No, the Buffalo Sabres’ fifth round draft pick is not from Sweden. He does, however, come to Finland, which is Sweden’s next door neighbor.
Miska Kukkonen is Buffalo’s fourth defenseman selected in this year’s draft, which will help bolster their defense with young, motivated players that hold a lot of potential. He’s a 6-foot, 183-pound puck-moving defenseman with a lot of promise, as he is just 18 years old.
Kukkonen played great defensively as a member of the Ilves U20 Junior team in Finland (SM-Liiga). He’s not necessarily known for his offense, only producing two goals and two assists in 12 games with the team, but he did tally 33 penalty minutes and a +2 line.