Miko Matikka is a strong winger who thrives when hanging onto the puck and finding a way to drive to the net with possession. When he has the puck on his stick in the offensive zone, he is very good at fending off checks to work the cycle down low. His work with the puck on his stick leads to extended attack time while on offense as his strength and stickhandling ability allow plays to open up. He has a shoot-first mentality and has an excellent one-timer that he’s able to get off at challenging angles at times. His desire to score is also evident in the frequency with which he shoots the puck. While not the greatest skater, he can open things up for himself when he does get a chance to rush the puck up ice. Injuries this season might’ve slowed him in this regard. Decision-making is arguably the area in his game that he needs the most improvement as it can be very inconsistent at times. For every good rush up ice with possession, there’s a bad pass into sticks or a shot into traffic that gets blocked. There are times where he’s on the right side of the puck and helping drive play, though there are other times where he gives up possession too easily by forcing things. Effort level with him can also be a bit inconsistent as there’s times where he shows a willingness to backcheck but others where he can be seen coasting into his own end. There’s not a ton of ceiling with him as he projects to be a relatively safe floor type player who could find his way to the NHL someday. He will have to improve his consistency at both ends of the ice and work on improving his decision-making. If Matikka can do this, he has a good enough shot to be a dangerous player down the road for whichever team drafts him.

– FCHockey’s 2022 NHL Draft Guide