Well then. There were about 15 different names being thrown around as possible players the Senators could be taking at 19th overall, and not once did I hear the name or even consider the name Lassi Thomson. I was aware of him as a prospect obviously, but I never thought he would be taken 19th overall by Ottawa. That’s what happened last night, and the right-handed defenseman became their newest prospect.
Thomson is from Tampere, Finland, and is a late birthday as he was born on September 24th, 2000. He is about average in size at 6’0”, 190 lbs, and he played this past season for the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL. However, prior to 2018-19, he played in the Jr. A league in Finland and he will be heading back to Finland in 2019-20 but for the professional SM-Liiga team in Ilves. He was ranked 30th by Bob McKenzie and was typically somewhere in the early-to-mid 2nd round range, with his average ranking being 37th according to Colin Cudmore’s expected pick range data. Thomson was certainly a bit of a reach just going by essentially everyone’s rankings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Thomson is a bad prospect.
He put up 41 (including 17 goals) points in 63 games for the Rockets and ranked 2nd in the league amongst draft-eligible defensemen in scoring. Thomson is definitely known for his offensive abilities, which is good to hear because that at least means he can be somewhat of a dynamic player. I found Corey Pronman’s analysis of him to be quite positive, even though he thinks Ottawa reached a bit at 19th overall:
He has an absolute rocket from the point that can beat goalies clean, as well as generate opportunities around the net. He can move the puck very well with his brain and feet. His puck game is good, showing the ability to generate clean exits and entries, stretch the ice on breakouts, and showing confidence with the puck. He can at times make high-end plays with his poise and vision, but he also tends to be too cute with the puck and play without urgency, leading to costly turnovers. Defensively I don’t mind his game, but his strength is more with the puck than without it
In Thomson, the Senators get a highly skilled and mobile puck-moving defenseman who was coveted by numerous NHL teams. I like the player. I don’t know if I would pick him at No. 19 but there were games I saw over the season where he absolutely looked the part of a player to pick at that slot. I might be biased, because I went out to watch Kelowna during one of his worst games of the season
Thomson’s strength is with the puck than without it, and he will have to work on limiting his turnovers it seems. That can certainly turn into a big problem, but that just says to me that he probably has the puck on his stick very often, and being able to hold onto it better can easily be improved on. But what is a lot harder to improve is raw offensive talent, and it appears as if Thomson has that. Just like with several other up-and-coming Senators defensemen prospects, he will need to improve in his own end as well, especially if their blueline is going to be comprised of many puck-movers such as Thomas Chabot, Erik Brannstrom, Christian Wolanin, and Jacob Bernard-Docker.
It’s important to consider that Thomson is also one of the oldest prospects in the draft as he just barely missed the cut-off for the 2018 draft, so that might bump one’s evaluation of him down just a tad. That doesn’t mean his skillset isn’t real, but his 41 points in 63 games is perhaps a bit less impressive.
No matter what, he instantly becomes one of the best prospects in the Senators system (especially after many players will be graduating), and he has a chance to be an important part of their defense corps in a few years. Nobody should be questioning his playing ability, although it’s fair to wonder whether he was the best player available at the time. Ryan Suzuki, Jakob Pelletier, Philip Tomasino, Ville Heinola, Bobby Brink, and Arthur Kaliyev were still on the board when the Senators went to pick, and I would have been happy with those picks as well. That’s not to say that I don’t like having Thomson, but there might have been some better options.
Just from seeing what he is like in the first few interviews after being drafted, Thomson seems like a lovable character who loves to smile, plus he’s a Finn (which they haven’t had in a while), so he is at least an easy player to root for:
At the end of the day, I’m excited to add a high-end right-handed defenseman to the system, although I would have liked the pick better if they were able to get him 32nd or even 44th overall. The good news is that there are a ton of good options at forward for their 2nd round picks including Bobby Brink, Arthur Kaliyev, Raphael Lavoie, Yegor Afanasyev, Nils Hoglander, and Patrik Puistola, and I fully expect Ottawa to take a good forward with the 32nd overall selection.
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