Forward Matias Vanhanen is the WHL's top assist-getter so far this season and is a key playmaker for Finland at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / TIM AUSTEN
Ask Finnish head coach Lauri Mikkola about what Matias Vanhanen brings to his team at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, and the response comes with a smile.
“He is like a young hockey professor,” Mikkola told IIHF.com after Finland’s 8-0 win over Latvia on Sunday. “He has a very good computer in his head and he uses it very well. He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s good in a battle. He has good timing and a strong stick, and he’s a very good guy.”
Vanhanen – an 18-year-old winger with stellar vision and playmaking – lived up to that billing against the Latvians, recording two nice assists on Emil Hemming’s pair of goals. The Nokia native also had a helper in the 6-2 win over Denmark. Vanhanen’s early production is a plus as Finland strives to take the next step after last year’s silver medal.
“He is like a young hockey professor,” Mikkola told IIHF.com after Finland’s 8-0 win over Latvia on Sunday. “He has a very good computer in his head and he uses it very well. He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s good in a battle. He has good timing and a strong stick, and he’s a very good guy.”
Vanhanen – an 18-year-old winger with stellar vision and playmaking – lived up to that billing against the Latvians, recording two nice assists on Emil Hemming’s pair of goals. The Nokia native also had a helper in the 6-2 win over Denmark. Vanhanen’s early production is a plus as Finland strives to take the next step after last year’s silver medal.
The 178-cm, 77-kg forward has been an outstanding set-up man this season as a WHL rookie. With the first-place Everett Silvertips, Vanhanen leads all skaters with 37 assists in 31 games prior to these World Juniors.
One of the main beneficiaries has been his centre Julius Miettinen, who has 18 goals in 27 games with Everett as a Seattle Kraken prospect (second round, 40th overall in 2024). The September-born Vanhanen wasn’t selected in the 2025 NHL Draft, but that is likely to change next June.
“He's a good guy,” said the 19-year-old Miettinen, who missed Finland’s opener before suiting up against Latvia. “He talks with me, but he’s quite a shy guy. He doesn’t really go out that much. But we live in the same place, so we talk a lot!”
Unsurprisingly, the nifty Vanhanen is more comfortable talking about his hockey idols than about his own exploits. He downplays his selection as the WHL Player of the Week in October after amassing 10 points in three games: “It’s a nice thing, but I think the team helped me a lot.”
However, he’s happy to offer sound bites about Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils (“Skating well, playing with the puck, he’s a special player”) and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (“He knows how to make plays, and he’s a winner, so I like him a lot”).
And how about the story behind his jersey number, #37?
“I liked Patrice Bergeron back in the day when I was a kid. So that’s probably why I chose my number.”
Vanhanen’s mother and grandfather are here in Minnesota to watch him compete. But unfortunately, one of his other hockey heroes couldn’t make it. That’s his older sister, Sanni Vanhanen, who has other commitments as a freshman with the Ohio State women’s hockey team and a likely member of the 2026 Finnish Olympic team.
At 20, she already has an impressive international resume that includes bronze medals at the 2022 Olympics, three IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championships (2021, 2024, 2025), and one IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship (2022), where she was named an all-star.
One of the main beneficiaries has been his centre Julius Miettinen, who has 18 goals in 27 games with Everett as a Seattle Kraken prospect (second round, 40th overall in 2024). The September-born Vanhanen wasn’t selected in the 2025 NHL Draft, but that is likely to change next June.
“He's a good guy,” said the 19-year-old Miettinen, who missed Finland’s opener before suiting up against Latvia. “He talks with me, but he’s quite a shy guy. He doesn’t really go out that much. But we live in the same place, so we talk a lot!”
Unsurprisingly, the nifty Vanhanen is more comfortable talking about his hockey idols than about his own exploits. He downplays his selection as the WHL Player of the Week in October after amassing 10 points in three games: “It’s a nice thing, but I think the team helped me a lot.”
However, he’s happy to offer sound bites about Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils (“Skating well, playing with the puck, he’s a special player”) and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (“He knows how to make plays, and he’s a winner, so I like him a lot”).
And how about the story behind his jersey number, #37?
“I liked Patrice Bergeron back in the day when I was a kid. So that’s probably why I chose my number.”
Vanhanen’s mother and grandfather are here in Minnesota to watch him compete. But unfortunately, one of his other hockey heroes couldn’t make it. That’s his older sister, Sanni Vanhanen, who has other commitments as a freshman with the Ohio State women’s hockey team and a likely member of the 2026 Finnish Olympic team.
At 20, she already has an impressive international resume that includes bronze medals at the 2022 Olympics, three IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championships (2021, 2024, 2025), and one IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship (2022), where she was named an all-star.
Her exploits are inspirational for Vanhanen, whose lone previous IIHF experience was with the fifth-place Finnish team at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship, where he got five points.
According to Vanhanen, lessons he’s learned from Sanni include the importance of playing two-way hockey, being aware in the defensive zone, and training hard off the ice.
“It’s been awesome to play against each other and learn different things from each other,” Vanhanen said. “It’s pretty cool to see her getting some ice time at the Olympics with the national women’s team. So I’m just happy for her.”
This former member of the Tappara and HIFK organizations doesn’t hesitate when asked for his happiest World Junior memory: “I have to say 2016 on home ice when Kasperi Kapanen scored the OT winner [versus the Russians for a 4-3 gold-medal victory].”
Minneapolis and St. Paul are a long way from Helsinki, but Vanhanen has already shown in Everett that he can be poised and productive on North American ice. Perhaps his “hockey computer” will help to calculate the path to another moment of Finnish golden glory.
Finland’s last World Junior title came in 2019 in Vancouver when Vanhanen was 12 years old – just a schoolboy instead of a hockey professor.
According to Vanhanen, lessons he’s learned from Sanni include the importance of playing two-way hockey, being aware in the defensive zone, and training hard off the ice.
“It’s been awesome to play against each other and learn different things from each other,” Vanhanen said. “It’s pretty cool to see her getting some ice time at the Olympics with the national women’s team. So I’m just happy for her.”
This former member of the Tappara and HIFK organizations doesn’t hesitate when asked for his happiest World Junior memory: “I have to say 2016 on home ice when Kasperi Kapanen scored the OT winner [versus the Russians for a 4-3 gold-medal victory].”
Minneapolis and St. Paul are a long way from Helsinki, but Vanhanen has already shown in Everett that he can be poised and productive on North American ice. Perhaps his “hockey computer” will help to calculate the path to another moment of Finnish golden glory.
Finland’s last World Junior title came in 2019 in Vancouver when Vanhanen was 12 years old – just a schoolboy instead of a hockey professor.