Jani Nyman

August 2026 – Nyman again split time between the Seattle Kraken and the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2025-2026. Last year’s lines of four goals, three assists for seven points in 28 NHL games and 21 goals, 12 assists for 33 points in 39 AHL games show growth in the minors, but mark a slight offensive downgrade at the NHL level.

There’s no cause for concern for the slight NHL dip on it’s face however, last year he played just 12 games, and small sample sizes are ripe for disparate results. The explanation for the offensive dip is a reduction in powerplay usage and overall ice time. Instead of skating with Matty Beniers and Jared McCann for most of his minutes as in the season prior, Nyman saw more regular usage with Shane Wright and Kaapo Kakko. Nyman projects as more of a middle-six contributor than a regular first line player as it is, so seeing what he is capable of in those situations will give us a more realistic read of his future value than a hyper-inflated one that doesn’t mirror expectations.

At the AHL level, Nyman increase his gross offensive output, but the numbers show a dominant offensive force. As per Instat, he was in the 90th percentile on a per-game basis for goals, points, total scoring chances, shots on goal and even blocks among forwards.

For us fantasy managers, we are going to want to keep our eyes on a few things as the season begins. Firstly, breaking camp with the Kraken vs the Firebirds. Deployment equals development, and we want to see Nyman earning meaningful NHL minutes. We’d rather he dominate the AHL than sit in an NHL pressbox, but it’s time we see what he can do with regular NHL shifts. Secondly, we want to see powerplay usage. Nyman isn’t in line for a first unit role with the likes of McCann, Eberle and McMann on the squad, but an injury fill in could earn him looks there. We want to see him drastically increase the power play time on ice beyond the 48 seconds per game he saw. If he is going to see mostly third line usage for now, he will need to make hay on the powerplay to earn opportunity to move up the line up.

His 6-2, 212 frame suggests a longer potential runway for hitting his breakout threshold, so patience will be key for Nyman investors, but we want to see some steps forward. Despite his big frame, he doesn’t lay many hits- less than one a game at the both the NHL and AHL level- so for now, we will need to rely on his offensive performance as managers.

He isn’t a sure thing yet, but his underlying AHL numbers at a young age are promising. He is a worthwhile summer target for any teams not in their competitive window who can stand to be patient with him while he figures his game out. Alex Wyatt

August 2025 – Nyman’s NHL audition toward the end of the season certainly put him on the radar for a full-time job in the fall. It isn’t impossible that he sees some AHL time in 2025-2026- especially if the sophomore slump bug makes an appearance- but his roster spot is his to lose in camp. He certainly looked like an NHLer in his 12 game stint, and his AHL performance was of a very similar mould. Nyman likely won’t see high end deployment as of yet, but his seasoning in the Liiga and AHL against men in professional leagues gives him the edge over similar aged players who have played mostly against peers. Nyman is a buy in all dynasty leagues, and could be a above replacement player in redraft leagues this year if things go right, but don’t take him too high in redraft until he shows that he can keep he performance up over a longer period.

A middle six role, 30-40 points with slight more than two shots and half a hit per game should be where he see Nyman’s performance lie if he performs at the same pace as last year. Take a swing on him before the price increases. Alex Wyatt

March 2025- Nyman was called up to the Seattle Kraken after performing admirably so far this season for AHL Coachella Valley. His 26 goals, 15 assists, and 41 points over 55 games put the rookie in the team lead for goals and points and (nearly) the same position for players under 21 in the AHL, as Luca Cagnoni has one extra point. Nyman’s season-long pace before call-up would have seen him finish with 34 goals, 19 assists, and 53 points in 71 AHL games. Over the last 15 years, that would be the highest goal total from a 20-year-old or younger, and 22nd overall for his points per game rate- not a bad rookie season for the Finnish Import. Couple this with last season’s performance in the Liiga, where his 0.90 PPG rate was the sixth best since 2009-2010 by a 19-year-old or younger, and sits him just behind the likes of Sebastian Aho (18 years old), Mikael Granlund (17, and 19-year-old seasons), and Alex Barkov (17). Fantasy managers should scoop him off the waiver wire to see how his call-up goes and invest in a strong career arc thus far. Alex Wyatt

October 2024- After tearing up the Liiga in 2023-2024 for 26 goals and 17 assists in 48 games (second most goals overall and most goals, points, and points per game by a U20 player), Nyman made the trek to North America. He potted two goals in five regular season games and added one more goal in nine playoff contests. Nyman will get a full year in the AHL in 2024-2025, and though he’s a long shot to make the NHL squad from camp, he is likely to get a nine-game look as a reward for a strong showing or as an injury call-up. Alex Wyatt

June 2023 – Nyman continues progressing well, posting the best point-per-game rate of any Under-19 player in the pro-Liiga. His ten goals were two behind the leader in that category, Joakim Kemell, who managed the extra two goals in 14 additional games. At only 18 years old, the Kraken will not be in any rush to hurry the Finn along to North America, but at 6-3 215 pounds, his size is NHL-ready. If you can stash him in your league, he might be worth the preemptive pluck as we watch how he develops. Alex Wyatt

November 2022 – Nyman is currently sitting third in team goal scoring with six in 17 games, which is not bad for the youngster’s first real season at the pro level in the Liiga. He also exploded for five goals and six points across two games with the U20 team this season. Keep an eye on Nyman, as it is a bit early to invest too heavily, but his goal-scoring has him within reach of the goal-scoring leaders in the league, including his teammate, who leads with 12. – Alex Wyatt

July 2022 – The Seattle Kraken selected Nyman in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft, 49th overall. Nick Richard

May 2022 – Nyman had a successful draft-year campaign in Finland, spending most of his time on loan with Koovee in the Finnish second division. He scored 18 goals, added 17 assists for 35 points in 34 games with the Mestis club, and earned an assist in 10 games of Liiga competition with Ilves.

A massive and strong winger, Nyman loves to shoot the puck — to a fault. He regularly takes six or more shots a game and usually shoots it on the net whenever he has a look. He protects the puck very well and works the boards decently, using his 6-foot-3 frame and massive reach to keep opponents outside as he shimmies the puck to his teammates. He has a heavy shot due to a strong upper body, but his release is readable. For a big man, his hands are impressive, and he can navigate tight spaces very well. He’ll need to work on his first two steps and top speed to ensure he reaches his middle-six ceiling, but the prospect could end up scoring 20 or more goals at the NHL level. Hadi Kalakeche