Eeli Tolvanen was actually one of the first 2017 eligible prospects that I had the chance to watch, having paid attention to the World U-17 Hockey Challenge back in 2015, where he scored a jaw-dropping 9 goals in 5 games for Finland, which is good for 4th best in the entire history of the tournament, and led the tournament in points. I normally can’t find streams in Canada to watch USHL games, but he was somebody that drew my interest enough for me to keep tabs on him for the last 18 months since that viewing. Tolvanen followed up this tournament with a stellar performance at the U18s, where he scored at a pace of a goal per game, and helped lead the Finns to a gold medal, which is quite spectacular for a player in their draft -1 year, and was only just turning 17 that month.
2017 NHL Draft Profile: Eeli Tolvanen could provide elite-level “Finnish” Red Wings covet
