Last season, his first full year as a pro, Finnish right winger Jesse Kiiskinen had 44 points in 47 Liiga regular-season and playoff games for HPK Hämeenlinna and won a silver medal with Finland at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

The 20-year-old is off to a productive start this season too with seven points in his first 10 games. He his hopeful that this will be his last season in Europe for a while.

“I believe that another season here will prepare me better to play in North America next season,” he said. “At the same time, I am pursuing my own childhood dream. Let's hope that the road will lead to playing in the bright lights (of the NHL), but I can also pay my dues in the AHL.”

Kiiskinen was chosen in the third round, 68th overall, by the Nashville Predators in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. However, a year later he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in a deal that saw defense prospect Andrew Gibson go the other way. This past summer, Kiiskinen attended Detroit’s development camp and signed a three-year entry-level contract with Detroit, but was loaned back to HPK for this season. Kiiskinen was asked by Mathias Lahtinen of Finnish hockey website Jatkoaika about the communication he was with the NHL team.

“They follow me a lot and send messages, call me and come to visit me in Hämeenlinna,” Kiiskinen said. “I think it was a good decision for me to continue for another year in a familiar environment, under a familiar coach and with familiar guys. The Red Wings also thought it was a good decision and we have a good connection.”

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Kiiskinen is currently playing on HPK’s top offensive line with 27-year-old Canadian winger Cameron Wright and 26-year-old Finnish center Kristian Vesalainen, whose NHL rights belong to the Winnipeg Jets.

“I think our line has really good chemistry,” said Kiiskinen. “They’re two good players and I’ve enjoyed playing with them. Wright is really good at playing with the puck and winning battles. Vesalainen is really good at attacking in the middle. He sets the pace of the game well and distributes the puck nicely.”

As for the team, HPK has 16 points in its first 10 games and currently sits 10th in the 16-team Liiga. That’s the same place in the standings the team finished last year before bowing out in a play-in round ahead of the quarterfinals.

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“The team's expectation is to get as high as possible in the league standings,” he said. “Everyone here is aiming for the playoffs and that’s a big goal for us.

“On a personal level, my biggest goal is that at some point this season, (Finnish national team head coach) Antti Pennanen will call me and I will be able to play at one of the national team tournaments,” he admitted.

Kiiskinen played in nine games for Finland last season, including several in the Euro Hockey Tour and some exhibition games leading up to the World Championship before being a late cut.

“A big goal for myself is to play for Finland in this year’s World Championship,” he said. “Last spring I came close, but at the last moment I wasn’t chosen. This year, I’m very hungry to make the team.”

Columbus Prospect Loaned Back To Finland Finnish forward Oiva Keskinen, 21, was cut by the <a href="http://thn.com/columbus">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> this weekend and has been assigned to Tappara Tampere, the Finnish Liiga club announced on Sunday.