Sebastian Soini's Got Game

This week has been an exciting one for hockey heads in Dinkytown, as some of the world’s best prospects descended on Ridder Arena to take part in the World Junior Summer Showcase. The annual event featured two teams' worth of players from the United States and Canada, as well as teams from Sweden and Finland.

The WJSS usually takes place in Plymouth, Mich. However, organizers decided to hold the event in Minneapolis this summer to generate excitement for the 2026 World Junior Championship, which will take place in the Twin Cities this winter.

There were plenty of NHL executives, scouts, and coaches in attendance to get a glimpse of the best prospects in the game. This tournament is basically the first round of tryouts for the World Juniors, so the players involved come to play. Although summer hockey often tends to be a bit more relaxed, the intensity was high, and the event provided a good opportunity for evaluating players.

Finland’s team featured two Minnesota Wild prospects, 2024 draft picks Aron Kiviharju (4th round) and Sebastian Soini (5th round). Meanwhile, Canada featured one, 2024 2nd-rounder Ryder Ritchie.

I’ve written about Kiviharju and Ritchie in the past, but haven’t taken the time to dig into Soini’s game yet, so I thought I watched him with particular interest this week. I was able to see Soini suit up three times for Finland, once against one of the USA’s teams, and once each against Canada and Sweden, and was encouraged by what I saw.

Sebastian Soini (D)

2024 5th round, pick No. 140  

Hometown: Tampere, Finland

6-foot-3, 187 pounds 

Shoots: Right

2024-25 statistics: 1 goal, 5 assists in 18 games played for Ilves and Ilves U20 in Finland

I had my first real opportunity to watch Soini play during the World Junior Championship last season. He was part of a strong, deep Finnish squad that made it to overtime of the gold medal game, where they eventually fell to a loaded Team USA.

Soini was essentially the 8th defenseman on that team and only suited up for two games. Despite that, I saw enough to recognize that he was a strong, physically gifted player who covered the ice well for a big man. Still, he had a lot of room for growth, especially as a puck mover.

Still, it was enough to understand why the Wild decided to use a draft pick on him. Big, mobile right-shot defensemen are hard to find, and Soini fits the bill in that regard. 5th round picks are typically long shots to have an NHL career, so taking a bet on a player with the physical tools that Soini possesses is a good gamble.

Well, after a strong showing in Minneapolis this weekend, that gamble is starting to look like it has a chance to pay off. Soini has game, and while there is still plenty of polish that will need to be applied, the young Finn has taken some significant steps in his development.

Against Canada, Soini and his mates found themselves up against Gavin McKenna (the likely No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft) and Matthew Schaefer (the No. 1 pick from this summer’s draft). They were playing against a roster that included 12 other first-round picks and numerous 2nd-rounders, including Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie. Canada played a sloppy game against the Finns, who won handily. Still, the intensity was high, and Soini more than held his own.

Soini is a strong skater who generates significant power when accelerating from a standstill, moving laterally, and during his transitions from forward to backward and vice versa, with and without the puck. Frankly, he’s a tremendous athlete, and it shows.

He uses his power and quick feet effectively when defending, attacking to take away space and force his opponents into making decisions. If he relies on these assets, Soini won’t get beaten off the rush often, regardless of the level of competition. He takes advantage of his lateral power to stay with puck carriers (note the second clip above, in which he recovers to deny McKenna’s incursion into the slot), establish good gaps, and win puck races in tight.  

Soini has significant potential as a defender who can retrieve dump-ins and pounce on loose pucks to clear the zone. He’s also very strong on his feet and possesses a good base. He uses this and a long reach to win puck battles on the boards and establish positioning. Soini seems to make good reads more often than not, and I saw him directing traffic on numerous occasions, especially against Canada, when Kiviharju, Finland’s captain, had the day off.

Soini isn’t an offensive defenseman but excels at recognizing opportunities to skate the puck out of trouble or to create zone exits. When he does, his powerful skating and strong lateral movement enable him to maneuver around pressure in the neutral zone or buy time to find an open teammate.

I can see him being an asset for zone exits even at higher levels. At the junior level, guys can’t take the puck off him once he gets positioning on them. He’ll fend them off by keeping them on his hip and using his length and strength to protect the puck while he looks for options. Provided he continues to develop his strength as he matures, his awareness of how to use his size will remain an asset when he moves to North America.

Finland ran Soini as the primary one-timer option on the power play in their game against the United States. They were trying out all sorts of combinations during their time at this event. While he doesn’t project as a power play option down the road at this time, it’s worth noting that he has a powerful shot that can keep defenders honest and buy him time up top as he maneuvers and scans for options. His lateral movement also helps him when walking the blue line.

There’s definitely some rawness to aspects of Soini’s game, particularly as a passer. He tends to throw off-target passes or even shank pucks, which often result in loose pucks or turnovers. Soini does this more than he should. It’s something I also noticed during the World Juniors last winter. I don’t think it’s a deficiency in his ability so much as a lack of attention to detail, and so it’s hopefully something that can be coached out of him with time.

He also needs to learn when to make the simple play. It’s clear that he’s starting to realize that he’s able to accomplish a lot with his skating and strength, and this can lead him to trying to do to much.

Soini can also occasionally be impatient when defending and commits too soon with a poke check or an attack, but that’s common among young defenders as they move up levels. It takes time to adjust to defending opponents who are talented enough to exploit such mistakes. If he can rein this part of his game in, he can be a strong defender in North America.

It’s also worth noting that Finland’s structural soundness is its strength when defending. Therefore, I need more time to view Soini outside of this environment to see how he might fare under different systems.

Still, there’s no reason not to feel encouraged and optimistic after the showing that Soini has put in this week at Ridder Arena. The more I saw of him, the more I envisioned his game translating to higher levels. If he can keep on this development trajectory, he has a real chance at becoming a valuable NHL defenseman.