Fort Erie has time with prospects

The Fort Erie Falcons spent a lot of time this season acquiring top ten drafted players that perhaps other CCHL organizations have given up on. 

Fort Erie acquired both Jesse Puljujarvi and Casey Mittelstadt this season, with the long game in mind for their development. 

The Falcons also acquired Juho Lammikko off of waivers from Dayton. 

Mittelstadt was rated the top prospect in all of hockey just two years ago by the Hockey News.  The Minnesota native oozes talent but needs time to properly develop in the minor leagues for a year or two.  Let’s not forget this is a player that could not do a chin-up at the draft combine in 2017; a sign that he needs to seriously spend the time improving his strength to reach his full potential in the CCHL. 

Jesse Puljujarvi is expected to spend next season in Europe rather than trying to crack an obviously stacked Falcons’ roster once again.  The big winger can play significant minutes in his native Finland and will be better for it when he returns to the CCHL.  It is expected that he can dominate his home league for a season before coming back to North America ready to make an impact. 

While Puljujarvi is going to spend time in Europe, he’s expected to do so with Lammikko, as the two are expected to be teammates and potentially linemates next season. Similarly, to Puljujarivi, Lammikko won’t crack the Falcons roster next year and has requested, through his agent, that he be able to play and develop back in Finland. 

“We believe all three of these players have the potential to be impact players in the CCHL if we develop them right.  We are in a position of luxury in that we have a full, young roster at this time and we can let them develop at their own pace as a result.  I am very excited to see what the future holds for all three players as members of our organization,” said GM Matt Young on the team’s development plans. 

With the second overall pick in the 2020 CCHL Entry Draft and a good young roster, the Falcons appear ready for an extended run for several CCHL championships should they fall short this year. 

It’s an exciting time to be a fan of the Fort Erie Falcons, both for now and into the future.