Emil Hemming : In-Depth Scouting Report
Emil Hemming is a 6’2 Finnish right-handed winger. After a good start to the season in the under-20 league in his native country, he was recalled to play the bulk of the campaign among the professionals.
Having risen above the competition in his age group, including good offensive production, we could be right to believe that these are the attributes that characterize him best. However, at least as far as I’m concerned, it’s his play without the puck that is his most helpful quality. Early at the start of the season, I saw him make some nice defensive backcheck and I didn’t make much of a fuss about it since, for me, these backchecks were a necessity within the circumstances and the player was only doing the bare minimum that a coach has the right to expect from one of his players. In the past few years, I have repeatedly seen people label certain prospects as ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ defensively, who, to me, were simply ‘Decent‘ enough to say that they are not a liability in their own zone and that their coaches can trust them. This is somewhat how I saw Hemming in my first viewing, but to my surprise, I began to see a player who did more than act out of simple necessity. He is a player who contributes greatly defensively to his team and this aspect of his game represents a real value. This could be explained by three things;
Firstly, the quality of his defensive play is expressed by the fact that he is constantly the first player on his line to backcheck. There is no hesitation in his approach, he backcheck, giving his all, and heads straight for the disc carrier to knock the puck away from him.
Secondly, he makes good reads while he recognizes well the situations where one of his defensemen is about to ‘Pinch’ (regardless of the zone) by immediately going to cover his position.
Finally, he has mastered the subtleties of how to properly ‘clog’ the neutral zone for the puck carrier by putting enough pressure on the latter while blocking a possible passing option.
The Finnish winger’s prowess without the puck doesn’t just stop in a defensive context. He is also very good at applying pressure in various situations on the puck carrier, he provides good support to his teammates during battles in the corners and he works very well in this type of confrontation. For me, this aspect has always been more than a simple question about sheer strength and size, there are several nuances and subtleties to this facet, and for me, Hemming masters them. Just as an example, the way he neutralizes his opponent’s stick with his own, before his rival gets to the puck first, to prevent him from pushing it forward to a teammate, is simply brilliant. He can then engage the body to turn the situation to his advantage.
To conclude with Hemming’s play without the puck, I also appreciate his way of arriving first on loose pucks during races for them. His commitment to place his body in front of that of his opponent, even if it means assuming the risk of being stamped on the board, is a strong testament to his dedication to his team.
Offensively, it is above all for his shooting that Hemming is recognized. It’s rather unusual to describe the quality of a player’s shot as inconsistent, but that’s what I observed with the Finn. In the past, I had somewhat the same observation with Xavier Bourgault, Viktor Neuchev and even Axel Sandin-Pelikka last year.
I was surprised to note while reviewing all the clips that I had extracted from him this season that there is such a huge disparity between the number of shots taken at even strength versus the number of shots taken on the Power-Play. The number of shots at 5v5 is insufficient.
The problem does not only stop with the volume of shots taken, but also with their location. Hemming directs too many pucks to the net from the outside. He does not seek to reach dangerous areas.
The most worrying thing is that, if you take away Hemming’s goal-scoring ability, his offensive game doesn’t have much else to offer. His playmaking skills are very slim. We find the same predisposition to execute plays from the outside. In fact, one of the ways Hemming uses the most to create scoring opportunities for his teammates is to shoot low on the goalie’s pad to create rebounds in the slot.
As for his skating, improvements in his top speed and acceleration were noted throughout the season. I have to admit I only saw two Finland games at the Hlinka Tournament so it’s possible my assessment wasn’t entirely fair then either.
I consider the quality of his skating to be adequate, if this were not the case, he would not manage to be first on the puck on so many occasions.
Particularly at the start of the season, I had a lot of reservations with Hemming’s skating due to a lack of agility. On several occasions, he attempted to break away from an opponent’s coverage with what we call ‘Stutter Steps’. Movements where he makes ‘hesitations’ in opposite directions to sow uncertainty in his coverer as to which direction he will take. The problem is that the times between said hesitations were too slow, so the coverer could easily reorient himself in time and also, Hemming lost speed when going from one direction to another, so he had no chance to get rid of his opponent.
Also, I saw in Hemming an inability to make sudden pivots using his Outside Edges. On several occasions along the boards, he could have used a pivot on himself to break away from his coverer and attack the lower regions of the offensive zone. Instead, he was forced to go in only one possible direction, up towards the offensive blue line, and force a difficult pass to one of his defensemen.
However, this improved during the year.
The Finnish winger has good hands and can exhibit a style of play that is very pleasant to watch. Against his age group, he has a certain aura and he can beat his opponents in a one-on-one situation with superb maneuvering.
However, this poise and confidence faded when he made the transition to the Liiga. It shows a certain maturity on the part of the player to avoid unnecessary risks in possession of the puck and to practice a professional style of play. On the other hand, I wonder if he is maximizing his talent and not showing off enough during his draft season. During several games, I wondered if he was really ready to make the jump to the professionals full time.
As for his projection at the next level, the quality of his defensive game and his overall game without the puck opens a lot of doors for him and allows him to broaden the range of possibilities regarding his predicted seat in the NHL. For an offensive player who exhibited a lot of electrifying flashes with the puck against his age group, the probability of seeing him fill a lesser role on a 3rd line, in the event that his offensive potential does not materialize is very present. And hats off to him. That said, his offensive game is not high enough for me to anticipate seeing him occupy a role in a top-6 NHL; the lack of playmaking, shots coming from outside, etc. So I see a 3rd line player. Which would be very good, but I must add that 3rd line players, coming from Europe, who do not advocate a physical style of play…. This is not what is most in demand among NHL teams. When we look at the lineups of teams that make a deep run in the playoffs, we generally do not find this archetype of players. Although I like certain aspects of his game, for me he is a player who could well be frustrating for his team’s fanbase. Since he kinda looks really appealing when he has the puck on his stick, one could believe that a surge of production will come with him at a certain point, but I don’t think it will happen.
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