What the 17-year-old Oulu native lacks in size he makes up for with intelligence, skating and puck-moving ability, all of which helped Jokiharju adjust to the North American game in his first year with the Portland Winterhawks in 2016-17.
Like Tri City’s Juuso Valimaki, Jokiharju crossed over from the Jr. A SM-liiga to play junior hockey in the Western Hockey League, but he did so a year later, making his draft season his rookie year in the CHL. While Valimaki enjoyed one of the most productive draft years by a CHL defenceman since 2015, Jokiharju was productive in his own right.