Quoting: ChadLucifer
Leafs overrating Topi. Guy’s a 5/6 d man I’m sorry. Undersized puck moving fins don’t exactly move the needle. Maybe he becomes a 4 in the right system but in reality he’s just another clone of Sandin/Lil. The only way San Jose makes a deal is if Knies and a 1st are on the table. Everyone knows that
He's just a clone of two defenders that are currently both 23-or-under playing 20+ mins per night on a top-4 team in the LEAGUE. The guy's 20 years old, to call him a 5-6 isn't offensive, it's just wrong lol
Here's the list of IIHF Best Defenseman of the WJ of the past 15years:
David Jiricek
Kasper Puutio
Topi Niemela
Rasmus Sandin (worth a 1st rounder if not more)
Alexander Romanov (just traded for a 13th OA pick)
Rasmus Dahlin (went 1st OA)
Thomas Chabot
Zach Werenski
Vladislav Gavrikov
Rasmus Ristolainen
Jacob Trouba
Brandon Gormley
Ryan Ellis
Alex Pietrangelo
Erik Karlsson
Drew Doughty
So, on the low-end, he's a Gormley, which stinks. That being said, history would point to him bottoming-out as a 3-5. You can be wrong, but don't be silly.