Shortly before last season began, we looked at some of the stars you might want to keep an eye on in the Champions Hockey League – because eyes were on them across the Atlantic in North America.
10 months later, and on the eve on the 2019 NHL Draft, we look back at what’s happened to the six names we picked out.
Kaapo Kakko
Probably the undisputed young star of this season’s Champions Hockey League – and Liiga, and two different World Championship categories! Kakko’s CHL adventure ended prematurely as TPS Turku failed to make it past the Group Stage, but the now 18-year-old did manage two goals in five starts in the opening phase. From there he went on to post 38 points in 45 Liiga matches, and ended the season as both an U20 and senior team World Champion.
The forward is expected to go as one of the top picks in the draft.
Anttoni Honka
Also 18, Honka played in six CHL Group Stage games for defending champions JYP Jyväskylä before their fall out in the Group Stage. The defenseman was also part of the Finnish World U20 Gold Medal winning team, and spent this season with games in both the Liiga and Mestis across three teams.
Honka is predicted to go somewhere between 49-75 across most scouting services.
Ramus Kupari
Kärpät Oulu had both Rasmus Kupari and Aleksi Hemponiemi making quite an impression in their Champions Hockey League campaign last season. The team itself made it to the Quarter-Finals, helped in no small part by Kupari putting up seven points in ten games. Kupari also won the U20 Gold Medal with his national team, and in the league went on to score 33 points in 43 regular season games as Kärpät won the Regular Season and finished as Playoff Runners-Up.
Those performances saw him rewarded with a three-year Entry-Level contract with the Los Angeles Kings just over a week ago. Kupari was drafted #20 overall last summer.
Dominik Bokk
19-Year-Old Dominik Bokk was another who left this season’s competition early as the Växjö Lakers fell out in the opening phase. Bokk played four games for the Lakers in the Group Stage as the Swedes could not repeat their run to the final from 2017/18.
He would however go on to 23 SHL regular season points this time around with the Lakers, after being drafted to St. Louis last summer and loaned back to the Swedish team. For next campaign, Bokk will re-unite with former junior coach Cam Abbott as the Blues loan him out to Rögle in the SHL.
Lukáš Dostál
Czech netminder Lukáš Dostál played two games for Kometa Brno before being loaned to Ilves in Finland midway through the season. A .922 save percentage in the Liiga saw him rewarded with a contract from the Anaheim Ducks in May of this season, who drafted the 18-year-old in the 2018 Draft at #85.
He is expected to remain on loan with the Tampere-based side, so like Bokk will remain in Europe but not see CHL action in the new season.
Elvis Merzlikins
And finally Elvis. A 2014 #76 overall draft pick for Columbus, Merzlikins excited Blue Jackets fans with some memorable performances at the 2018 IIHF World Championships. Fast forward to the Champions Hockey League Group Stage, and it was the Latvian who helped his HC Lugano side into the Last 16 – shutting out defending champions JYP on both Game Days 5 and 6! Lugano almost pulled off a shock in the Quarter-Finals too as they led Frölunda on aggregate late in the Return Leg, but some late Ryan Lasch magic ended that dream.
Merzlikins ended the CHL season with a 92.3% save percentage from eight games, and 92.1% in 43 National League games in Switzerland. In May he was signed to an Entry-Level deal by the Blue Jackets, and in May his World Championship performances earned the 25-year-old a one-year extension.