Speaking of pickups, sometimes it helps to be lucky in addition to being good.
I swapped a 73 overall 22 year-old -handed forward to Finnski in exchange for a 68 overall 22 year-old right-handed defenseman, thinking I was just getting an 8th/depth defenseman who could fill in OK in case of injuries.
Worked out OK for both sides. Mattei has 3 goals in 7 games for Finnski, and Petrov has taken to Coach Filippov's training methods. His speed, strength, defense and stamina have all gone up to the point where he's booted my 1st round pick out of the lineup and forced his way into a regular spot in the top-6.