Team: JYP (Liiga)

Date of Birth: Apr 17, 2004: Jyväskylän mlk, FIN

Height: 5’11

Weight: 176 lbs

Position: Right Wing

Handedness: Right

2021-22 Team: JYP (Liiga)

Introduction

Joakim Kemell has quickly become one of Finland’s top prospects for the upcoming 2022 NHL draft. Kemell was ranked 6th overall in my recent rankings for the draft. Known as one of the best overall shooters in the class, Kemell has played the past few seasons with JYP of the Liiga. In 39 games played, he posted 15 goals, eight assists, for 33 total points, coming second on his team in goals scored. He was later named Liiga’s Rookie of the Year. Kemell also made a strong presence at this year’s World Juniors U18 tournament with Finland, leading his team in points with six goals, two assists for eight points in five games played. Kemell is known to play well on the international stage. He has played many games as one of the youngest players on the ice and continues to shine.

“It’s a pretty decent comparable when it comes to prospects in recent memory. Many of the same issues (shoots from low danger, low engagement at times) plague Kemell as they did Holtz, I think Holtz shot was better overall though.”

– Tony Ferrari, The Hockey News

Offensive Ability

It’s no question Kemell’s best assets of his game are his shot and stick-handling abilities. Once he enters the offensive zone, he becomes an immediate threat to the opposition. Kemell does a great job at carrying the puck through the neutral zone and making decisions as to if he should pass, dump and chase, or quickly maneuver around a defensemen. Kemell can be used as a reliable power-play option on any team, with his hard, accurate snapshot. A lot of his shots and goals come from below the hash-marks, making him an effective player down low. 

I love this goal by Kemell. He makes a quick decision on the rush, making a quick pass to his teammate, and cruising down the middle of the ice for a goal. On this play, he displays strong playmaking and goal-scoring instincts.
Liked mentioned in the paragraph above, this goal shown is one of the many reasons why Kemell is an effective power-play player given his gifted shooting abilities. Kemell receives the puck at the top of the circle. Once he gets the puck on his stick he notices the defenseman is giving him space to make a play. With quick goal-scorer instincts, Kemell decides to take the shot and rip it past the goaltender.
This goal is another example of what makes Kemell so dangerous entering the offensive zone. He speeds down the middle lane reading the play. Once he gets the puck on his stick, he is quick to make a decision, and with no hesitation, he rips a wrist shot rip over the goalies glove for a beautiful goal.
I really like this video of Kemell. He’s not known to be one of the best skaters in the draft. As you can see, he could definitely work on his stride for more acceleration, and be much faster. Either way, Kemell possesses strong puck carrying skills through the neutral zone into the offensive zone. He is very deceptive on this play, making this a successful zone entry.
This is a terrific primary assist by Kemell. He reads the defender off the half-wall, perfectly bodying the player out and protecting the puck. He evades the pressure along the boards and makes a quick pass to his teammate in the high slot area.

Defensive Ability

The defensive side is definitely an area Kemell will have to improve as he moves on to the next level. First things first, he isn’t the biggest player on the ice, so he likes to use his stick to check rather than throw the body around. Although he’s not too much of a hitter, Kemell has made some hits against that did not go unnoticed. He is usually good along the wall in the defensive zone at getting pucks out, but does tend to be inconsistent at times. Using his stick to poke at the puck is one of his strong suits, which can make him reliable on the penalty kill. But his lack of acceleration skating wise, he is out beaten to pucks. If he can improve his skating abilities he will be much more effective chasing and poke checking pucks from the opposition. He will also have to improve his quick decision making skills.

In this play, you can see Kemell getting knocked out of the way by an opposing player, after struggling to get the puck out of the defensive zone. Kemell could have kept skating around the net or made a quick pass to his defensive teammate behind him, because he had three opposing players coming in his direction. If he did one of those options, he probably would have evaded pressure a bit easier then cutting back the other way.
Just like the video above, he seems to like to try and be fancy with the puck and cut back the other way, which makes him lose puck possession, delaying the teams ability to get the puck out of the defensive-end. But again, the defenders easily read him and are able to knock him off the puck. Although the video cuts off at the end, that was a good little chip off the boards by Kemell to his teammate.
In this video, he picks up the puck on the turnover and is able to skate it out of the zone for a clear. Solid penalty kill work by Kemell.
This play is a good example of why Kemell is very good at using his stick to poke at pucks. Right after the faceoff, he darts to his coverage area and ends up picking off the puck from the defenseman, almost getting a break.
Kemell skates quickly to the boards and uses his body to knock a player off the puck. He received a positive result from the hit, as his teammate was able to grab the loose puck off the wall and exit the defensive zone. This is a perfect example of why he shouldn’t be shy to throw his body around.

Comparison and Conclusion

Kemell still has some work to do surrounding his overall skating ability and decision making. His offensive-side is most-definitely intriguing to scouts, which is why he is ranked high in the first-round by most scouts and reporters. Whichever team takes the swing on Kemell, they will have to be patient and help him round out his game, by getting him with a good skating coach and also helping him add some more muscle to his 5-foot-11 frame. Kemell has the potential to be a top-six winger in the NHL, with the ability to be a threat on the powerplay. Kemell has a stylistic comparison similar to Patrik Laine of the Columbus Blue Jackets.