By Neil Urbanski -
Aron Kiviharju, a 2024 fourth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild, was in the Twin Cities for the past few weeks as he captained Team Finland to a third consecutive appearance in the medal round.
It was Kiviharju’s second year as captain of the Finnish squad. While they were disappointed with their fourth-place finish after falling to Canada in the bronze medal game, it was another excellent performance by the 5-foot-10 defenseman. He was once again voted as one of Finland’s three best players after also receiving that honor in last year’s tournament.
Kiviharju, who famously told Bill Guerin that the Wild “got the steal of the draft” after a serious knee injury in his draft year caused him to slide down draft boards, led Finland in ice time with 23:03 per game, which was also the fifth most by any player in the tournament.
He was the most important player on a team lacking star power, which became crystal clear when he missed Finland’s preliminary round matchup against Canada. In the six games that Kiviharju played, Finland allowed an average of 2.83 goals against. In that New Year’s Eve tilt versus Canada, they allowed seven.
It wasn’t just that the usually stout Finns got lit up; it was how it happened that was the most striking. All night, they looked disorganized on the back end, mixing up coverages, missing switches, and botching sort-outs when defending in transition. They were pushed around in front of the net, and several of Canada’s goals came on defensive breakdowns. Zone clears under pressure were an issue. There was even a five- or ten-second window at the tail end of a power play when they played with only four skaters after a mix-up that left them one defenseman short.
It was clear from the get-go that they dearly missed their captain. Watching Kiviharju defend is like watching a good floor general in basketball. He directs traffic, calls out switches, supports teammates, and takes away options.
Kiviharju is versatile. He can play both sides and often does, meaning the lefty can be mixed and matched with partners based on game situations and matchup preferences. And when he gets the puck on his stick, the game calms down, and he handles it with poise. Kiviharju rarely makes a bad decision, and he’s excellent at relieving pressure with deft maneuvers into space or short passes against the grain that evade forechecks.
Perhaps most importantly, he plays big minutes. In Finland’s epic semi-final game against eventual gold-medalist Sweden, a thriller that ended in a 4-3 shootout decision for the Swedes, Kiviharju played a whopping 27:28, including 5:08 of the 10-minute three-on-three overtime. His ice time was nearly seven minutes more than the next highest total for a Finnish defenseman.
Kiviharju was on the ice for all three of Finland’s goals and only one goal against. He assisted on Finland’s first goal and nearly ended the game in overtime, ringing the crossbar from the high slot. It was a phenomenal performance in the biggest of moments. It came two days after overcoming illness and playing a stellar game in a quarterfinal victory over the United States, in which he made a beautiful back-door pass to set up Finland’s second goal.
It’s starting to become clear that Kiviharju will have the chops to succeed in North America once he makes the jump. He’s signed with HIFK in Liiga (Finland’s top league) through the 2026-27 season, so it’s likely that the earliest the Wild could sign him would be for the 2027-28 season.
The question is, what is his ceiling? And does that ceiling include the NHL?
Offensively, he should be suitably effective at any level. He is an excellent puck handler, and while he’s not flashy, he has subtle skill, making many good, efficient, and quick puck handles that he combines with excellent footwork. That allows him to stay square to the play to survey for options and find lanes, makes it difficult for defenders to anticipate his movements and buys him a little extra time and space.
As a puck mover, he makes good reads and understands motion and play development in terms of when and where to find or create options in all three zones. I’ve noticed an improvement in his shot over the last year. He doesn’t have a powerful shot or the quickest release, but he’s improved in both areas, and he’s always been good at getting pucks through and shooting for tips or rebounds.
He’ll never be a big point producer, but he can be an asset for an offensive unit. He runs a good power play at the junior level, but I don’t know if he projects to do that at the NHL level, because most teams will have better options. I could see him running an AHL power play unit. He currently looks to be getting power play time on HIFK’s second unit, but that power play has only produced at 17.14% success rate, though four of Kiviharju’s seven points on the season have come with the man advantage.
Defensively, from a foundational standpoint, he has a lot of the tools that could help him succeed long-term. He overcomes his smaller stature in many situations with footwork and a solid base. He’ll get in on an opponent’s hands to take away their stick in front of the net, but he doesn’t lock up too early and get outmuscled by bigger players; he tries to time it so that he has the advantage when his man becomes an option, or when the puck arrives.
Kiviharju uses a similar tactic in wall battles. If he gets there first, he’ll win nearly every time because of his footwork and leverage. However, if he doesn’t, he tries to stay in tight and disrupt an opponent’s ability to use his stick to make a play. Then, he’ll look for opportunities to poke the puck loose or lock his man up until he gets support.
For Kiviharju, the question will always come down to his skating and whether he can continue to adapt as he moves up the levels. He’s not a fast skater and cannot generate quick bursts. That occasionally causes him issues, especially when he has to track speedy opponents around the offensive zone and win races to spots. In these instances, he tries to use his intelligence, reading, and footwork to anticipate and disrupt movements, get into passing lanes, and thwart plays that way. But if he gets caught on a guy’s hip or is at a positional disadvantage, opponents can occasionally exploit that.
When Kiviharju is defending the rush, if he gets caught flat-footed or with bad gaps, he has a hard time recovering because he’s not the swiftest backward skater and doesn’t make powerful turns from backward to forward. Kiviharju has largely eliminated the risky poke checks and reaches he was making last year at this time. He also moves well laterally with strong pushes and pull-unders, so if he can keep position, he can defend against faster players.
If I had to bet right now, I’d guess that Kiviharju eventually becomes an NHL defenseman, but probably a bottom-of-the-lineup one that can play steady but unspectacular minutes. First, he’ll need to prove he can handle the heaviness and physical rigors of North American hockey on a daily basis, and the AHL will allow him to do so. If he succeeds there, I think he’ll transition to the NHL rather easily once he makes the jump.
With players like Kiviharju, who are well-rounded and have some tools but look like fringe players on the surface, I look at intelligence, competitiveness, and the ability to stay composed. Those tend to be the separators among prospects who profile similarly, and Kiviharju has each in abundance. He’s a mature player and a leader, and he’s played on some of the biggest hockey stages in the world and thrived.
Whether Kiviharju becomes the steal of the 2024 draft remains to be seen, but he looks more and more like a valuable future piece of the Wild organization.
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