Joona Väisänen

September 2026 – Vaisanen is in his second NCAA season at Western Michigan after a strong USHL year  with Dubuque (40 points, fourth among all USHL defensemen). EP’s draft guide praised nearly every  modern defenseman skill: he activates offensively, manipulates defenders with fakes and directional  changes, sets up chances, uses space before shooting, and closes space defensively off the rush. The  Penguins’ new WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald coached him in Dubuque and called his defending  “underrated.” At 6-0, 176 pounds, the frame needs to fill out, but the skating and puck-moving ability  are clear strengths. HFBoards observers noted he is having a good season at WMU, “even for a 20-year old.” Pittsburgh drafted him at 175th overall in 2024 as a twice-passed-over overage player, which tracks  with the Kyle Dubas approach of finding skilled players the draft missed. He is unsigned, and the NCAA  timeline gives him two more years before a pro decision. Fantasy relevance is minimal but the ceiling is  interesting for a deep stash. If the frame fills and the offensive game scales, he could profile as a puck moving third-pair defenseman with 20-to-25 point NHL upside. Andrew Epps

August 2025 – Playing in 42 games for Western Michigan in the NCAA over the 2024-25 season, Vaisanen put up 26 points and an excellent plus 24. Although Western Michigan was excellent defensively as a whole, with only one player sporting a negative plus-minus differential, Vaisanen had the fourth-highest plus-minus on the team in his rookie season. There is a good understanding of the game and confidence in his puck-moving ability, which contributed to such a good result defensively in Vaisanen’s first NCAA season. Although the offensive numbers did not stand out, he did rank second in points by a defenseman on the team. In such a strong defensive structure, if his coach trusts him to this degree, you can bet he will have a smooth transition to professional hockey. Vaisanen appears on track to be in the NHL, eating up bottom-pair minutes within two to three years if he continues at this pace. Just do not expect him to help your fantasy team much on the offensive side of things unless there is a meaningful increase in his production in 2025-26. Ioan Gheordanescu

June 2024 – The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Väisänen in the sixth round (175th overall) in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Mark Henry