Martin Meissner / AP
Finland’s Sakari Manninen celebrates May 29, 2022, after he scored the decisive goal in sudden death at the Hockey World Championship final match between Finland and Canada in Tampere, Finland. Now in camp with the Vegas Golden Knights, the Finnish hero hopes to land a spot on Vegas’ NHL roster.
Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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Sakari Manninen has been on the Golden Knights’ radar from the launch of the franchise five years ago.
European scout Alex Godynyuk took notice of Manninen’s hockey smarts and knack for creating goal-scoring opportunities for teammates with HPK in the top Finnish league, SM-Liiga, in April 2017 and the Knights’ organization has kept close tabs on his progress.
Following a strong run in the Kontinental Hockey League and helping lead Finland to gold in both the Olympics and IIHF World Championships, the Golden Knights signed the 30-year-old Manninen to a one-year contract on July 14. He’s in Golden Knights camp ahead of the NHL season, which the Golden Knights open Oct. 11 in Los Angeles.
“Having played four years in the KHL, I think the biggest part I’ve grown as a player and a human being is the mental part,” Manninen said. “That, and the strength, is where my game has gotten better.”
Manninen has been a top-five scorer on his respective clubs, starting with Finnish club Jokerit (2018-19) and the past three seasons with Russian-based Salavat Yulaev Ufa.
“He’s a really, really smart player,” said Vaughn Karpan, the Golden Knights director of player personnel. “His hockey sense is very smart. In European hockey, he’s the one that drives the line.”
Manninen, who can play all three forward positions, is a great passer — 95 assists in 211 KHL games — and has a quick release where the puck comes off his stick with fast precision. It explains why he scored 68 goals in the KHL, but more importantly, how he scored four goals in six games during the Beijing Olympics to help Finland win the gold medal.
He followed that with a team-high six goals in 10 games, including the gold medal-winning overtime goal in the IIHF World Championships in May.
“It was probably the most important goal I’ll ever score,” he said.
The only detriment is his height. Listed at 5-foot-8, Manninen has had to make up for his size in other ways, as he’s not someone who will launch one-timers from the right circle, Karpan said. Manninen likes to attack the net and get in the goalie’s face, he said.
“Small players like him have always got to show you. They’ve got to show that they can play,” Karpan said. “Every event you see him in over those five years, he shows you again how good he is and he shows you again why he’s good. Each time you see that, the belief in the player continues to grow and solidify.
“When his play doesn’t drop off (in the Olympics and World Championships) and he continues to play well and continues to do the same things against those players, then you have a certain degree of comfort that you know what you know of the player.”
If Manninen has any chance of making the Golden Knights’ roster, he’ll have to be reliable in the defensive zone.
Karpan said Manninen plays a solid 200-foot game, but he will have to show that effort if he wants to get the attention of new coach Bruce Cassidy, whose defensive-oriented system will be an adjustment for players new and old.
“He’s not a big guy, but he’s strong on his skates,” Karpan said. “He’s not a guy who flies around the ice … he’s a smart, agile, weaving move-the-puck, get-it-back kind of guy.”
Manninen’s transition to the smaller North American ice could be a seamless one, Karpan said. Coming from the KHL where rinks are larger, Manninen looked comfortable during the world championships on the smaller ice.
Manninen started training camp last week lined up at center. He skated with Henderson Silver Knights players Gage Quinney and Sheldon Rempal, indicating he could be destined for the franchise’s AHL roster were the season to start today.
“I found he was slippery. Pretty smart hockey player,” Cassidy said. “My guess is most of his life he’s been on the smaller side and had to navigate around bigger men. He’s learned to do it a long time, and he’ll have to do it here. I like his game. He’s got compete too.”
Manninen has been in Las Vegas for about a month and, much like every new player experiencing Southern Nevada, was taken aback by the triple-digit heat. Nevertheless, he’s excited for the challenge of trying to compete for a roster spot.
“Like all players coming into training camp, he’s going to have to prove himself,” Karpan said. “I think the guy is ready to take the challenge. He’s not a young player, but at the same time he’s not old. He comes with a really solid pedigree. He knows how to play.
“I said the same thing about Brendan Gallagher,” Karpan added, referencing his time as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens when they drafted the 5-foot-9 Gallagher in 2010. “These small guys who are smart and competitive have been that way their whole life and they find a way.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
