Kraken spotlight Finnish hockey pipeline as Global Series nears in Helsinki

The Story

Seattle Kraken forward Kaapo Kakko says Finland’s hockey success begins with elite training from youth levels, as the team holds its debut practice at Veikkaus Arena ahead of the NHL Global Series in Helsinki.

Kraken practices in Finland precede games Thursday and Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, with the team arriving Sunday for the trip.

Kakko, a Finland native, credited both strong coaching and the large number of young players taking up the sport in a country of about 5.7 million people. He said there are “a lot of good coaches” and “a lot of young kids playing the game,” adding that he grew up watching and wanting to play.

The Kraken’s Finnish presence reflects a wider talent pipeline tied to a 2009 overhaul of youth hockey in Finland, which shifted attention from systems-based play toward individual skills coaching and encouraging young players to train, eat and care for themselves more like professional athletes.

The organization has used that influx to build depth across roster spots, prospects and goaltending. Kraken amateur scouting director Robert Kron said the team does not intentionally target one country over another, noting, “We try not to prioritize one or region or the other,” while adding that it “kind of happens” when Finnish players are on its draft board and the team is positioned to evaluate them.

Kron said the Kraken acquired several Finnish players through a mix of drafting and transactions, including bringing Kakko in December 2024 in a trade from the New York Rangers for defenseman Will Borgen.

The Kraken also landed forward Eeli Tolvanen from Nashville off waivers in December 2022, and Kron said the organization’s internal knowledge gathered during Kakko’s junior and draft-eligible years has factored into how the club expects players to develop.

Seattle’s current Finnish lineup on this trip includes Kakko and Jani Nyman among forwards, along with defenseman Ville Ottavainen and extra netminder Nikke Kokko.

Beyond the travelling group, the club also has Finnish players and prospects in its wider system, including local professional goaltender Kim Saarinen, domestic pro netminder Visa Vedenpaa, and former Everett Silvertips forward Julius Miettinen, now playing with AHL Coachella Valley.

Kron pointed to the structure behind Finland’s rise since 2009, saying the approach became closer to a model where federation involvement with club development and youth academies helped standardize training programs across the country.

He described a 2009 summit organized by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association that brought together top coaches, agents, scouts, and NHL team leaders to reshape player development after several disappointing international results. Kron said Erkka Westerlund, then the head coach of Finland’s national team and known as “The Professor,” pushed for changes that included full-time coaching for boys’ national teams and regular contact with players’ club coaches.

Finland’s development model has shown up in international results, including gold medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2014, 2016 and 2019, along with medals across other youth tournaments since 2009 and team success at larger international events.

Kron also acknowledged that debate continues at home about whether prospects should stay in Finland’s domestic leagues or move to North America for major junior and NCAA hockey, noting that draft outcomes have varied in recent years.

For Kakko and other Finns on the ice with Kraken practice jerseys at Monday’s workout, the chance to play with an NHL team in their home country has been a major personal milestone, and Kakko said the team’s on-ice drill at the end of practice featured “all Finns in the middle,” which he described as “special” and “fun.”