from Max Bultman of The Athletic,

Antti Tuomisto graduated high school recently. His classmates will have their ceremony in August, but since Tuomisto — a Red Wings 2019 second-round pick — has designs on being in the United States by then, he opted to have his moment early, in a small event at the school with a teacher, the principal and his family.

“It was awesome,” he said by phone last week. “I’ve done hard work in school for that, and it hadn’t been easy always with the hockey on the side and that taking (so) much time from me.”

Now, officially, comes the next step. And it’s a big one. Tuomisto is bound for the University of Denver, where he will join one of the nation’s premier college hockey programs. After dominating the Finnish junior league this season, scoring 15 goals and averaging more than a point per game as a defenseman, that leap should be an illuminating challenge for Tuomisto, who, as an older, larger player dominating junior competition, has in some ways been tough to fully assess despite that gaudy production.

continued (paid)