Predators decide where top prospect Joakim Kemell will play next season

After a strong World Junior Championship that saw him put up twelve points in seven games, Nashville Predators 2022 first round pick Joakim Kemell is going back to Finland for another year.

The Predators announced on Monday that they've loaned Kemell to JYP of Finland's top division, Liiga.

Kemell, 18, was selected with the seventeenth overall pick at last month's draft in Montreal. The Jyvaskylan mlk (Finland) native was expected to be a high pick in the draft, but he likely fell to seventeenth due to an injury he sustained during last season.

Prior to getting injured in early-November, Kemell, who was only 17 at the time, was leading Liiga in both goals and points. For someone his age to be leading the league in two major categories is very impressive.

In 39 games for JYP last year, Kemell put up 23 points (thirteen goals, eight assists), two penalty minutes and was a minus-thirteen.

JYP has five pre-season games remaining before they kick-off their season on September 14th against Vaasan Sport. There's a pretty good chance Kemell will feature in at least a few of those exhibition games.

The #Preds have assigned forward Joakim Kemell to the Finnish Liiga's JYP from the Finland National Junior Team. https://t.co/6vpXoTPU19— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) August 22, 2022

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