Matias Vanhanen continues shining as Silvertips’ diamond in the rough

Published 10:20 am Thursday, April 23, 2026

EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips’ star power provided fans with plenty of optimism entering the 2025-26 Western Hockey League hockey, and for good reason.

Carter Bear, a Detroit Red Wings first-round pick, was coming off a 40-goal campaign. Julius Miettinen, a Seattle Kraken second-rounder, looked poised to take a step forward as Everett’s top center. Landon DuPont, arguably the top NHL prospect for 2027, delivered on his ‘exceptional status’ label by winning CHL Rookie of the Year last season.

Yet as the Silvertips set a franchise record for wins (57) en route to winning a second consecutive Scotty Munro Trophy as the WHL regular-season champions, none of those three wound up as the team’s top scorer.

That honor belongs to Matias Vanhanen, an 18-year-old rookie out of Nokia, Finland who went undrafted in the NHL last summer before Everett selected him with the 31st pick in the 2025 CHL Import Draft.

The winger immediately jumped onto the Silvertips’ top line, finishing with 21 goals and 87 points in 62 games to set a franchise rookie scoring record. He remains the team’s top scorer through two rounds of the WHL Playoffs with 14 points in nine games.

As Vanhanen elevated Everett to reach the Western Conference Finals against Penticton, he raised his own stock ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, where he’s rated the No. 76 skater playing in North America, according to NHL Central Scouting.

So why did Vanhanen slip under the radar for so long? And how did the Silvertips find him?

The Discovery

When Alessandro Benin first watched Vanhanen play in exhibition games ahead of the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he initially had reservations regarding the 5-foot-10, 174-pound winger’s size.

As the Silvertips’ Europe Scout since 2015-16, Benin scouts all the U17 and U18 national teams. Vanhanen did not participate in any U17 national tournaments, so he entered the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as a somewhat unknown entity.

Once Benin, who is also an assistant general manager for the Swiss club HC Ambri Piotta, got a closer look at Vanhanen’s play, the size concerns quickly faded. His feel for the game was advanced beyond his years.

“(I’ve been) in this business (for) 30 years now, and even at the pro level, I didn’t see that many players with his hockey sense,” Benin told The Herald over the phone on Wednesday. “… I quickly realized that thanks to his hockey sense, his size is not a problem because he’s able to (make) quick decisions.

“He’s able to use his skills to go through traffic, so basically the opponent is not able to catch him. He’s not able to separate him from the puck, and just to (speak) about the full package, (his) compete is also good.”

Vanhanen comes from a hockey family. His dad, Juha-Matti, had a long playing career in Europe and has experience as a coach. Meanwhile, his sister, Sanni, scored nearly a point per game with Ohio State this past season, helping the Buckeyes reach the national title game. She also earned a spot on Finland’s Olympic team, which reached the quarterfinals.

In short, it’s no mystery where Vanhanen’s hockey sense comes from.

After an impressive showing at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup (three points in four games), Vanhanen scored 17 goals and 47 points in 42 games with the HIFK U20 team in the U20 SM-sarja, Finland’s top junior league.

Benin put Vanhanen on Silvertips general manager Mike Fraser’s radar early in that 2024-25 season, and after watching video on him, Fraser came away with the same conclusions. Not just about Vanhanen’s ability, but also how well he would fit in the organization.

The Acquisition

Following conversations with people in Vanhanen’s circle, he entrenched himself as a top choice for Everett entering the 2025 CHL Import Draft on July 1. Teams and agents often make agreements ahead of time to ensure the selected prospect will indeed report to the team as opposed to staying in Europe, but there’s always a possibility for unpredictable selections to throw a wrench into those handshake deals.

In the Silvertips’ case, it worked out smoothly. With Vanhanen still available at the 31st pick, Everett enthusiastically picked up his rights.

“You always want to have, I guess, a backup plan. You just never know how things are going to shake out,” Fraser said. “But in the talks that we had had with the family and with Matias specifically, we kind of all had in our mind, sort of envisioned him as the guy, and when it worked out that way, we were pretty excited.”

The Silvertips’ pitch for securing Vanhanen’s services was pretty simple. After Vanhanen was overlooked in the 2025 NHL Draft, the exposure he would receive playing in the WHL paired with the organization’s track record in player development would give Vanhanen an opportunity to contribute to a winning team while also raising his own stock.

For Vanhanen himself, the decision was equally simple. He communicated with some OHL teams, but Everett separated itself as the only WHL franchise he spoke to. After discussions with his agent, the team and even Miettinen, his fellow countryman, Vanhanen determined the Silvertips would be the best spot for him.

“It’s been always kind of my dream to come play in Canada or the U.S.,” Vanhanen said. “… (Miettinen), he helped me a lot. I asked him a lot about Everett, and he loves it, so it was kind of easy for me.”

The Arrival

Miettinen remembers his own transition to North America from Finland. With so few international players on each CHL roster to begin with, he spent his first two seasons in Everett as the only player from his country on the team.

Once he found out Vanhanen was on his way to Everett, Miettinen took it upon himself to request the two stay with the same billet (host) family together, according to Fraser. He understood what it was like to travel across the world alone at such a young age, and how helpful it would have been to have an older player from the same country to lean on.

“In the past two years, I haven’t had anyone like that,” Miettinen said. “So it’s been great to live with him and just get to talk Finnish, and share the same childhood memories and stuff like that. It’s just been great.”

Whether it was learning proper etiquette in a billet household — such as helping clean the dishes, not staying out too late, etc. — or adjusting to life outside the rink overall, Vanhanen considers Miettinen a valuable resource. The two had never met each other before, but they shared mutual friends and connected pretty quickly.

If anything, the on-ice transition was simpler than off the ice, which is far from guaranteed given the difference in styles between North American and European hockey.

European rinks are often larger than North American ones, which allows more space for individual puck possession, whereas the smaller North American rinks create a more physical style with an emphasis on moving the puck around and getting to the net, as Vanhanen described it.

Benin has seen experienced NHLers struggle to adjust when their careers shifted to Europe, and it often goes the same way when junior players make the jump to the CHL. Silvertips coach Steve Hamilton entered the season fully anticipating Vanhanen would need time to transition.

He proved to be a rare exception.

“It was like he’d been here playing this style of game his whole life,” Hamilton said. “It felt very comfortable. He looked very comfortable, so at that point, just like every other player, they tell you where they belong (based on their play), and it became pretty evident that ‘Mati’ was going to be a big part of what we’re doing offensively.”

After going scoreless in his WHL debut, Vanhanen ripped off a 10-game point streak, which included five multi-point games and even a five-point night with four assists in just his fourth career game, a 7-1 win against Tri-City on Oct. 3.

“It was just (one preseason) game,” Vanhanen said about how long it took for him to feel comfortable. “Playing with (Miettinen), it helped me a lot. And I don’t know, it was right away there, when I got to play with ‘Jules.’ It was cool.”

That was only the beginning.

The Ascension

It’s not difficult for any player to produce on a line alongside Miettinen and Bear, but Vanhanen’s skillset has complemented the two all season to the point that they’re arguably the best line in the WHL.

All three share similar skills on the puck, but Vanhanen’s playmaking ability fits perfectly with Miettinen’s size in front of the net and Bear’s finishing.

“His vision’s unbelievable,” Bear said in February. “The way he sees the game, the way he can find passes that I can’t even see, it’s unbelievable. He’s a great talent, and I think he has a big future ahead of him, so I’m excited for him.”

While his hockey sense and playmaking were evident from Day 1, Vanhanen has grown his game in other areas this season.

After scoring just seven goals in the first half of the season, Vanhanen doubled his output down the stretch to finish the regular season with 21 total, and his seven playoff goals in nine games rank second on the team behind Miettinen (8) and tied for third across the league.

“At the beginning of the year, he was passing first under all circumstances,” Hamilton said. “Second half of the year, he started to shoot the puck more, which is something we talked to him about, and now he’s a legit goal-scorer.”

As much as Vanhanen has excelled offensively, he’s put as much focus on developing into a complete, 200-foot player. Miettinen praised his ability to go hard into puck battles and emerge with possession, even against bigger opponents. Hamilton pointed out his defensive awareness and lack of panic in either zone.

Fraser has seen a grittiness in his game that perhaps does not receive as much outside attention.

“(He) doesn’t really seem to get rattled by anything,” Fraser said. “You’ve seen a couple of the (playoff) series here, especially the Kelowna series (in the second round), they come at us pretty hard physically, which we expected. Maybe an extra shot along the boards, or push them into the bench, those types of things. But he’s just not afraid to stick his nose in, and regardless of if he does or not, he just moves on.”

Described as having a quiet, low-key demeanor off the ice, Vanhanen’s edge on the ice earned the respect of his teammates, and his fit in the locker room makes him well-liked, according to Hamilton.

That chemistry contributed to achieving the best regular season in franchise history, but the real work still lies ahead.

The Fin(n)ish Line

Across most leagues, playoff hockey is an entirely different beast, and the WHL is no exception. In his first postseason, Vanhanen eliminated any doubt that he would rise to the occasion. He scored three goals and seven points in a first-round sweep of Portland, and his 14 points through two rounds is tied for third in the league.

“(Vanhanen) has been able to shine in the brightest spotlight, in the toughest situations, which says a lot about him,” Hamilton said. “He’s a quiet, understated guy. Just goes about his business. Doesn’t draw any attention to himself. He just shows up and works every day, which is a quality that you can rely on and you can trust day in and day out.”

On a personal level, Vanhanen accomplished everything he wanted in making the move to the WHL. He made strides in his game, and with more eyes on him, made a name for himself entering the 2026 NHL Draft, where at least 20 teams are evaluating him, according to Benin.

The only thing left to accomplish is on a team level, and the Silvertips continue their quest for the franchise’s first WHL Championship with Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Penticton Vees on Thursday and Saturday.

“We don’t care who we are playing,” Vanhanen said. “Just focus on our game. I think if we’re here, we can beat anyone. I think that’s the main thing. Just focus on us.”