The origin stories for Kraken prospects and fellow goaltenders Niklas Kokko and Visa Vedenpaa have lots of similarities, starting with growing up and playing for their hometown Oulu, Finland teams. But there’s a distinction of how both teenagers embraced the position that prompted the Kraken to draft them in the last two NHL drafts.
Kokko, selected No. 58 overall in the 2022 second round, took a familiar route for many of us who took up residence in the goal crease, whether on a frozen pond, community rinks, or in the family basement. Kokko was first assigned that spot on the ice by, you guessed it, an older sibling.
“My big brother always put me in goal when we played,” said Kokko with both lightness and emphasis during a conversation this week.
For Vedenpaa, drafted last summer at the No. 168 spot in the sixth round, he started out as a skater, playing the sport at pre-school age because his friends were joining up too. A few seasons later, his position and hockey arc altered innocently but dramatically for the better.
“When I was seven or eight, I tried out being a goalie,” said Vedenpaa Monday night his time when it was still morning (10 hours earlier) in Seattle. “I really liked it right away.”
The two Finns have been U18 and U20 teammates at times on youth teams of Oulun Karpat (aka “Karpat” in the top Finnish pro league, Liiga), one of copious points in which their hockey histories bear a strong resemblance to one another. When asked what motivated them to stick with the position, they both offered similar motivating factors.
“I like that the goalie can affect the result a lot,” said Kokko, again with enthusiasm. “It plays a big role!”
“I really like that based on the goalie’s performance, a team will win or lose,” said Vedenpaa.
The two goaltenders have each earned a nod from Finland’s national teams this season. Kokko played for his country in the 2024 World Juniors, coming up big in a qualifying round overtime win against rival and host nation Sweden. Vedenpaa played two of four tournament games with Finland’s U20 team earlier this month, in net to beat Sweden as well in a 7-2 route and playing well in what ultimately was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Switzerland.
“It was really great to play with the best in the world of your age group to see how that level goes,” said Kokko about Finland making the semifinals but finishing without a medal. “It was a really great experience even though it didn't go the way I would have liked.”
For Vedenpaa, he said the “biggest thing” about the U20 tournament was “to know where I am at” against Europe’s best players at his age level. Amateur scouts voice similar appreciation for the age-group tournaments providing a valuable measuring stick for prospects at elite levels of play.
“The two games I played gives me confidence moving forward,” said Vedenpaa, who has returned to his Hermes team in Mestis, Finland’s second-tier pro league, on loan to Hermes from the Karpat club. The 18-year-old posted a 12-5 record (.900 save percentage, 2.25 goals-against average) with Karpat U20 before getting an opportunity at the pro level. He is 6-5 with Hermes (.887, 3.15).
Goaltending prospects tend to require longer development time to realize their NHL dream than forwards and defensemen. Both Kokko and Vedenpaa have delivered solid performances in their nascent years as Seattle prospects. Kokko, who started the year with Karpat in Liiga, has since been loaned (Liiga’s form of trading) to the Lahti Pelicans (simply “Pelicans” in the league standings).
So far, the move is working out for Kokko despite now playing for a team that is a six-hour drive from coastal Oulu in central Finland to the southern Lahti. He already has two shutouts with Pelicans as part of a 3-0-1 record in his four starts, posting a stellar 1.29 goals-against average and .933 save percentage going into weekend action.
“I've adjusted well here,” said Kokko from Lahti this week “I'm grateful that people have helped me feel comfortable. I knew a couple of players and the coach before coming here, but it's great to meet new people.”
While the goalies’ hometown of Oulu has produced 17 NHL skaters (as per Quant Hockey), including active players, San Jose forward Mikael Granlund and Buffalo defenseman Henri Jokiharju, only one Oulu goalie has played in the world’s best league. Leevi Merilainen, 21 and currently in the American Hockey League, appeared in two games for Ottawa last season as a 2020 third-round choice by the Senators. Along Kokko and Vedenpaa, Merilainen is a Karpat alum.
Of course, Finland has produced any number of all-time great goalies, including Boston’s Tuukka Rask and Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, plus Antti Niemi who won the 2010 Stanley Cup with Chicago as a relative unknown. Forty NHL goalies have emanated from Finland, including eight currently with NHL squads, most notably Juuse Saros, Rinne’s successor in Nashville.
Like other Kraken prospects, Kokko and Vedenpaa are in regular touch with Seattle player development staffers. Kokko says he is staying on course with a “physical trainer every day” and “working often with a sports psychologist."
Vedenpaa said he and the Kraken have been working on “my stance, making it bigger” with “a little more spine [upward] and a little more forward.”
“It’s an adjustment,” said Vedenpaa. “But I am getting used to it. At the end of the day, I am better with this stance.”
