In a draft for the Montreal Canadiens that was largely about adding prospects with raw skill, their pick of Petteri Nurmi at 194th seems to have been more of a hedge against some of the high-risk selections they made. Nurmi’s game so far has been heavily skewed to defensive play, but he has earned opportunities at various levels because of it.
He signed a three-year contract with HPK last summer after impressing in the pre-season, and made the roster at 19 years of age. He was trusted with significant minutes right away, getting 20 minutes of ice time in some of his first games with the team, and averaging 16:40 on the campaign.