Overagers are the draft market’s leftovers, but Finland keeps turning those leftovers into useful pros. Many North American overagers squeeze one more year out of junior. Finnish late bloomers often return home, earn Liiga or Mestis professional minutes, and come back with harder skills, pace under pressure, board strength, and special-teams detail that plug the exact gaps that got them passed the first time. With the season ramping up, there is real value in 2005-born Finns playing adult minutes right now.
Why Finnish Overagers Are Different
Finland’s pathway is centrally aligned. By U18-U20, players cycle through shared language and checkpoints, and the federation is now working to measure pace and decision quality across U20, Mestis, and Auroraliiga. That alignment tends to produce calm, system-fluent players who scale quickly when they reach professional leagues.
Related: Finland at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup – A Fourth-Place Finish With Lessons Learned
That context matters for overagers. Instead of another year carving up teenagers, many Finnish 20-year-olds are practicing and playing against pros every day. For scouts, it gives a clearer read on translation than junior dominance alone.
The “Still-Draftable” Rules, Quickly
For the 2026 NHL Draft, first-time eligibles are born Jan. 1, 2006–Sept 15, 2008. Undrafted non-North American players born in 2005 are also eligible, so long as they still meet the CBA’s non-North American criteria.
Five Finnish Overagers to Track (2005-Born, Undrafted)
Below are five names already earning real roles in Liiga or Mestis. For each, I note why they were likely passed on, what has changed, and NHL fits that make sense.
Topias Hynninen, RW, Jukurit (Liiga)
Why he was passed: Average frame at draft time and an unclear offensive ceiling.
What changed: Hynninen has forced his way into meaningful Liiga usage and produced at age 19–20. His Liiga player page shows steady contributions for Jukurit, and scouting pieces last season identified him as a top Finnish re-entry because of pace, forecheck pressure, and playmaking in an adult league.
Why still valid in 2026: The toolkit now has verified pro translation. He can play fast, win pucks back, and make the next pass under contact. That is fourth-line NHL utility with middle-six upside if the shot continues to come.
Best NHL fits: Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, and Dallas Stars – clubs that value pace on retrievals and can graduate him through an American Hockey League (AHL) forecheck-first role.
What to watch this season: How often he scores at even strength, how often he wins the puck back and it leads to a shot, and whether coaches are giving him more penalty-kill time.
Noa Väli, G, TPS (Liiga)
Why he was passed: A very young goalie with limited U20 sample and questions about late-maturing physicality.
What changed: He is on the Liiga roster behind a veteran starter and has already been in the TPS match-night group. That proximity matters for a 20-year-old.
Why still valid in 2026: The Finnish goalie pathway is a known pipeline and Väli’s frame and quiet feet fit the modern technical profile. With Liiga reps and targeted Mestis loans, his reads through traffic and post integrations can tighten quickly.
Best NHL fits: New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, and Los Angeles Kings – organizations that invest in longer goalie timelines and have had success with Finnish technical profiles.
What to watch this season: How often he stops shots at 5-on-5, how well he controls rebounds, and how he handles tough chances from the middle of the ice during his limited Liiga or Mestis games.
Niko Korkola, RD, Jukurit (Liiga)
Why he was passed: A late-rising right shot who did not separate himself in junior; questions about puck-moving pop.
What changed: Size and mobility have held at the pro level, and early-season 2025 game sheets already show him on the scoresheet for Jukurit, including a goal in Liiga play.
Why still valid in 2026: Right-shot defenders with reach who can skate are scarce. Korkola now has baseline Liiga minutes, and the tape shows cleaner first passes and better shoulder checks under forecheck pressure compared to his draft year.
Best NHL fits: Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning – right-shot depth charts that require transitional defenders who can be patient AHL learners.
What to watch this season: How often he carries or passes the puck out of his zone with control, how reliably he turns a retrieval into a clean first pass to a teammate, and how consistently he clears the puck on the penalty kill.
Eeli Äijälä, C, Ässät (Liiga/U20)
Why he was passed: Outlier size with raw coordination at draft time and minimal junior scoring; late confidence with the puck.
What changed: At 204 cm (6-foot-8), Äijälä debuted and was publicized as the tallest player in Liiga history, while continuing to log U20 minutes for Ässät.
Why still valid in 2026: The appeal is role-specific. If his feet and hands keep catching up to the frame, he can become a net-front problem on the power play and a matchup center at 5-on-5. Pro-league reps are the right lab for those reads.
Best NHL fits: Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken – clubs comfortable developing big, defensive-minded centers with a two-to-three-year runway.
What to watch this season: How often he creates chances right in front of the net (screens, tips, rebounds), how often he’s trusted to take faceoffs in his own end, and how many penalties he draws from opponents.
Niko Nissilä, LD, Hermes (Mestis)
Why he was passed: Smaller defender without top-end junior production and questions about defending the slot line.
What changed: He has carved out minutes in Mestis with Hermes. He handles pressure better, defends tighter (gap and net front), gets tougher minutes, and creates more offense with controlled exits and smarter point shots.
Why still valid in 2026: If the exits and retrievals translate in Mestis, Nissilä projects as a puck-moving AHL option who can moonlight on a second power play. Late-maturing defenders with deception and timing can still become valuable NHL call-ups.
Best NHL fits: Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils – teams that reward transition defenders and can insulate them with structure.
What to watch this season: How often he keeps the puck in at the offensive blue line, how rarely he lets opponents carry the puck into his zone with control, and how often he makes the final pass that directly sets up a goal at 5-on-5.
Why These Players Were Passed the First Time
Most of this cohort failed to separate in U18/U20 on one of three axes: physical readiness, decision-speed under pressure, or special-teams value. In Finland, those issues are often corrected with pro league minutes because of how consistently clubs teach reads and measure pace at the top of the pathway. The federation’s alignment from U14 to U20, and automated real-time analytics expanded from Liiga into U20 and Mestis, helps late bloomers close the gap on decision speed and pro habits.
Related: Finland Made a Statement at the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase
Why Overagers Are Still Valuable
History and research suggest overagers can be “found money” when teams target improved tools rather than just counting points against younger competition. The logic is simple: when the new data says a player solved last year’s problems against better opponents, you draft the solution, not the resume.
What to Watch the Next Two Months
Role, not just points: Are these players on a line that starts in the defensive zone, touching the penalty kill, or trusted late with a lead?
Adult-league translation: Controlled exits and entries, board wins, and shot contributions against Liiga or Mestis pace.
Goalies: Rebound control and slot-line saves rather than only raw save percentage.
Usage ramps: Power-play and penalty-kill time rising 10–20 percent by midseason.
Wrapping Up
Finland’s overagers are not headline chasers; they are gap fillers who solved real problems in professional leagues. Instead of another lap around junior, these 2005-born skaters and goalies earned adult minutes, learned to win pucks back, manage pace, and survive pro structure. That context is why their profiles read cleaner today than at 18.
If your board is light on reliable role players, this is where you find them. Use late capital, keep the AHL runway short, and let Liiga or Mestis keep polishing what already translates.
Sign up for our FREE NHL Prospects & Draft Substack newsletter
