Tuomaala is sharpshooter with one of the best shots in the class. He has a strong wrist shot, mixed with a quick release and excellent accuracy. He’s a quick and agile skater who generates good speed and acceleration with tight crossovers but struggles to beat defenders with speed consistently due to a lack of consistent…
| DATE | PLAYER | NAME | LEAGUE | AUTHOR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8/21 | Tuomaala Samu | 22071 – Finland vs. Russia | WJC-18 | by Olivia McArter | View Report |
| Apr 30/21 | Tuomaala Samu | 22025 – Finland vs. Russia | WJC-18 | by Joseph Aleong | View Report |
| Jan 31/21 | Tuomaala Samu | 21663 – JYP U20 vs. Karpat U20 | JR A SM-liiga | by Josh Bell | View Report |
| Jan 20/21 | Tuomaala Samu | 21593 – Karpat U20 vs. KalPa U20 | JR A SM-liiga | by Derek Neumeier | View Report |
| Dec 7/20 | Tuomaala Samu | 21428 – Pelicans U20 vs. Karpat U20 | JR A SM-liiga | by Josh Bell | View Report |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PPG | +/- | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | Kärpät | liiga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Tuomaala is sharpshooter with one of the best shots in the class. He has a strong wrist shot, mixed with a quick release and excellent accuracy. He’s a quick and agile skater who generates good speed and acceleration with tight crossovers but struggles to beat defenders with speed consistently due to a lack of consistent power and extension in his strides. While this limits his impact as a puck carrier in transition, he has good vision with the puck and he is able to find open space off the rush to get into a good shooting position. He’s an advanced playmaker who sees lanes open up and can be deceptive with his intentions. He can make hard, accurate one-touch passes. He can receive and handle the puck in full flight and has the skill to undress defenders or shoot from the rush. He displays a shoot-first mentality, showing the confidence to fire from outside the dot lanes. He has a lightning-quick release and he is able to get heavy shots off without having to take time to transfer his weight. While his proclivity for shooting can make him a bit single-minded off the rush, his creativity and quick feet allow him to be deceptive in the offensive end, creating dangerous passing lanes and open pockets of ice for his linemates. He is more involved from the wing in the defensive end and transition than most of his junior peers, showing some shifts where he’s a real difference maker and putting himself into good spots for loose pucks and pass breakups. He’s not as engaged physically as he could be, particularly on the forecheck and along the boards in his own end, but Tuomaala is an opportunistic player who shows good awareness and the ability to create scoring chances by himself. There are times when if effort level is lacking, as he hangs back and waits for his teammates to do all the work for him. On occasion, he doesn’t dig in for puck battles, is slow on the backcheck, and flies his defensive zone too early. He also doesn’t move his feet enough to get open on the power play at times, which wastes his shooting skill much of the time. There are also times where his reads are off, almost like he’s not thinking hard enough about the play unfolding in front of him.