Rangers Select Forward Lauri Pajuniemi at 132

With the 132nd pick The Rangers selected forward Lauri Pajuniemi from TPS from Liiga.

Lauri Pajuniemi
Date of Birth Sep 12, 1999
Age 18
Place of Birth Tampere, FIN
Nation Finland
Youth Team TPS
Position RW
Height 6'0" / 182 cm
Weight 183 lbs / 83 kg
Shoots R

Pajuniemi skated in 32 games with TPS in Liiga in 2017-18, registering two goals and five assists for seven points.

Pajuniemi ranked ninth among players younger than 19 years old in Liiga in points during this past season.

He tallied four points (three goals, one assist) in nine playoff contests in Liiga, and he ranked fourth on TPS in goals in the playoffs.

Pajuniemi registered 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 14 regular season games with TPS’ junior team in Nuorten SM-liiga in 2017-18.

Pajuniemi played on the second line and first power play unit for TPS U20. He likes to have the puck on his stick and has good puck control in tight spaces. He can hang onto the puck and create offense. He moved the puck well in the second period, making simple, short passes that were tape-to-tape. He played at a fairly high pace and showed an ability to handle the puck at varying speeds. Had good edge work, agility and quickness.

The winger could add more consistency and make quicker decisions certain times. He made one play in the first period in which he lost puck control dangerously in the defensive zone. He read the game fairly well defensively, but it’s another area for some improvement.