Sebastian Aho (2015)
| Birthday: 1997-07-26 | Position: LW |
| Eligible for draft: 2015 | Shoots: Left |
| Drafted: 2015 | Height: 5-11 |
| Acquired: 2nd Round (35th Overall), 2015 | Weight: 175 lbs. |
Probability of Success
- C
History
2011-12: Sebastian Aho skated in four games with the Karpat Oulu U18 team as a 14-year-old and had 2 assists and 4 penalty minutes. He was one of the top scorers for the club’s U16 team.
2012-13: Aho appeared in 10 U20 games with Karpat Oulu, including five playoff contests, and was the fifth-leading scorer in the Finland U18 league. He scored 2 goals with 3 assists with the Karpat U20 team. The second-leading scorer for the U18 team behind Antti Kalapudas, he had 28 goals with 32 assists and 32 penalty minutes in 38 games. Aho joined the Karpat U16 team that captured the Finnish championship in the playoffs, scoring 6 goals with 15 assists in nine games. In five games for the Finland U16 team he scored 2 goals with 3 assists and 2 penalty minutes.
2013-14: Aho made his Liiga debut — appearing in three regular season games with league champion Karpat — and was the fourth-leading scorer in the Finland U20 league. He played for the Finland U18 team in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial and World Juniors tournaments. Aho had 1 assist and was +1 in his brief stint in Liiga. He scored 25 goals with 34 assists in 44 regular season games, sharing the team scoring lead with linemate Antti Kalapudas, and was +28 with 18 penalty minutes for the Karpat U20 squad. The team reached the A Juniors finals and Aho scored 4 goals with 12 assists, finishing +8 with 10 penalty minutes in 12 playoff games. He was -1 with no points and two penalty minutes for Finland in four games at the Ivan Hlinka tournament and was +2 and scored 2 goals with 1 assist and 4 penalty minutes in five games at the WJC.
2014-15: Aho scored the biggest goal of the season in Finland, netting an overtime winner in the deciding seventh game of the Kanada Cup finals against Tapppara, giving Karpat its second straight Liiga championship. In 30 regular season games, including three on loan to Assat Pori early in the year, he scored 4 goals with 9 assists and was +6 with 10 penalty minutes. The game-winning goal was his only one of the playoffs and he had 2 assists, finishing +3 with 2 penalty minutes in 10 playoff games. Aho played 15 games for the Karpat U20 team, including five playoff games, and had 2 goals with 13 assists. He was part of the Finland U20 team at the World Juniors, finishing -1 with no points and 2 penalty minutes in five games. He was an assistant captain for the Finland U18 team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, finishing with 5 goals and 2 assists. Aho joined the U18 team for the gold medal game at the WJC following the Liiga playoffs, recording an assist in a 2-1 loss to the USA. He was invited to the NHL Prospect Combine and was ranked 18th amongst international skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings. Aho was selected by Carolina in the second round (35th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Talent Analysis
An excellent skilled player, Aho has been a solid contributor in FInland’s top league. Aho is undersized (5’11, 172 pounds) compared to Carolina’s other recent draft picks, but he makes up for it with above-average hockey sense — specifically in the offensive zone — and creativity with the puck.
Future
Aho returned to Finland for 2015-16, but did not look out of place at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament or in training camp. Aho could make the jump to North America next year, but in the meantime he needs to get stronger to prepare for the move.
