Armed with a big shot and an ability to bury the puck be it on the power play or five-on-five, Emil Hemming listens closely when he’s told his game is like the one played by London Knights forward and fellow Finnish player Kasper Halttunen.
Last year Halttunen, a San Jose Sharks prospect, recorded 32 goals and 61 points in 57 games with London, including a league-high 16 power-play markers (tying him with three other players).
Hemming, Barrie’s 15th overall pick in this year’s CHL Import Draft, is expected to bring that same offence to Barrie, except for one difference.
“Yeah, I’m a little bit like Halttunen, but I would say I’m better than him,” said the 18-year-old Dallas Stars prospect as he broke into a big smile.
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Colts general manager and head coach Marty Williamson chuckled when told of his young forward’s confidence. He has little doubt Hemming, the Stars’ 29th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, will have an impact.
“The nice thing with him is he’s got more to his game than just scoring,” Williamson said of Hemming. “He’s a really good forechecker, he works hard. He takes a lot of pride in being able to play good defence. I just think we got ourselves a pretty special player.”
Hemming doesn’t mind the comparison one bit to his friend and country mate.
“Yeah, we have some similarities,” he said. “A good shot, a one-timer. We’re pretty much the same players.”
And like Halttunen, Hemming believes he can provide some key goals when his team needs them most.
“Oh yeah, that’s one of my strengths in my game,” said the six-foot-one, 205-pound winger who scored in his preseason debut, a 4-3 win Monday night over the Owen Sound Attack at Sadlon Arena. “I like to score goals. I always have as a kid. I love scoring goals, shooting pucks.
“Up the ice, I just shoot pucks a lot. That’s one of the strengths I want to use here and help the team to win.”
The Vaasa, Finland native arrived in Canada just the night before the one-ice portion of training camp started last Tuesday and while it’s taken him a little bit to warm up, his game is quickly catching up.
“He was a little snake bitten in training camp,” said Williamson. “I think he hit four posts and crossbars, otherwise he would have quite easily led us in scoring in training camp. You just see there’s so much there. He’s a powerful man. He’s 205-pounds. He closes so quickly. If you fumble a puck, he’ll kill you that way. Plus, he shoots the puck so well.
“We’re extremely excited about what he’s going to bring to the table. Playing with guys like (Beau) Jelsma or (Brad) Gardiner or whoever he plays with, he’s just dangerous out there.”
It’s been quite the summer for rising young hockey star. Getting drafted and now picking up and moving thousands of miles from home to Barrie.
“It’s been an unforgettable summer. . . It’s a dream come true to get drafted,” said Hemming, who leaves for Stars training camp along with Barrie teammates Tristan Bertucci and Gardiner on Sept. 11. “It’s worked out well for me and now the work has to be done.”
Hemming could have stayed home and played pro hockey in Finland, but along with the Stars the decision was made to come to the Canadian Hockey League.
It not only provides him with the opportunity to play on the smaller ice surfaces, but as well adapt to the North American game.
“I thought it would be better for me to switch to Canadian hockey and get to know the hockey over here,” Hemming said.
That he wanted to be here in Barrie is certainly music to Williamson’s ears.
“I think so,” he said. “I think sometimes these Europeans are misread, that they play on bigger ice and their softer and this and that. He wants to show everybody that he can play on smaller ice surfaces. He can handle the contact that comes with playing on smaller ice and that’s the part of the game that he wants to grow at and it’s something that he hasn’t done a lot of.
“He’s played some international (tournaments) on smaller ice, but his life has mainly been the big rinks. He just thinks and Dallas thinks the same that this well better prepare him to make the big step that he wants to make into the NHL.”
Dallas told their young star prospect to come to Barrie and just play his game.
“They talked about skating, that’s the biggest thing they want,” he said when asked what the Stars were looking for him to work on. “It needs to improve, and I get to work on it here. So, it’s great for me.”
Helping the Colts import through all this has been his father, Jonas. A former professional forward in Europe, Hemming recorded three goals and two assists in five games with Finland at the world junior hockey championships in 1989-90 and finished up his pro hockey career in Europe in 2003.
“He was a good player, too,” the younger Hemming said of his father. “He said he was one of the best when he was young, but he broke his knee, and it got worse.
“My dad introduced hockey to me, and I have just been in love with it since.”
“He has helped me a lot,” continued the Colts forward. “He helps me, gives me little tips on everything. It’s a big help for me that I have a dad that has gone through the same things. It’s good for me.”
Hemming also got some advice from some hockey friends on whether he should come to Canada and join the Colts. He talked to former Oshawa Generals forward and Minnesota Wild prospect Rasmus Kumpulainen as well as Halttunen.
“They said it’s a good league, you get to play a lot,” he said. “They also said the home crowd is good here. Everyone comes to watch the games. They said it was one of the best years of their hockey career, so I was like, ‘why not me too.’”
After all, it’s going to help Hemming move closer to his goal.
“It’s a step for me to get used to the game,” he said. “It’s a big step for me to come over and play Canadian/U.S. hockey and it’s a big help for me to get to the NHL.”
ICE CHIPS: The Colts are 2-0 this preseason after beating the Oshawa Generals 5-4 on Saturday and Owen Sound on Monday. . . Barrie still has 20 forwards, eight defencemen and three goalies in camp. Forward Kyle Morey has been released and more cuts could include veterans from last year. “We got some battles for positions and guys are making it difficult on me,” said Williamson. “Going through training camp, a couple of guys we thought were on the bubble played very well and they played well (Saturday). We’re going to let this play out. We lose a bunch of guys for a while, so we’ll keep working with the other guys and then make those final tough decisions. . . First-round pick Parker Vaughan has not looked overmatched in his first taste of OHL hockey. “Not at all,” said Williamson. “He’s a hockey player. His IQ is outstanding, and I think Parker is just going to keep getting better and better.” . . . Sam Hillebrandt has been invited to Philadelphia Flyers training camp. . . Head scout Mark Seidel is no longer with the Colts.
