After bypassing forwards for most of the Draft, the Rangers select 19 year old Finnish forward Lauri Pajuniemi from TPS of the Finnish Liiga. The right handed right winger stands at 6’0 and 183 lbs and put up 2-5-7 in 32 games playing in Finland’s top league.
Pajuniemi played on the second line and first power play unit for TPS U20. He likes to have the puck on his stick and has good puck control in tight spaces. He can hang onto the puck and create offense. He moved the puck well in the second period, making simple, short passes that were tape-to-tape.