The Blue Jackets found a late-round prospect with something most sixth-rounders don’t bring to the table: real professional experience.
Anttoni Uronen stands out in this draft class because he was already handling himself against grown men before Columbus took him. He played 14 games in Finland’s U20 league, then moved up to HIFK in Liiga, Finland’s top pro circuit, for 27 more.
In that span, he put up two goals and eight assists while still being a 17-year-old for most of it. He turned 18 about a week ago.
That kind of jump matters. Uronen also wore an alternate captain’s letter for Finland at the U18 worlds, where he posted two points in five games. The production is fine, but the bigger story is how he got it: by staying involved, keeping pucks alive and making simple, smart passes that let teammates do the damage.
He’s not really a driver in the purest sense, and that shows up when the game gets messy or slows down. Uronen’s game is built on hustle, energy and a little bit of bite. He’s active enough to create takeaways, but that same motor can pull him out of position in the defensive zone, which could become a problem against aggressive teams and on the penalty kill.
At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, he isn’t a giant, but he’s far from small. His physical game comes more from using his frame than from throwing big hits.
He protects the puck well, leans into board battles and absorbs contact without getting knocked off his feet very often. He’s a decent straight-line skater, though his agility and finesse aren’t major strengths.
What stands out most is how well he handled the top level despite the limited experience and the technical gaps. Uronen’s compete level and physical presence help cover for a lot, and he clearly understands the kind of role he’s built for. Even when he moved up the lineup and got looks in the top six a couple of times, he kept playing the same way.
The ceiling doesn’t look especially high from here. If everything breaks right in Finland, he projects more as a bottom-six NHL player than a scorer. Still, that’s a useful profile, and getting it in the sixth round is nothing to shrug at.
The next question is where he plays next. It remains to be seen how much time, if any, he spends in his club’s junior program before returning to the pro level. If his offensive game keeps moving forward, Uronen has a real chance to work his way into the Blue Jackets organization in a few years.
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