, then I think he will make it in the NHL.
Rajala is everything but gritty player. Very soft and perimeter player.
I am a big supporter of Rajala, and by no means is this the definitive word on him, but I think that although he has recently shown the ability to a grittier player who isn’t afraid to drive to the net (especially in the U18 tourney), he has to continue doing that against bigger, stronger competition before the non-believers are converted.
I will also say that even though the combine results showed that he was taller and slightly heavier than I expected, he is still quite weak compared to other players his age. He could hardly do any of the bench presses, compared to Schroeder who did a very impressive 17.
That doesn’t really concern me much, though, because Schroeder is part of the US development team that puts a lot of emphasis on weight training and pretty much everyone who has ever come out of that program has done extremely well at the combine. What it shows me is that smaller players (like Rajala and Schroeder) can get stronger with the proper training. You can add strength, but you can’t add skill. To that end, Rajala has an advantage on a lot of players, but still has a lot to prove. It has been said before, but is worth repeating, if he goes to the right team that is willing to be patient with him, he will have a chance to succeed like St. Louis, Kane, Fleury and other small players before him. One thing for certain, if he does make it to the NHL, it will be as a top line, offensive dynamo. He will never be a 3rd or 4th line checker in the NHL, so he truly is the definition of a boom or bust type of player. Very intriguing and we are finally only 3 weeks or so away from seeing where his NHL career will begin.
I am a big supporter of Rajala, and by no means is this the definitive word on him, but I think that although he has recently shown the ability to a grittier player who isn’t afraid to drive to the net (especially in the U18 tourney), he has to continue doing that against bigger, stronger competition before the non-believers are converted.
I will also say that even though the combine results showed that he was taller and slightly heavier than I expected, he is still quite weak compared to other players his age. He could hardly do any of the bench presses, compared to Schroeder who did a very impressive 17.
That doesn’t really concern me much, though, because Schroeder is part of the US development team that puts a lot of emphasis on weight training and pretty much everyone who has ever come out of that program has done extremely well at the combine. What it shows me is that smaller players (like Rajala and Schroeder) can get stronger with the proper training. You can add strength, but you can’t add skill. To that end, Rajala has an advantage on a lot of players, but still has a lot to prove. It has been said before, but is worth repeating, if he goes to the right team that is willing to be patient with him, he will have a chance to succeed like St. Louis, Kane, Fleury and other small players before him. One thing for certain, if he does make it to the NHL, it will be as a top line, offensive dynamo. He will never be a 3rd or 4th line checker in the NHL, so he truly is the definition of a boom or bust type of player. Very intriguing and we are finally only 3 weeks or so away from seeing where his NHL career will begin.
