Joakim Kemell (unofficial pronunciation: yo-kim kem-ell) may be the best pure goal scorer and shooter in this draft. His ability to fire the puck makes him particular interesting because the Flyers simply don’t have a pure goal scorer, which is part of why NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman mock drafted Kemell as the Flyers’ selection at 5th overall.
Kemell undeniably has the mid-to-long-range shooting ability that not many possess, even at the higher levels. As you’ll see here, Kemell is a fantastic shooter from the left faceoff circle just like we’ve Brett Hull, Steven Stamkos, and Alexander Ovechkin shoot pucks from. But while Kemell can be productive from this same area, in no way, shape, or form am I suggesting that these all-time goal scorers is who a team would be getting if they selected Kemell. I am just saying that shooting from this area is skillset that every team (especially the Flyers) wish they had.
Enjoy the techno!
Holy smokes! What a shot, right?
Yes, but, there is a lot more to hockey than shooting from one specific 5×5 square foot area of the ice. Unfortunately, Kemell needs a lot of development in just about every other area of the ice:
It would not be a mistake for a team to select Kemell in the top of this draft. It would, in fact, be just like any selection in any draft, in that selecting Kemell would come with risk. On one hand, we’ve seen numerous players like Martin Frk, Michael Rassmussen, and Filip Zadina with “NHL shots” get selected but never quite put it together. On the other hand, guys with similar profiles like Eeli Tolvanen and Daniel Sprong make their way to the NHL in a different capacity than originally hoped for.
It’s still far too early to tell what the road will look like for Kemell. Whatever that may be, it will almost assuredly involve a minimum of one more year in Finland, and probably a couple more years in the AHL to round out his game without the puck. If things work out for Kemell, I could see him turn into a player like Seth Jarvis in Carolina. However, if I were the GM, at the 5th overall spot, I would take my gamble on a more complete player.
…but that shot, though…
