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FN Draft Profiles: Finnish prospect Juho Piiparinen puts the “defence” in defenceman
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Adrian Kiss
Apr 26, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 25, 2026, 23:18 EDT
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There are many different directions the Calgary Flames could go in when it comes to their second first-round pick of the draft. They could just take the best player available, they may have a specific position or type of player in mind, or they could make a pick that complements the higher of their two selections.
While this draft may be considered very top-heavy, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t good players to be had later in the first round. If anything, it just means that no one knows who is going to take who outside of the top 13 players or so. The Flames should have plenty of quality options.
Perhaps the Flames choose to use their second pick of the draft to focus on defence. Not necessarily a 200-foot defenceman, but more so just a quality defender similar to what Kevin Bahl is or what former Flame Chris Tanev was. If that’s the road they choose to go down, then look no further than Juho Piiparinen.

Scouting report

Calling Lahti, Finland home, the 6’1″, 201 pound right-shot defenceman could be considered one of the better defensive prospects in this entire draft.
With the offensive side of his game still in need of development, that’s not at all what has NHL teams focusing on him. Piiparinen is known to be very reliable defensively, largely in part because of his skating quality, as well as his maturity and intelligent decision-making on the ice.
Piiparinen plays a physical game, and he’s not afraid to block shots and use his body to win puck battles and gain better positioning on his opponents.
Gordon Monro of Dobber Prospects highlights all these points when he had this to say about Piiparinen:
“Strong and physically engaged, he ties up opponents with his stick and uses his frame to win positional battles. His game is not pure defense either, he has a good first pass and shows some intriguing potential as a puck mover, scanning the ice and knowing the right play to make at the right times.”
Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino had more praise for the defensive side of Piiparinen’s game:
“His projection is not as a big-time point getter, but more of a complementary, safe and sound partner. This should not be viewed as a bad thing, but his true value is defending, playing simple, moving pucks accurately and efficiently and eventually eating big minutes.”

The numbers

Piiparinen has played through the various levels of hockey with Tappara Tampere in Finland. He made his first appearance with the senior team this past year. As expected, the offensive numbers were not there, as he did not record a goal and had just three assists in 28 games. He did finish with a plus-6 rating and had just eight penalty minutes.
Piiparinen has also been no stranger to international play. Just this past season, he suited up for multiple junior tournaments, including the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the world juniors this past winter.
Currently, he is participating in the Under-18 World Championship in Slovakia, where he was named team captain for Finland. Through the first two games, he’s skating over 20 minutes a game on the team’s top pairing but has yet to record a point.

Availability and fit

Most scouting organizations have Piiparinen going somewhere in the mid- to late first round. With the lack of offence in his game, it’s possible he could slip towards the back end of the first round, but if there is a team desperate for a quality right-shot defenceman, he could be taken more towards the middle.
On the right side, the Flames currently have Zack Whitecloud, Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz and Brayden Pachal. On the up and coming, they have current prospect Henry Mews, but beyond that, there isn’t a ton of quality depth at the position. It makes a lot of sense to have a guy like Piiparinen in the wings, especially when just about all your defensive prospects waiver more to the offensive side of the game.
There is no telling where exactly Piiparinen will be taken in the draft, but if his name is still on the board when the Flames are making a pick, you have to wonder what the odds are his name will be the one called.
Do you think the Flames should take a defensive defenceman in the first round of the draft? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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