When Jarmo Kekalainen was named general manager of the Blue Jackets, one of the benefits the organization hoped to tap into was Kekalainen’s scouting prowess and knowledge of lesser known talent, and Markus Hannikainen is the latest entry on that list.
After attending the Jackets’ development camp in 2014, Hannikainen was signed to an ELC last off-season, and came to Columbus off a breakout season in Finland’s Liiga in which the then 22-year-old put up a 19-27-46 stat line in 60 games landing him second on the club in goals, third in assists and points and tied for fourth in goals in the league. He tallied an additional 2-3-5 in four playoff games.
Hannikainen started his first season in North America with the Monsters but was called up in October for a game against the St. Louis Blues after earning five goals and six assists in 17 games in Cleveland. But after just 6:15 of ice time, Hannikainen injured his shoulder and lost two months of playing time. He returned for three more NHL games in January but couldn’t make the score sheet and spent the balance of his year in the AHL where he ended up 7-13-20 in the regular season, and 3-7-10 in 16 playoff games.
Hannikainen holds interest but is still a bit of an enigma. There are flashes of promise in his play – per ahl.prospect-stats.com, 10 of his assists were primary, and his .4 points per game is good enough for top ten on the Monsters’ roster for players with more than 20 games played (all situations). It bears note that his shooting percentage was a woeful 5.036%, so assuming that should tick even slightly upward we should expect more scoring from the young Finn.
Future Outlook
Hannikainen, at 6-foot-1 and 189 lbs, has the size to be an NHL level forward and seemed to adapt his game nicely to North America. He was a strong two-way player and a consistent part of the Monsters’ offense last season. While likely to start the year in Cleveland, he’s likely one of the top forwards to get another look in Columbus as the season wears on. Other than his breakout year, Hannikainen wasn’t known for his scoring, but if that starts to catch fire again – watch for him to be a deadly part of the offense.
Age: 23 (03/26/93)
Position: Left wing
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 6’1″, 189lbs
2015/16 Team: Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)
Likely 2016/17 Destination: Cleveland Monsters (AHL)
(All stats courtesy of Elite Prospects unless otherwise noted)
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