Noel Pakarinen
2025-26 Team: Kiekko-Espoo U20 (U20 SM-sarja) / Kiekko-Espoo (Liiga)
Date of Birth: July 9, 2008
Place of Birth: Palo Alto, CA, USA
Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 198 pounds
Shoots: L
Position: LW
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2026 first-year eligible
Rankings
Noel Pakarinen is the kind of Finnish forward who does not light up a highlight reel but keeps earning more ice time every month. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound left wing has spent the bulk of 2025-26 as one of the top produces on Kiekko-Espoo’s U20 squad in the SM-sarja, posting 13 goals and 17 assists in 31 games for a 0.97 points-per-game pace. He was named the league’s best young player for September 2025, and by December, he had earned his first Liiga call-up at age 17.
Pakarinen was born in Palo Alto, California, but grew up in Espoo and started skating at Espoo Blues before he was school age. He has said that a hockey-playing uncle and an enthusiastic father put him on the ice, and the goal-scoring instinct took hold immediately. When Blues’ junior operations merged into Kiekko-Espoo in 2019, Pakarinen followed. He won a U15 national championship in 2022-23, then led K-Espoo’s U16 squad with 26 goals and 27 assists (53 points) in 2023-24, earning U16 SM bronze. Last season he split time between U18 and U20, contributing to a U20 SM silver-medal run.
Related: THW’s 2026 NHL Draft Guide
The tools that generate the production are straightforward. Pakarinen brings forechecking pressure through a combination of size and lateral mobility that lets him stay square to puck carriers and force turnovers. He reads the play quickly after retrievals, turning those takeaways into slot chances rather than cycling for the sake of cycling. On the forecheck, he does not just arrive first: He arrives with a plan. His willingness to grind along the boards and absorb contact is reflected in 30 penalty minutes alongside his 30 points, a ratio that tells you he is engaged physically and not afraid to take (or draw) a penalty when the situation calls for it.
His Liiga debut came on Dec. 17, 2025, against Kärpät in Oulu. Slotted on as fourth-line right winger alongside Joakim Hirschovits and Jere Väisänen, Pakarinen logged 8:19 of ice time and picked up an assist on a Väisänen goal. Nine Liiga games have followed, with limited minutes (averaging under eight minutes per game) and modest output (one assist). That is expected for a 17-year-old getting his first taste of men’s hockey in one of Europe’s strongest leagues. The point is not the stat line; it is whether he keeps his structure and details when the pace and physicality step up. Early returns suggest he does.
His two-way habits stand out. In a Leijonat.fi feature from early October, Pakarinen described his own game as built on work ethic, game reading, and goal scoring. He credited his linemates (playmaker Atte Vuori and two-way winger Aapo Katavisto) for a balanced attack, and the line’s early-season numbers bore that out: Kiekko-Espoo’s U20 squad had the fewest goals allowed in the league’s opening weeks, and Pakarinen carried a plus-6 rating without a single minus entry through his first seven SM-sarja contests.
Noel Pakarinen – NHL Draft Projection
Central Scouting’s C rating on the preliminary watch list and a 32nd-place midterm rank among EU skaters frame Pakarinen as a fourth-to-sixth-round candidate, though a strong playoff push or a standout late-season Liiga stint could nudge him into the third. Gabriel Foley, writing in his “2026 NHL Draft Gems” series in February 2026, flagged Pakarinen as a late-second or early-third-round name, citing his forechecking pressure, lateral skating, and translatable size. That is the optimistic end of the range, but it reflects the gap between what the raw ranking says and what evaluators see when they watch him play.
Teams that prioritize size, compete level, and defensive awareness from their wing prospects will be the most interested. Pakarinen projects as a bottom-six winger who could grow into a third-line role if his offensive instincts keep sharpening and his skating adds a half-step of north-south burst. His game translates cleanly to a North American sheet because the physical habits are already there.
Quotables
“Pakarinen is yet another addition to the impressively-long list of big, strong Finnish forwards in this draft class. For his part, Pakarinen stands out with how top-down his style is. He brings a ton of pressure to the forecheck, thanks to a mix of size and great lateral-skating that he uses to stay square to opponents.” – Gabriel Foley, 2026 NHL Draft Gems, February 2026
Strengths
- Forechecking pressure backed by size (6-foot-2, 198) and lateral mobility
- Two-way awareness and responsible positioning without the puck
- Goal-scoring instinct from the slot and around the net-front
- Physical willingness in board battles, evidenced by PIM rate
- Quick processing after puck retrievals, turning turnovers into chances
- Earned Liiga minutes at 17 and kept his structure at the men’s level
Under Construction – Improvements to Make
- North-south acceleration needs another gear to consistently beat defenders wide at higher levels
- Liiga production (one assist in nine games) reflects limited minutes and a developing offensive confidence against pro defenders
- Needs to generate more shots and shooting opportunities from Liiga shifts rather than deferring to senior linemates
NHL Potential
Pakarinen’s path to the NHL will depend on how much offensive dimension he adds over the next two to three development seasons. The frame, the compete level, and the two-way habits provide a floor that makes him draftable. The question is whether his shot release, puck handling in traffic, and ability to create offense against tight-checking pro defenders can elevate him beyond a depth forward projection. If the scoring touch he shows in U20 competition translates up, he has the physical foundation to handle a third-line NHL role. If it does not, he is still the kind of reliable, physical winger that organizations value in their American Hockey League and Liiga depth.
Risk-Reward Analysis
Risk: 3/5, Reward: 2.5/5
Fantasy Hockey Potential
Offense: 4/10, Defense: 6/10
Awards and Achievements
Pakarinen won a U15 national championship with Kiekko-Espoo (then under the Blues banner) in 2022-23. He earned U16 SM bronze in 2023-24 and a U20 SM silver medal in 2024-25. He was named the U20 SM-sarja’s best young player for September 2025 and has represented Finland in 21 boys’ international games.
Noel Pakarinen Stats
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