How acquired: Selected with No. 59 pick in 2020 NHL Draft
2021-22 season:HIFK (Liiga): 46 GP, 9-17-26
The 20-year-old is under contract with HIFK in Finland's top professional league but it's still undetermined whether he'll return this season. Like his good friend Niemela, he's not the biggest player (5-9, 164) but has good leadership qualities and served as Finland's captain at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, where he had seven points (three goals, four assists) in seven games.
"On the ice and off the ice, he wants to know what the best are doing and how they're achieving their fitness standards, for example," Wickenheiser said, "and he really has a plan for himself of where he wants to see himself go. Certainly, in the next one or two seasons, we want to see him make a jump."
Projected NHL arrival: 2023-24