Vilho Vanhatalo
2025-26 Team: Tappara U20 (SM-sarja) / Tappara (Liiga)
Date of Birth: Jan. 18, 2008
Place of Birth: Tampere, FIN
Ht: 6-foot-4 Wt: 198 pounds
Shoots: L
Position: RW/LW
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2026 first-year eligible
Rankings
Tappara’s draft-eligible players have drawn a high volume of NHL scouts to Hakametsä this season, especially with Oliver Suvanto and Juho Piiparinen earning World Junior roster spots and full-time Liiga roles, while Vilho Vanhatalo, a 6-foot-4, left-shooting winger, whose shot mechanics and physical frame have given Tappara a class of forwards rarely seen on one club at the same time.
Vanhatalo spent the bulk of 2025-26 anchoring Tappara’s U20 squad in the SM-sarja, where he posted 10 goals and nine assists in 38 games along with 43 penalty minutes, a stat line that reflects both his willingness to go into the hard areas and a physicality uncommon among Finnish teenagers.
He also earned eight call-ups with the senior team in Liiga, recording one assist and getting his first taste of men’s professional hockey in Finland’s top league. Internationally, he scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 14 games in the U18 program this season and had previously led Finland’s U17 squad with 14 points in 17 international contests during 2024-25.
Vanhatalo’s skillset starts with his release. He has a heavy, compact snapshot that he can load and fire from minimal space, even through traffic. McKeen’s Hockey flagged this as his headlining trait early in the season, noting his ability to pick corners from sharp angles with a release that arrives faster than defenders can close on him.
At 6-foot-4, the shot comes from a platform most junior goaltenders struggle to take away. He generates power through strong weight transfer rather than a long wind-up, which means the puck gets off his blade quickly even when his feet are not fully set. On the power play, he can park at the left circle and work the off-wing one-timer or step into a wrister from the slot. His finishing instinct is real: he led Finland’s U18 ranks in goals last season and has scored consistently across every level of Finnish junior hockey.
Vanhatalo also plays a physical game by choice, not by default. He engages along the boards, wins body position in front of the net, and does not avoid contact in loose-puck battles. In an interview with NHL.com/fi, he described himself as a big forward whose strengths lie in the attacking zone and in goal scoring, but he can adapt to different roles and enjoys playing physically. That self-awareness tracks with what you see on the ice: he is not just a perimeter shooter waiting for a pass. He creates his own space with his body and converts it into good looks.
Related: Top 3 Finnish Skaters on the NHL Central Scouting 2026 Draft Board
Skating is the main question, and the reason his stock has shifted during the season. Vanhatalo entered 2025-26 with a B rating from NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary list (landing roughly in the second or third round), then climbed to 14th on the midterm international skaters ranking after his Liiga exposure and strong U18 performances.
But consolidated rankings have him lower, in the 60s, and some mock drafts have moved him into the second or third round. The concern is straightforward: his first three steps are not explosive for a player his size, and he does not always accelerate quickly enough through the neutral zone to turn his shot and frame into consistent grade-A chances against fast-closing defenses. At the U20 level, he can make up for it with reach and power. Against Liiga men, the margin shrinks.
Decision-making at pace is the other issue. When Vanhatalo has time, he reads options and distributes reasonably well. Under pressure, his process slows, and he defaults to board-and-chase sequences where his body does more work than his brain. That pattern will limit how much ice time he earns if it does not sharpen. I noted in January that his value will come from how often he can turn his frame into useful touches, not just board time.
Vilho Vanhatalo – NHL Draft Projection
Vanhatalo’s draft range is wide. NHL Central Scouting’s midterm slot among international skaters reflects confidence in his tools: his frame, his shot, and his willingness to play a physical game. The consolidated rankings in the 60s reflect skepticism about his pace and consistency.
TSN’s Craig Button has him at 37th, which lands closer to the second-round rankings. A realistic projection right now sits in the second to third round, with the final rankings and combine performance likely to determine whether he slides or holds. Teams with patient development timelines and experience integrating Finnish players into North American systems will be the most interested.
Hockey runs in the Vanhatalo family. His older brother Lassi, 6-foot-7, plays in Liiga, and his brother Miika coaches in Tappara’s junior program. Vilho grew up watching Lassi’s path to professional hockey and has cited him as his biggest influence.
Quotables
“Vilho Vanhatalo is an explosive, attack-minded winger with a natural goal scorer’s instinct and has a really strong and dangerous shot. His game is defined by pace, hunger, and a constant drive to attack.” – McKeen’s Hockey, October 2025
“A rangy winger with great physical profile and flashes of great individual skill.” – Anni Karvinen, Dobber Prospects, December 2025
Strengths
- Heavy, deceptive shot with a quick release from minimal wind-up
- Excellent size (6-foot-4, 198 pounds) with physical willingness in board battles and net-front play
- Goal-scoring instinct across junior and international competition
- Ability to earn men’s league (Liiga) call-ups at 17, showing baseline survivability against pros
- Part of a deep Tappara development system producing multiple NHL draft picks in one cycle
Under Construction – Needs Improvement
- First-step quickness and acceleration through the neutral zone need to improve for his skating to match his shot and frame at higher levels
- Decision-making under pressure slows, leading to reliance on physical sequences rather than skill-based solutions
- Consistency of production at the U20 level (0.50 points per game in 38 SM-sarja games) has not matched early-season first-round projections
NHL Potential
Vanhatalo profiles as a power winger whose NHL path hinges on how much his skating and processing develop over the next two to three seasons. His shot is already professional-level. His frame is there. If his footwork and reads tighten, he projects as a middle-six winger who can contribute on the power play and make life difficult in front of the net. If his skating does not close the gap, his ceiling drops to a depth forward whose shot gets occasional looks in a sheltered role.
Risk-Reward Analysis
Risk: 3/5, Reward: 3.5/5
Fantasy Hockey Potential
Offense: 6/10, Defense: 4/10
Awards and Achievements
Vanhatalo represented Finland at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the 2024 U17 World Challenge (where he recorded two points in four games), and across multiple U17 international events where he led his country in scoring with 14 points in 17 games. He also earned eight Liiga appearances with Tappara’s senior team this season.
Interviews and Links
Vilho Vanhatalo Stats
Videos
