Oksanen posts breakout performance in 1st start at forward

After suiting up as a defenseman for his first 71 games with the Boston University men’s hockey team, junior forward Ahti Oksansen took to the ice Saturday evening against St. Thomas University as a forward for the first time in his collegiate career.

The results were encouraging, to say the least.

The Kirkkonummi, Finland, native made his presence felt for the Terriers, scoring four goals en route to a 12-1 thrashing of the Tommies.

Oksanen, playing alongside freshman forward Jack Eichel and senior forward Evan Rodrigues, was part of a first-line unit that accrued nine points on the night.

“It was pretty cool,” Oksanen said. “Rodrigues, Eichel, two amazing guys – it’s so easy to play with them. I think we still need to practice more. We can be even better than we were today. I really look forward to next Friday’s game. It’s a dream true to play with Eichel and Rodrigues.”

Oksanen started the Terriers’ scoring outburst just 3:14 into the game. After collecting the puck, Eichel blew past two St. Thomas defensemen before sending the puck out to a waiting Oksanen in the crease, who put his rebound past Tommies goaltender Tyson Teichmann to put BU up, 1-0.

It took less than eight minutes for Oksanen to once again light the lamp, as the Espoo Blues product fired a shot from the left circle that sailed right under Teichmann’s blocker for the score at 10:31.

It was more of the same in the second period for Oksanen, who scored once again on a pass from Eichel just 42 seconds into the stanza for the hat trick — the first of his career with the Terriers. Oksanen rounded out his scoring at 4:39 in the second after being set up once again by Eichel, padding the Terriers’ lead to 5-0 at the time.

BU coach David Quinn remarked that he wasn’t surprised by Oksanen’s ability to make an immediate impact as a forward, as the 2011-12 Finnish Elite League All-Star was ranked 66th amongst European skaters in 2012 by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.

“We had seen flashes of it in the little that we’ve been able to practice,” Quinn said. “Ahti, his skill set is elite. When Jack gets him the puck in those areas, it’s going to go in. He scored two goals tonight that not many guys in our league or in the country can score.”

While his skill on the blue line has raised some concerns during his tenure with the Terriers, there’s no denying Oksanen’s skill in the offensive zone. The 21-year-old registered 17 points in 36 games with the Terriers during his freshman campaign in 2012-13.

The three-time Hockey East Top Performer followed that up by leading BU defensemen in goals with seven and finishing second on the team in points (24) during the 2013-14 season.

Oksanen, who stated after Saturday’s game that he primarily played as a forward growing up in Finland, certainly has the tools to potentially earn a spot as one of the team’s top-six forwards due to his playmaking ability and large 6-foot-3 frame, which could cause havoc up in front of the net.

For now, Oksanen is not looking at his potential as a forward, he’s just staying focused on the next task at hand — a road game against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on Oct. 10.

“I played forward when I was a little kid, but the last seven-eight years I’ve been a [defenseman]. Of course it’s a huge change. I need some time to get used to it. But, today was pretty promising and I really look forward to next Friday’s game.”