5 Undrafted Finnish Prospects in the 2026 NHL Draft – Hockey Writers – NHL Entry Draft
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Where These Five Players Sit on Community Boards
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Wilmer Kallio, W, TPS U18
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Antoni Uronen, C, HIFK (Liiga)
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Olli Wahlroos, F, TPS (U20 SM-sarja)
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Viljo Kähkönen, C/RW, Free Agent (Departed via HIFK May 4, 2026)
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Janne Karassaari, W, Kärpät U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
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The Translation Gap
Five Finnish prospects in the 2026 NHL Draft are receiving first-round or early second-round consideration from English-language scouting outlets: Oliver Suvanto, Juho Piiparinen, Vilho Vanhatalo, Samu Alalauri, and Oscar Hemming. The other five have been talked about in Finnish throughout the season, but remain outside the top 100 on most public English charts. This passage is about the second group.
The U18 World Championships in Slovakia earlier this month did not shake the consensus of the five. Suvanto, Piiparinen, and Vanhatalo entered and exited the tournament with first-round rankings, and Finland’s seventh-place finish after losing 2-1 to Czechia in the quarterfinals on April 29 did not change that. The Liiga undermining their 17-year-olds is also not a problem. Tappara gave Suvanto 48 games this season and Piiparinen 29, and the social boards moved accordingly.
The five players below are different. They are all ranked in the Finnish language stores (Yle, Iltalehti, Jatkoaika, Leijonat.fi, Turun SanomatMTV Uutiset) and assessing the Finnish club level than NHL Central Scouting, McKeen’s Hockey, Hockey NewsDaily Faceoff, TSN’s Craig Button, or Draft Prospects Hockey. Their case was made in Finnish, and the English community boards have not yet responded.
Where These Five Players Sit on Community Boards
All five players listed below are eligible who were born in 2008 and are making their debut, and “under” means the gap between the use of the Finnish language and the English public consensus boards. Finnish-speaking scouting ranks each of them among the top 10 to top 15 in the class for the 2025-26 calendar year.
Most of the public English boards have all but the top 100 worldwide. Here, we’ll look at why English public boards have such a low score, what the Finnish show, and the NHL’s logical parallel.
Wilmer Kallio, W, TPS U18
Why the boards have him down: 98th on the final EU board of NHL Central Scouting. Public tape cites his 5-foot-11 frame and perimeter habits as his limitations.
What the Finnish coverage shows: His father, Tomi Kallio, played 81 NHL games for the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Florida Panthers between 2000 and 2003. Wilmer’s older brother, Valtter, is in the TPS organization.
Wilmer played a career-high six minutes at the U18 World Championships, starting on the second line with Viljo Kähkönen and Luka Arkko in the round-robin and starting on the first line in the elimination round against Czechia. Finland’s coaching staff promoted him based on his performance, not his name. TPS highlights weak side scanning before the puck arrives, patient passing under forecheck pressure, and timing to get into the space that benefits from possession.
Antoni Uronen, C, HIFK (Liiga)
Why the boards have him down: Outside of the top 50 on most public English boards. His frame, offensive roof, and recent projections are standard public readings.
What the Finnish coverage shows: Uronen played 27 Liiga games for HIFK as a 17-year-old this season, posting 10 points, and looked for a starting spot before injury cut short his campaign. He signed an extension with HIFK on March 11 and became Finland’s other captain at the U18 Worlds, scoring Finland’s second goal with a set-up by his twin brother Eelis in the opening 6–1 win over Norway. Smaht’s pre-tournament scouting profile noted that his game is built around toughness and grit on dirty surfaces. His older brother Tuomas is a prospect for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Olli Wahlroos, F, TPS (U20 SM-sarja)
Why the boards have him down: 88th place on the final EU board of NHL Central Scouting. His defensive credentials and pro pace are question marks, according to the public.
What the Finnish coverage shows: Per Turun SanomatWahlroos started the year among the most promising forwards in the Finnish class:
“The TPS forward’s ability has started his season among the most promising countries in the world.” – (From ‘TPS’ top talent starts his season among the most promising in the world’ – Turun Sanomat, 9/15/2025)
He was a key part of Finland’s silver medal-winning Hlinka Gretzky Cup squad in August 2025. He played a career-high six minutes at the U18 Worlds and finished his campaign on Finland’s starting line-up in the quarterfinal against Czechia. Off-puck timing in space and a catch-and-release shot from inside hashmarks are his top-level skills.
Viljo Kähkönen, C/RW, Free Agent (Departed via HIFK May 4, 2026)
Why the boards have him down: A 5-foot-10 playmaking center who arrived early. Two years ago, Kähkönen was on a development curve at the age of 14 that compared Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi in the same category. His production hasn’t continued in the two seasons since.
What the Finnish coverage shows: Six goals and 13 assists in 24 SM-sarja games for HIFK this season, the first Liiga game on November 21, against HPK, and three Liiga games with one assist. On May 4, Elite Prospects posted his release to HIFK. His 42-game international career includes a bronze medal at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, where he served as Finland’s captain and led the team in scoring.
Janne Karassaari, W, Kärpät U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
Why the boards have him down: Outside of the top 100 in the final EU NHL Central Scouting board. Limited English language tape and no Liiga sample kept him under the radar.
What the Finnish coverage shows: Per Yle, Karassaari is one of Kärpät’s young players to keep an eye on. Iwinga born in Kemi, born on Feb. 10, 2008, he came through the Kärpät pipeline of the Oulun Energia Areena, the same program that helped Konsta Helenius to be selected by the Buffalo Sabers 14th overall in 2024. He finished his year ranked fourth for Finland at the U18 Worlds and Mikoel repeated at the U18 Worlds along with Noel Pakatjunes being called up to all of Finland’s U17 and U18 international teams throughout the season.
The Translation Gap
Finnish is not an easy language to recover, which is where I hope to fill the gap. The inclusion of the Finnish language and the use of the club level in the Liiga and U20 SM-sarja have rated these players higher than the English community boards have throughout the 2025-26 season.
NHL Director of European Scouting Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen is running on an international list, meaning these names will be tested against Finnish language skills when the 2026 NHL Draft opens on June 26 in Buffalo. The choices made by the organization in the third to seventh rounds are where the difference between the Finnish language test and the English language test will be most clearly visible. These five are a test.
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