SCoC Draft Profiles: Jesse Ylönen is a fast winger with plenty of skill

Analysis:

First thing’s first...this kid is fast.

Jesse Ylönen, a 6’1, 168 lb. right-wing forward from the far off, ice filled land of...Scottsdale, Arizona, is a player whose skating is primarily his greatest selling point among his very tantalizing skillset. His explosiveness, ability to control his speed and agility as a skater is what makes him such an effective offensive threat for Espoo United (and now the Lahti Pelicans) and that’s before you go into his skills with the puck.

Ylonen also sports an incredible set of hands that gives him a powerful, tricky shot and strong, smooth passes that can be done at a moments notice. His ability to recognize both where his teammates are and what they might try to do only makes his offensive prowess that much more defined and terrifying.

Where Ylonen does need work on the other hand is on defense. He’s a slight lad, being under 170 lbs. which means he can often get knocked away from players without much trouble, and because of that he’s more reliant on open-ice stickwork. And when he’s doing that...he can sometimes get caught puck-watching. He’ll have to improve on that before he gets anywhere close to the league.

Another big thing is bulking up, which will likely help him get his pass-accuracy up. As it stands, his passing is smooth...it’s just not always accurate. Getting more muscles on those bones will likely improve his ability to get the puck to his teammates on a more consistent basis.

Ylonen is currently set up for the middle to lower 2nd round. While Ylonen is slightly out of where analysts and enthusiasts assume the Bruins will pick, a player with his level of skill and speed would be a very good asset to have in an NHL just getting faster and faster.

Player Rankings:

28th by NHL Central Scouting among North American Skaters

58th by FutureConsiderations