Mikael Granlund; Aleksander Barkov; Olli Jokinen; Artturi Lehkonen; Patrik Laine; Mikko Rantanen.
These are the Finnish players keeping Anton Lundell company over his last two seasons in the country’s top men’s league (Liiga). Coming into this profile, I’ve heard many comments from readers and fans questioning Lundell’s status as a top draft pick and someone for the Senators to consider, despite near unanimous agreement that the team needs a true high-end centre out of this year’s draft.
I’m here to say that Anton Lundell should certainly be an option. While the Senators have only drafted out of Finland once under Pierre Dorion’s watch — Markus Nurmi in 2016 — Lundell is worthy of a top-10 selection, and may be one of the players that analysts rate higher in future years just because of how quickly he’ll adapt his pro-ready game to the NHL.