Finnish prospects eyed in NHL Draft in Buffalo

The NHL entry draft will be held on June 26‑27 in Buffalo, United States, with a notably deep and evenly matched player pool across North America and Europe. Central Scouting’s European talent evaluator Janne Vuorinen said the class is unusually balanced, noting that the top‑ranked prospects are already well known and major surprises at the very top are unlikely.

Finnish players received particular focus. Analyst Ismo Lehkosella projected that only Oscar Hemming is likely to be selected in the first round, while Oliver Suvanto, Juho Piiparinen and others are expected to fall to the second or third rounds. He also listed defensemen Matias Vanhanen, Samu Alalauri and Jasper Kuhta as potential later‑round picks. Vuorinen similarly expects two to three Finns to be taken in the first round, highlighting Hemming and Suvanto as the leading candidates.