Nashville Predators: Joakim Kemell Stuffing the Stat Sheet at 2022 WJC

Two games into the 2022 World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Nashville Predators first round pick Joakim Kemell is already illustrating why he’s widely considered a steal of a draft pick last month.

Kemell, representing Finland, has two goals and three assists through the first two games of the tournament. Both being wins for Finland who next plays Slovakia on Sunday in Group A action.

The opening game of the tournament for Kemell against an over-matched Latvia team was particularly impressive as he scored the first two goals and showed his ability to find open spots for his linemates to connect with him.

To be objective, these types of goals won’t come as easy as the tournament progresses and stiffer competition goes up against Finland. It was shaky defense for sure from the Latvian team, but still a promising start for Kemell.

Kemell isn’t disappointing on big international stage

I’m really liking the aggressive style that Kemell has shown through the first two games. He’s skating very well and has registered nine shots on goal. His ice time shot up to over 20 minutes in the last game against Czechia, which did reach the shootout.

Kemell is playing with another very promising prospect in Aatu Räty, who is in the New York Islanders system. The duo of Kemell at wing and Räty at center has been entertaining to watch and gives Finland a solid chance to medal.

The Nashville Predators have always been a bit snake bitten when it comes to developing offensive wingers in their system. Kemell is a beacon of hope that he can change that narrative, along with some other offensively gifted prospects who are a little further down the road in their development, most notably Luke Evangelista.

The thought of Kemell and Evangelista eventually being top-six wingers for the Nashville Predators has me extremely hopeful for the future. As with any prospect, patience will be required.

The road ahead to the NHL for Kemell

Kemell’s scouting report and NHL certainty is very high according to Dobber Prospects. He has clear top-six potential with his raw shooting abilities and effective skating at such a young age.

It will obviously be a few seasons before Kemell gets to the NHL level, but it’s going to be fun to track his progress throughout his junior level path and eventually at the pro level.

Kemell is slated to play in the hightly respected Liiga this upcoming season in Finland. He played 39 games and managed 23 points in the same league last year. Let’s see if he can improve on those numbers.

Other prospects for the Nashville Predators that were selected to rosters for the World Junior Championship was Simon Knak (SUI) and Anton Olsson (SWE).

Knak is captain of the Swiss team, which has dropped its first two games as he’s been held to eight shots on goal and no points. They take on Germany next on Saturday.

Olsson has unfortunately been sidelined with an injury for Sweden.

Finland should go pretty deep into this tournament, so expect more chances for highlight reel goals from Kemell.