After coming up a goal short of winning gold at last year’s World Junior Championship (WJC) in an overtime loss to the United States, Finland has the potential to bring one of the most experienced and skilled teams to this year’s tournament. Like every other country, they have lost a handful of impactful players but have the skill and depth to bring in newcomers and rely on returners.
Finland’s Forwards
| LW | C | RW |
| Roope Vesterinen | Konsta Helenius | Emil Hemming |
| Max Westergård | Julius Miettinen | Aatos Koivu |
| Onni Kalto | Heikki Ruohonen | Joona Saarelainen |
| Tuomas Suoniemi | Oliver Suvanto | Jasper Kuhta |
| Matias Vanhanen | Atte Joki |
A projected forward group that has a ton of international experience and success at the WJC stage, Finland could have one of the tournament’s best forward groups. Having returners like Konsta Helenius (Buffalo Sabres), who was second on the 2025 team in points behind Jesse Kiiskinen (Detroit Red Wings), as well as Emil Hemming (Dallas Stars), and Julius Miettinen (Seattle Kraken), gives the Finns plenty of firepower in the top six of their lineup. They have a strong mix of playmakers, goal scorers, and all-around two-way players from top to bottom.
A bottom six that could have its mix of returners from the silver medal-winning roster of last year’s tournament and a couple of potential top-end prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft (Oliver Suvanto and Jasper Kuhta) could bring both skill and energy to the ice to help alleviate the pressure from the top two lines. Overall, Finland could end up having one of the deepest forward groups, but it will need them to produce a bit more than they did last year, as they scored 22 goals (fourth-most in the tournament). With the firepower they have, they should be expected to do more.
Finland’s Defense
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Aron Kiviharju | Daniel Nieminen |
| Mitja Jokinen | Sebastian Soini |
| Lasse Boelius | Juho Piiparinen |
| Veeti Vaisanen | Julius Saari |
A defensive group that could see half of it being returners, led by last year’s captain, Aron Kiviharju (Minnesota Wild), the Finns are going to be tough to score against again this year. The integration of another top-end 2026 Draft prospect, Juho Piiparinen, could very easily end up being a player in the tournament to keep an eye on.
For the most part, the Finnish defensemen play a lockdown, defensive style, with only Emil Pieniniemi (Pittsburgh Penguins) scoring at any point in the 2025 tournament. Being able to get some added overall offense from the backend of the ice could go a long way as Finland looks to take a shot at revenge from last year.
Finland’s Goaltenders
| Petteri Rimpinen |
| Kim Saarinen |
| Veeti Luohivaara |
The easiest position to predict/project for Finland, hands down, is the goaltender position. With the likes of United States netminder, Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings), aging out of the tournament, Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings) has the chance to be this year’s tournament’s top goaltender. He is riding into this year having won the Best Goalkeeper honors at the 2025 tournament, posting 5 wins and a 2.34 goals-against average (GAA). The 2025 fifth-round pick of the Kings has had a solid start to his season in Liiga again and is surely going to lead the way in the crease for the Finns again this year.
His backup, Kim Saarinen (Seattle Kraken), has not necessarily gotten much time in the net with Rimpinen carrying the workload at both the Under-18 and Under-20 tournaments. Rimpinen set the record for most playing time by any goaltender in a single tournament last year after playing in every game. But, Saarinen has every bit of skill in the net to take on any game that he is given the chance to play in. Overall, Finland’s goaltending is set up very well, with the two “veteran” netminders, Rimpinen and Saarinen.
Finland Has A Great Shot at Gold
Being matched up in Group B alongside Canada, who will surely be out for some redemption after a disappointing 2025 tournament, Finland has the firepower, depth, and goaltending to push for the top spot in the group and should have no problem finding themselves in the medal round again this season. With many of their players getting to the point of aging out of eligibility in the tournament, it will be a big one for the country.
