If your favorite hockey team is drafting Emil Hemming this year, they are probably going to be pretty happy. It is not a trade that would keep many fans excited or would be a prospect to really keep a keen eye on overseas that would get an extreme amount of coverage any hype before he is playing professional hockey in North America — but it would be just a solid pick in every sense of the word.
Hemming is simply a well-rounded, 6-foot-2 winger whose tools can easily translate and is certainly not afraid of getting physical as he drives his way to the net or sets himself up as a screen, bugging opposing defenders. He does have the occasional display of some high-end skill, but overall his game relies on doing the simple things well and just feels like an eventual north-south winger in the NHL that solidifies a good team’s middle-six forward group.
That’s nothing to sneeze at, as every team needs that, but it also isn’t someone who will either be one of the team’s best players or not even getting out of the minors. Hemming is the quintessential draft pick where all you can do is nod in agreement.
Pre-draft rankings
No. 15 by Bob McKenzie (TSN)
No. 40 by Elite Prospects
No. 19 by Scott Wheeler (The Athletic)
No. 31 by Daily Faceoff
No. 25 by McKeen’s Hockey
Statistics
What’s there to like?
The most attractive part of Hemming’s game just has to be how well-rounded he is as both a prospect and a current player. There really aren’t a whole lot of things to complain about what he has shown so far through his experience in both the Finnish junior leagues and the Liiga. He scored 11 goals and 18 points in just 13 junior games, and when he was called upon to play in the top division for 40 games, he still scored seven goals and 11 points, a decently high number for a 17-year-old.
While the total does not seem impressive, the Liiga is such a low-scoring league and it’s tricky for any teenager to really put up a whole lot of points. Last season, only Konsta Helenius scored more in his age group (and Helenius scored the fourth-most points ever from a 17-year-old in the Liiga), and other current NHLers scored at the same rate Hemming did.
Hemming’s 0.28 points per game is comparable to Kasperi Kapanen (0.30), Juraj Slafkovsky (0.32), Mikko Rantanen (0.24), Brad Lambert (0.33), and Rasmus Kupari (0.36). All of those players were first-round draft picks and obviously have had different results at the NHL level.
All of these numbers are great, but when it comes to Hemming’s tools, his shot stands out as his strongest asset.
Hemming — as evident in the two minutes and five seconds up above — can shoot the puck like a laser from anywhere on the ice. Anytime he feels even a modicum of chance that it will result in a goal, the prospect just snaps it towards the goal. According to Will Scouch’s tracked data, Hemming is responsible for roughly 45 percent of TPS’ shot attempts this past Liiga season. That is an incredible amount for one single player.
He can be seen as a pure volume shooter, but he also has the power-forward tendencies to strong-arm his way to the net and get physical along the boards to keep possession for himself and possibly get into higher-danger areas.
Overall, Hemming feels like a run-and-gun shooter that has a strong physical game and above-average skating to make him a dangerous scoring threat.
What’s not to like?
While there is not a whole lot to dislike about Hemming’s game, it really is just a question of whether the high-end aspects of his game can translate well enough. He does have a wicked shot, is not afraid of contact, and can skate well enough to be a professional; but it is just if what he has shown during his Liiga season can be the same in the NHL.
For one, Hemming’s shots largely come from mid-range and some scouts have noticed that he doesn’t involve himself in the play until he can really capitalize on the opportunity. He’s not making individual efforts to further pressure or drive play — in basketball terms, he feels very much like a “catch-and-release” type of player that just sneaks up in the offensive zone to deliver the final blow after his teammates do the heavy lifting. That might not really translate in the NHL.
He should still be a scoring threat in North America, but it’s just how much of it will come over and if he can truly get away with trying to find enough space to let off those mid-range attempts. Luckily, he does have the size to eventually change his game to potentially be more upfront and driving, but right now these concerns is probably why he isn’t a top-20 pick despite his scoring ability.
How would he fit into the Flyers’ system?
It seems that the new regime is really trying to balance the prospect pool with both larger swings and more sure things. You have players like Denver Barkey who, if he hits, could end up being a very good middle-six winger, but if he doesn’t, then there is concern he even makes the NHL. But at the same time, Barkey’s London teammate Oliver Bonk, is most likely going to make the big leagues in some capacity, it’s just determining if it’s a solid top-four defenseman in there or some depth player that just kills penalties.
With all that being said, if they take another big swing at some point in the 2024 NHL Draft, then having Emil Hemming somewhere in there would be the addition on the other side of things. The big winger could at the very least be a reliable fourth-line winger that scores double-digit goals through some seasons, and that is just something that any team could use. It wouldn’t be exciting and we might still think more highly of a handful of forwards in the Flyers’ prospect pool, but Hemming would still be able to fit in well.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
It certainly feels like it, but a player like Hemming might always be the pick that some playoff team that held onto their first-round pick and need to make a decision at 24th overall or something of that ilk, makes. He would be a welcome addition to any prospect pool but especially one that wants to get more pro-ready players who play a balanced game, and especially considering that he can go straight to the AHL if he wants, some team might reach up and take him.
If not, the Flyers can most likely draft him at 32nd overall, or even in the second round if he drops off just slightly or teams want to take larger swings.
What scouts are saying
Hemming’s shot is his offensive calling card. He can score from a distance, has a wide variety of different shot types, comfortably releasing from either leg, and shooting through the defender’s triangle off the rush. To complement the shot, Hemming plays a game reminiscent of many of today’s power forwards. He plays through contact, drives the net, links up well with his teammates on breakouts and works increasingly hard defensively, almost always taking the extra on the backcheck to engage properly instead of reaching.
Elite Prospects 2024 NHL Draft Guide
Hemming has clear tools as a 6-foot-1, 200-ish-pound winger with real individual skill as both a handler and a shooter and good skating. His fitness has at times been a question (sounds like he’s the kind of player who adds weight more easily than others, so he has to watch his nutrition carefully) but he’s a very strong kid who looks like a pro athlete already and actually performed well in the endurance testing at the combine. I’d like to see him use his size a little more, but that’s not uncommon for a player his age and he does go to the interior for his looks, so that’s more a commentary on my wanting to see him knock some guys over physically. He’s got high-end (or close) skill, a dangerous wrister on the power play (from the flank and the bumper) and a quick, one-touch release and catch-and-release motion. When the puck comes off of his blade, it rattles. There were games at U18s and the junior level this year in which he had 10-plus quality looks from the home plate and all of them required good saves to stop. When the puck lands on his stick and he looks to attack and keeps his feet moving, he can create looks and beat defenders and goalies. Every time he gets a chance, it feels dangerous. He’s got a powerful one-timer now. His skating looks fast and sees him gain steps on D when he plays against his peers. He can be a lot to handle. There are the makings of a potential top-six player in there, but he does have work to do to round out his game (I’d like to see him develop more of a passing game too, which could really open up his offense even further), and he comes with some risk as a result.
Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
At 30th overall we have our second Finnish forward off the board, Emil Hemming. The right-shot power forward ended up playing the majority of the season with the TPS Liiga team which only few saw coming before the season started. Playing mostly limited 4th line minutes, Hemming molded his game into a more mature and defensively responsible style. We expect Hemming to have a big role with team Finland in the upcoming U18 Worlds, where he should be able to showcase more of his offensive talents. While his shot is definitely the most impressive puck skill of his, he has shown flashes of playmaking and puck handling that could help him evolve his game into the next level if applied to his
Anni Karvinen, DobberProspects
Welcome to the poll…
No one! We had a four(!)-way tie for this spot so we are not adding anyone new just yet.
Previously on the Draft Board:
- Macklin Celebrini
- Ivan Demidov
- Artyom Levshunov
- Anton Silayev
- Cayden Lindstrom
- Sam Dickinson
- Zeev Buium
- Berkly Catton
- Zayne Parekh
- Konsta Helenius
- Tij Iginla
- Cole Eiserman
- Carter Yakemchuk
- Adam Jiricek
- Michael Brandsegg-Nygård
- Beckett Sennecke
- Liam Greentree
- Igor Chernyshov
- Sacha Boisvert
- Michael Hage
- Aron Kiviharju
- Andrew Basha
- Trevor Connelly
- Nikita Artamonov
- Ryder Ritchie
- Emil Hemming
- ???
