Rookie Midterms: Matias Maccelli took his own route to NHL success

The 2019 NHL draft class was one of the best in Finland's history.

A total of 22 Finnish players ended up being drafted, highlighted by the second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko and two additional first-rounders in Lassi Thomson and Ville Heinola. Even though the depth of this class was impressive, the safe bet would've been to say that the eventual best Finnish player of the draft would end up emerging from that group of three.

Not so fast. There's a new contender in the mix – Matias Maccelli, a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes. He's taken a unique developmental arc to crisscross his way through them to nearly the front of the line.

A former Dubuque Fighting Saint in the USHL, Maccelli skipped right past college hockey – the usual destination for players in that league – and straight onto