This week I wrote a series on Buffalo Sabres prospects playing in Sweden. I continued looking at prospects within the organization, this time focusing on Finland and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
The Sabres selected the 6’4”, 196-pound netminder with their second-round pick in last year’s draft, 57th overall. The prospect is just 19 years old and is already a champion. He earned a gold medal at the 2016 Under-18 World Junior Championship, a silver medal at the U18 WJC in 2017, and won the U20 Championship in 2017 with HPK in Liiga.
While Luukkonen has enjoyed early success, he has also had to face some adversity.