When you think about the players at the forefront of the revolution currently taking NHL blue lines by storm, it’s speed, intelligence and a strong first pass as the common thread between them. Portland Winterhawks defenceman Henri Jokiharju carries these attributes in spades.
The Finnish transitional defenceman joined the Winterhawks as a first round, 25th overall CHL Import Draft selection, and played in a secondary role with Keoni Texeira as his most frequent partner. It took Jokiharju a while to hit his stride, but when he did, he was as smooth skating and effective a defenceman in transition as almost any defender in his class.