NHL scouts and analysts expected 18-year-old Eeli Tolvanen to get drafted somewhere in the first half of the 2017 NHL Draft, so when the Nashville Predators selected the Finnish forward near the end of the first round with the 30th overall pick a lot of people considered it a steal.
Currently playing with Jokerit in the KHL, Tolvanen made his debut on Wednesday night and it was a memorable one.
Less than five minutes into the first period, the former Sioux City Musketeer got his first career point with an assist on Brian O’Neill’s first goal of the season and he was just getting started. Just over one minute into the third period, Tolvanen helped extend his team’s with a beautiful goal.
Anyone would be happy with a goal and an assist in their professional debut, but Tolvanen had plenty more where that came from and added two more goals in the final frame to complete his first career KHL hat trick in his first career KHL game.
Tolvanen ended up setting the KHL record for youngest hat trick in league history as Jokerit cruised to a 6-1 victory over Dinamo Minsk.
He even got a shoutout after the game from the greatest Finnish player of all-time.
The kid has a very bright future ahead of him if he keeps this up.
(H/T KHL)
