Atte Joki’s Finnish Development Path | NHL News

0:00It's September 12th. From the locker room to your ears, this is NHL News today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Alright, let's talk about Ate Joki. This young Finnish prospect, drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2025, isn't with their tournament roster this fall. He's actually in Helsinki, playing for HIFK, a historic team in the Finnish Leaguea. He signed a two-year deal there, and honestly, staying in Finland seems like the best move for his development right now. HIFK brought in Oli Jokinen to coach, a guy who played over 1200 NHL games and has experienced developing young Finnish talent. HIFK also has the biggest budget in the league and added some experienced players, so Joki isn't expected to carry the team. He's in a position to learn and grow on a roster built to compete, even with the pressure of avoiding relegation this season. The early team results for HIFK haven't been great, sitting near the bottom despite their spending.

1:00Joki is learning to navigate that kind of organizational challenge at 19, which is a different kind of growth than just winning games. His ice time shifted from preseason to the regular season, but the underlying numbers are showing some positive signs. His pub battle win rate and pass accuracy have improved, and HIFK controls more of the shot share when he's on the ice. The main area needing work is his face off game, which has dipped against this higher level of competition. His skating is still explosive, but the focus is on improving his stride and puck skills at speed. The key thing to watch is whether HIFK gives him more penalty kill time, similar to what he did last season. That role, combining his size, compete, and defensive reads, could really shorten his path to an NHL bottom six spot. If he doesn't get that opportunity, the face off and decision making gaps become more significant.