NHL Draft profiles: Miettinen a 'hard net-front' forward

This is the 19th story in a series of player profiles from the NHL's Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., focusing on potential second-round picks for the Penguins at 44th and 46th overall.

LAS VEGAS -- It took Julius Miettinen some time to adjust to the North American style of play.

Miettinen, 18, is a left-handed forward prospect capable of playing both center and wing, and is listed at 6 foot 3 and 201 pounds. He describes himself as a "big-sized, good skater with a good two-way game and a hard net-front player." The Helsinki, Finland native grew up playing in the club HIFK's system, culminating in a 10-goal, 12-assist season in 38 games in 2022-23 with HIFK's U20 junior team.

The following summer, Miettinen made the decision to leave Finland and make the move to North American junior hockey and was drafted by the WHL's Everett Silvertips in the first round of the CHL import draft.

"I want to play in the NHL someday," Miettinen explained of that decision while at the NHL's Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y. earlier this month.

Miettinen's production was OK to start. Through his first 37 games of WHL hockey, he had 12 goals and 15 assists. In his final 29 games, he racked up 19 goals and 21 assists to finish the season with a total of 67 points (31 goals, 36 assists) in 66 games to finish fourth on his team in scoring.

Check out this assist, too:

After being ranked by NHL Central Scouting as the 49th-best North American skater in the midseason rankings, he jumped to 18th on the final list.

“Even in the beginning when he wasn’t scoring a lot, he was still really effective for us without the puck and defending,” Silvertips assistant coach Mike Field told the CHL league website. “The second half of the year he was a different player.”

Miettinen said that it just took him some time to get acclimated to his new surroundings and style of play.

"It took time to learn the North American game, how to play it, the good speed," he said. "A lot of good players here. I think for me, it helped me with my skating and just to get better every game."

He wants to continue making those same strides moving forward -- working in the gym, working with a skating coach to gain more quickness, get more explosive, and become an overall better skater to keep up with the speed of the North American game.

Field told the CHL website that he thinks the different ways Miettinen can help a team find success will allow him to translate his game to the pro level when the time comes.

"He’s going to be a two-way power forward," Field said. "He’s really good at the net front. He’s not shy about getting into those dirty areas- and then he’s got the skill to make some plays. Being a big man with hands like that, he’s always going to be able to find his way onto the score sheet.”

Miettinen is frequently ranked around the range where the Penguins pick at 44th and 46th overall: 43rd (Elite Prospects), 46th (Bob McKenzie), 48th (Dobber Prospects), 49th (Daily Faceoff) and 51st (Smaht Scouting) are some of the more major ranking services who have Miettinen in that range.

Miettinen told me that he met with 27 teams at the combine ... and the Penguins weren't one of them. That's not necessarily an indication of disinterest -- sometimes they have prior communication with these kids throughout the year.

The Penguins need prospects, period. If Miettinen is still an option when the Penguins are on the clock, a versatile future power-forward who had a rookie WHL season like he did could end up being an appealing target.