Potential Draft Pick Joins QHA

QHA would like to extend a big welcome to our newest client, goaltender, Jooa Sammalniemi. Jooa is originally from Ylöjärvi, Finland, he is 16 years old and already stands 6’0′, and weighs 181 lbs. This season Jooa played with Lukko U16 in the SM-Sarja league in Finland. They had a good year but saw the season come to an end versus Helsinki in the Wild Card round. With that being said, Jooa has already made a name for himself by winning the Jukka Tammi Award (Best Goaltender) as well as making the SM-Sarja All-Star Team.  On top of that, Jooa represented The Finnish U16 International team in a total of 5 games this season with an astonishing 92.6% save percentage.  Jooa will be represented by player agent Tobias Johansson.

Jooa is a pro prospect and future possible NHL draft list player. He reads the game well, has patience in his game which allows the shooter to make the first play, is technically strong, and is good athletic. His style of play is quiet and smooth, but he can make the desperation saves when it matters most. As a person, Jooa is very mature for his age and this is also reflected on the ice with his confidence and composure in the game. Winning the Jukka Tammi Award this season shows that Jooa is going toward a bright future as previous winners of the same award have been players like Juuse Saros, Kaapo Kähkönen, and Henrik Tikkanen who currently plays in the North American Pro scenes. 

We´re extremely excited to start working with Jooa, and we´d like to welcome him to the QHA family once again!

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