Topias Vilén

October 2024 – Vilén has been injured until recently, but he has developed some more tools over the past year or so that make his offensive projection a bit more positive. His shot is still underutilized and underrated, and his playmaking ability has taken strides in the last season. Defense is still his bread and butter, with an active stick and strong awareness of when to lay the body, but there might be more to his two-way game than originally anticipated. JP Gambatese

July 2024 – Vilen seemed a bit hit-or-miss to start the 2023-24 season in the AHL but found more consistency in the second half of the season with Utica. He’s projected as a bottom-four, defense-minded defenseman in the NHL at his best. Austin Kelly

November 2023 – After what I felt were mixed results in the preseason for Vilen, he’s quickly turned it around in Utica, moving up fron the bottom-pair to the first-line in only a few games, Vilen has shown strong offensive awareness and looks quicker and more alert on the ice. His NHL upside didn’t seem so projectable to start this year but there looks to be hints of bottom-four potential if he continues on his current pace. – Austin Kelly

December 2022 – Vilén has been exceeding all expectations this season with Pelicans, as he’s already scored 10 points in 21 games, which is almost double his last season’s total (in 50 games). He’s got a lot bigger role with the team and some PP time on the blue line in his team’s 2nd PP unit. He’s been developing his offensive and on-puck game a lot, and will likely be one of Finland’s leading defenders in the upcoming World Juniors. Eetu Siltanen

March 2022 – Vilén’s six points in 50 games to date in the Finnish Liiga represent a decrease in production compared to his draft year, although the Pelicans haven’t truly been putting together a special season so far. The prospect still needs to improve his clunky puck skills in order to make a net positive impact at the next level, but is still 18 and has a bunch of time ahead of him. Hadi Kalakeche

July 2021 – The New Jersey Devils drafted Vilén with their 129th overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft. A stocky, rangy defensive defenseman whose offensive tools lack finesse, Vilén mostly relies on short passes or dump-outs to break the puck out of his zone and seems a bit clunky with the puck. His skating is decent, and his anticipation allows him to close off scoring chances more than efficiently. Vilén will continue his development with the Lahti Pelicans in 2021-2022, and will try to add more offensive tools to become a more well-rounded defenseman, but projects as a bottom-pairing blueliner as he stands right now. Hadi Kalakeche