Greyhounds score NHL prospect from Finland in import draft

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Canadian Hockey League import draft, Soo Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis was confident.

His confidence was that one of German forward Julia Lutz, Swedish forward Noel Nordh, and the player they selected Wednesday would fill their second import spot, with returning blueliner Kirill Kudryavtsev being the other.

On Wednesday morning, the Greyhounds selected Finnish defenceman Arttu Karki seventh overall, adding another NHL drafted prospect to the mix.

Karki was selected in the third round of the 2023 NHL draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.

Raftis said Wednesday afternoon that he expects Karki to be in training camp later this summer.

“He was excited about it, they wanted to commit to it, so we’re going to look to start the year with both of those players [Karki and Kudryavtsev],” Raftis said.

Prior to being drafted, Karki played with Tappara’s U20 team in the Finnish junior league where he scored 13 times and had 39 points in 36 games.

“He’s got great size, can really skate,” Raftis said. “He’s a player that has put up great offensive numbers in every league. He’s got a great shot.

“When we were going through some players, it was going to be a great fit with how we play,” Raftis added.

Raftis added that Karki is a player “that can play in a lot of different situations.”

“Anytime you watch a Finnish team play, they play tough, they play hard,” Raftis said. “They have a certain style very similar to North America. When you add in his size and skating ability and just that length that he can add to the blueline is going to really help us. It’s going to help us put some younger guys in some better spots too. Last year, because we were so young, we were putting guys in tough matchup situations. This gives us some good options on the back end for the group.”

Karki was the Greyhounds lone pick in Wednesday’s draft.