Matias Vanhanen did not have an ideal start to his WHL career after moving from Finland. His Everett Silvertips coach and his Finnish teammate helped the NHL draft prospect become a strong scorer.
KELOWNA, B.C.- There are many ways to build a successful CHL team.
While some focus on the draft-and-develop method, others use their picks to acquire some of their league's top talent via trades. One method that has worked well this year for the WHL's Everett Silvertips is the CHL import draft, which allowed them to add Matias Vanhanen to their lineup.
The Silvertips selected Vanhanen 31st overall in the 2025 CHL import draft. The 2026 NHL draft prospect was playing for HIFK Helsinki's U-20 squad before making the jump to North America. The move has paid off for Everett and Vanhanen as the 18-year-old leads the Silvertips with three goals and five points through three games at the 2026 Memorial Cup.
While Vanhanen is currently having success, there was an adjustment period at the start of the season.
While he was putting up points, he only had seven goals in 31 games before heading to the 2026 world juniors. Once Vanhanen returned, he started finding the net more often, finishing the campaign with 21 regular-season goals in 62 games and an additional 12 in 18 playoff games.
"Just not passing that much," said Vanhanen when asked what the biggest difference was between his start to the season and his play after the calendar flipped to 2026. "Give myself the puck and trying to score and just trying to make plays still. But I don't know. Just like shooting more. That's the biggest issue."
When a player is adjusting to a new league or environment, coaching plays a major role in whether they succeed.
This was the case with Vanhanen, who did not necessarily have the start to his WHL career he was hoping for. As the season went on, coach Steve Hamilton continued to work with the Finnish forward, which led to Vanhanen becoming one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league.
"Matty's obviously pretty slick out there with the puck," said Hamilton. "Really talked a lot to him in the second half about shooting more... He's so good at distributing, and now he's got the confidence that now he can rip it. He just has a very even-keeled personality. You don't see a lot of change. He's a man of few words, and when he gets out there, he just let's his play do the talking. Huge part of our team."
Another advantage Vanhanen has had this year is playing with fellow countrymen and Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen. Along with Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Bear, the trio led Everett to a WHL championship.
For Vanhanen, having someone like Miettinen by his side has been beneficial not only on the ice but also off it.
"He's (such a) good player, so whatever he does, he does it well, said Vanhanen. "He helped me a lot on and off the ice. So it's been awesome to meet him and know him and play with him. So, can be thankful for him."
With five points through three games, Vanhanen has already had one of the most successful Memorial Cup tournaments by a Finnish player. He currently ranks tied for fourth all-time with San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen for most points in a single tournament by a player from Finland. While he has a way to go before matching Pentti Lund's record of eight points, Vanhanen is more focused on team results than on his own stats.
"You always want to score and help the team, so that gets me more confident," said Vanhanen. "But, you know, I don't care about points that much. Just like helping the team win."
After going 2-1 in their round-robin, the Silvertips will face the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in Friday's semifinal.
Everett has already beaten Chicoutimi 5-3 on the second day of the Memorial Cup. A win on Friday would send the Silvertips to the Memorial Cup final, where they would face the Kitchener Rangers.
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