The Dallas Stars have used the 182nd pick of the draft to select Aleksi Makela. He is a defenseman from Ilves U20 of the Jr. A SM-Liiga.
He’s another player that none of the draft guides available to us have listed. He does come from the same organisation as fellow Dallas Stars prospect Jyrki Jokipakka, Ilves. He played for a brief stint in Ilves in the SM-Liiga this season, only for 7 games, in which he had a goal and an assist.
He’s a left shot defenseman who has relatively good size at 6″2, 190lbs. Hopefully, like Jokipakka, he can be another late round steal of a Finnish defenseman. He will likely need a few more years in Finland before he is ready for North America hockey and he will likely stay in the Jr A SM-Liiga next season
He had 17 points in 32 games while playing in the U20 league this season. When we have more on him we’ll update this article.