The roster of 24 players that Finland will send to the U-20 five-nations tournament this November includes 12 that have already been drafted by NHL teams and two others that are projected to be potential first-round picks at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

The tournament, which will take place Nov. 5 to 9 in Piešťany, Slovakia, will be the last U-20 event in Europe prior to this winter’s IIHF World Junior Championship. It should include the best eligible European-based players from Czechia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and host Slovakia (scroll to the bottom to see the schedule).

The name that stands out most on the roster is defenseman Aron Kiviharju, the Minnesota Wild prospect who, at age 19, is already in his fourth season in Finland’s top-tier pro league. He was captain of last year’s Finnish squad at the World Juniors in Ottawa and likely will be again this season in front of his future NHL fans in Saint Paul, Minn.

Other returnees from last year’s World Junior squad include goaltenders Petteri Rimpinen and Kim Saarinen, defensemen Mitja Jokinen, Daniel Nieminen and Sebastian Soini, and forwards Joona Saarelainen and Roope Vesterinen.

Two 2008-born Tappara players, defenseman Juho Piiparinen and center Oliver Suvanto, are on the draft radar for next summer as possible first-rounders.

Nineteen-year-old Montreal Canadiens prospect Aatos Koivu is the son of ex-Habs captain Saku Koivu.

Aron Kiviharju Says “World Juniors Were The Best Times Of My Life”, Has Options For Next Season It’s been a bounce-back season for Finnish defenseman Aron Kiviharju, who made IFK Helsinki’s roster at the start of last season as a 17-year-old but suffered a horrible ACL injury just seven games that cost him the rest of the season.

Goaltenders: 1 Saarinen Kim, HPK Hämeenlinna – Seattle Kraken 30 Rimpinen Petteri, Kiekko-Espoo – Los Angeles Kings.

Defensemen: 2 Jokinen Mitja, TPS Turku 3 Kiviharju Aron, HIFK Helsinki – Minnesota Wild 4 Nykyri Niklas, HIFK Helsinki 5 Piiparinen Juho, Tappara Tampere 6 Soini Sebastian, Ilves Tampere – Minnesota Wild 7 Nieminen Daniel, Pelicans Lahti – Nashville Predators 14 Välilä Arttu, Lukko Rauma 25 Boelius Lasse, Ässät Pori – Anaheim Ducks.

Forwards: 8 Kettunen Anton, Pelicans Lahti 9 Koivu Aatos, TPS Turku – Montreal Canadiens 10 Suvanto Oliver, Tappara Tampere 11 Pärssinen Jesse, TPS Turku 12 Saarelainen Joona, KalPa Kuopio – Tampa Bay Lightning 13 Kallio Bruno, Jokerit Helsinki 15 Kopiloff Oliver, HPK Hämeenlinna 16 Loponen Markus, HPK Hämeenlinna – Winnipeg Jets 17 Tuuva Leo, Lukko Rauma 19 Somervuori Jere, HIFK Helsinki 20 Pikkarainen Kasper, TPS Turku – New Jersey Devils 21 Westergård Max, Frölunda SWE – Philadelphia Flyers 23 Vesterinen Roope, HPK Hämeenlinna 24 Joki Atte, Lukko Rauma – Dallas Stars 27 Pietilä Benjamin, Kärpät Oulu.

Four Draft-Eligible Players Named to Sweden’s Five Nations Roster Jacob Smeds provides a recap of Sweden’s U20 roster for the November Five Nations Tournament in Piestany, featuring four draft-eligible players.

Tournament Schedule (all times CET)

Wednesday, Nov. 5:
13:30 Switzerland – Sweden
17:00 Finland – Slovakia

Thursday, Nov. 6:
13:30 Czechia – Finland
17:00 Sweden – Slovakia

Friday, Nov. 7:
13:30 Sweden – Finland
17:00 Switzerland – Czechia

Saturday, Nov. 8:
13:30 Finland – Switzerland
17:00 Slovakia – Czechia

Sunday, Nov. 9:
11:30 Czechia – Sweden
15:00 Slovakia – Switzerland 

Four Drafted Players On Czech U-20 Roster NHL draftees headline the Czech U-20 roster, eyeing pre-World Junior Championship European competition. Top talent clashes in Piešťany.