Benjamin Rautiainen, 6-0, C – 108 overall in 2025 (re-entry)
3G, 14A, 16GP
Tampa selected the double-over-ager in the fourth round of 2025. Rautiainen is a high-pace centre, driven by an intelligent and composed offensive game. He drives play and has an above average shot. After being taken at the draft, Rautiainen has lit up Liiga. He is among league leaders with 17 points in his first 16 games.
He is more than halfway to eclipsing the 33 points he racked up last season in Liiga, which ranked him third in U20 scoring. The Lightning are no strangers to drafting out of Finland, most recently taking Halltunnen in the seventh round, Rautiainen could prove to be a real gem. Still likely to be available in all conventional leagues – worth monitoring.
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Kasper Kulonummi, 6-0, RHD, – 84 overall in 2022
4G, 8A, 16GP
It is never a surprise to see a defenseman taken by the Preds outperform their draft position. Kulonummi has always been known as a smart, responsible, puck-moving defenseman. This year he has taken another step. Last year was Kulonummi’s D+3 season, and he posted 17 points in 47 Liiga games. Teams around the NHL would love to have a RHD of that calibre in their pipeline.
This year, he is blowing the doors off with 12 points in 16 games, four of those being goals. The next step for the Preds is to get Kulonummi over to North America, for some AHL experience. Playing pro for so many years at age 21, could mean he transitions rather quickly to the NHL.
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Jesse Kiiskinen, 6-1, RW – 68 overall in 2023
5G, 7A, 17GP
Despite being in his D+3 season, Kiiskinen just turned 20 in August. He was one of the youngest forwards taken in 2023. In his D+2 season, he really showed he could hit his offensive ceiling against pro competition. Kiiskinen scored 44 points in 49 games in his second full season in Liiga.
He has continued where he left off, and has become more engaged in the neutral zone. More often Kiiskinen is creating turnovers, or havoc, and using the gained possession to create offense. It is a tool that would make him valuable as a consistent impact player on any top nine in the NHL. So far, he is already outpacing his goal scoring last year despite having a slow start.
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Aron Kiviharju, 5-10, LHD – 122 overall in 2024
2G, 3A, 13GP
Entering the 2024 season, Kiviharju was a household name to NHL fans. But that draft saw very few defensemen under 6-0 get selected, and Kiviharju fell short with his performance. Since taking his game to Liiga he has adjusted well. He is showing that his intelligent play can be a consistent asset at both ends of the ice. This year he is pacing similarly to last, but it looks like if things just clicked a little more for him, he could be having much better numbers. A few bounces could make his totals pop more.
Kiviharju will be worth watching this year – as it is likely his last season in Liiga before making the jump to the AHL. He is still only 19, and currently pacing for 22 points in a full Liiga season. If he passes that number by any means, he will be a hot topic this off-season in Minnesota.
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2026 Draft Eligible:
Alberts Smits, 6-3, LHD – 2026 draft eligible
4G, 2A, 16GP
Expect this name to be at the top of European draft eligible rankings this year. At this rate, Smits could be taken in the top ten of the first round. After nine games in Liiga last season, the 17 year old defenseman has notched four goals in 16 games. He is a hair under half-a-point per game through about a third of the season.
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Oliver Suvanto, 6-3, C – 2026 draft eligible
2G, 2A, 16GP
Another teenager making noise in Liiga this year, the hulking centre has started off hot in his D-0 year. Totalling four points, that kind of production throughout a whole season might get a towering pivot drafted, let alone in just 16 games. If he keeps this pace up Suvanto could be another one of these 2nd or 3rd round steals that find their stride later on.
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Thank you for reading this article on Liiga prospects. I’m Arden — a Vancouver-based Online Journalism and Broadcasting student with a passion for community storytelling, hockey, and photography. Find my work here: https://linktr.ee/ardenmcleod