Samu Perhonen
| Birthday: 1993-03-07 | Position: G |
| Eligible for draft: 2011 | Catches: Left |
| Drafted: 2011 | Height: 6-5 |
| Acquired: 3rd round (62nd overall), 2011 | Weight: 196 lbs. |
Probability of Success
- D
History
2008-09: Samu Perhonen spent most of the season with the JYP U-16 Junior “C” team. In 14 games, he posted a 2.72 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
2009-10: In 8 games for JYP's U-18 Junior B team, Perhonen posted a 3.27 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.
2010-11: Perhonen played most of the season with JYP's U-20 Junior A team. In 29 games, he posted a 2.71 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Perhonen played for Finland at the 2011 U-18 World Junior Championship, where he finished with a 3.52 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage in 4 games.
2011-12: Illness and injury during the summer were a precursor of what would be a very trying season for Perhonen. Affter being drafted by the Oilers in June 2011, Perhonen missed time early in the year and then struggled to find ice time both with JyP-Akatemia in Mestis and with Jyp's U-20 team – as the club had two other impressive 19-year-old goalies. He played 11 games with JyP-Akatemia and was 3-8 with a 3.81 goals against and .887 save percentage. In five junior games he posted a 3.14 goals against and .923 save percentage. He was called up to JyP's SM-Liiga squad late in the season as a third goalie and was with JyP during it's championship playoff run but did see any game action.
Talent Analysis
Perhonen is the definition of a player with all the tools but significant questions about the toolbox. He has tremendous size, speed, athleticism, and reflexes, but his mental game--positioning, consistency, etc--is severely lacking at this point. While it's a good sign that the areas currently lacking can presumably be taught, he is still a long way from putting it all together.
Future
Goalies are difficult to project at the best of times, and in Perhonen's case it's almost impossible. He has the physical tools to be an NHL calibre starter, however has struggled thus far in Finland's lower leagues and junior leagues. There is nothing to genuinely suggest he will emerge as anything more than an average Finnish League goalie at this point but he has a tantalizing set of skills that will buy him much more time to develop than many other goalies would get.
