As we continue through the AATJ prospect profiles, today we are going to look at Oscar Hemming.
Hemming is a 6’4” and 200-pound 17 year old (with an August birthday) currently playing for Boston College. Hemming hails from Finland and is the brother of Dallas first-round prospect Emil Hemming. Oscar had a somewhat weird transition from Finland this past season, as he was mired in a contract dispute with his club team after the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament that prevented him from getting into more than
19 games in for BC.
Similar to Yegor Shilov, it is always interesting to see a teenager make the move to North America and his transition wasn’t without some drama. First, he tried to come over and play in the OHL for Kitchener (who drafted him), but his home club Kiekko-Espoo blocked that, so he pivoted to the BCHL for Sherwood Park. With that move, the IIHF threatened a 3 year international play ban, so he found his way to Boston College since the NCAA has an transfer exemption with the IIHF. This four and a half month time off certainly affected parts of his game, as he didn’t play games from Hlinka Gretzky in August 2025 until his BC debut on December 28, unfortunately missing out on the World Juniors Championships because of this time off.
He was primarily a middle six fixture at BC, forming a formidable line with Dean LeTourneau (Boston prospect) and eventually found himself logging some time with the top line and James Hagens. His production doesn’t pop off the page, logging a modest 8 points in 19 games with 18 PIM in what turned out to be a disappointing season for an uber-talented team.
Rankings
Elite Prospects has his rankings linked below, with a wide range of possibilities and the most recent rankings having him land around 12:
- #10 by SPORTSNET/COSENTINO
- #11 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
- #13 by DAILY FACEOFF
- #14 by SMAHT SCOUTING
- #15 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
- #15 by SPORTSNET/BUKALA
- #17 by THN/FERRARI
- #20 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
- #28 by THN/KENNEDY
- #32 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
McKeen’s scouting is very high on his shooting ability:
Hemming has a wicked shot that, one could argue, is borderline NHL-ready as it is. It features a ton of power, a quick release, and generally strong accuracy. He can pick corners at times. He can threaten from medium-dangers thanks to his ability to rip shots with power. But it’s his ability to finish in-tight, regardless of the pressure around him. He can roof shots in close, get tips and rebounds, and use his frame to box out opponents in order to get those opportunities with consistency.
Draft Prospects Hockey really likes his 200-foot hockey IQ:
IQ: He has the intelligence to dominate both offensively and defensively. He has the offensive awareness and the defensive awareness.
Craig Button also likes his full package (from November):
“Watching him prior to this season, he’s too good. He’s got too many attributes, too many areas of his game where the impact is significant. I think the most important thing for Oscar is he just needs to play.”
Highlights
Hemming profiles as a big body who doesn’t shy away from contact with a great knack for finishing, has a good motor and elite shot. In the below video I noticed that he doesn’t do slot fly-bys, he stops and parks in front of the net, and several of his goals were from the net front. Along with the motor, he is consistently good with second and third efforts to either retrieve pucks, keep them, or take a second or third rebound to find the back of the net. Further, like a lot of good snipers he has a knack for finding soft spots in the offensive zone and is constantly moving off puck to find them. When he isn’t shooting, he sees teammates well through traffic is an underrated passer and has a high IQ and solid defensive instincts. While he doesn’t have blazing acceleration, and could use some work on his edges, he does get to a good top speed eventually and has a smooth workable stride that should develop well with another year at BC.
Shift by Shift
I’m cheating here by finding a shift by shift that is narrated by a scout with Elite Prospects, but they do a better job evaluating than I could:
My Thoughts
Hemming is another guy in this draft that I could easily see the Devils taking and wouldn’t hate it. A big body who can shoot, likes contact and profiles as potential top 6 wing? Based on several reports his projected ceiling is first line wing and floor is 3rd liner that does a lot of things very well led by an elite hockey IQ. We like those and need those.
Byron Bader has his DY comps as a mix of busts and Mark Stone, so a pretty broad range of possibilities. Based on his two way play, size and blend of shooting/passing skillset Stone is a great ceiling.
It will be very interesting to see how he progresses at BC with a full year under his belt. We definitely need to see him develop that additional explosive step and work on his edges, but very easily seems like he could pop off next season.
What do you think? Where do you think Hemming falls, and do you like the fit for the Devils?
