European notebook: NHL prospects off to hot starts

Future NHL stars are developing in Europe this season. Every other week, NHL.com will highlight a few of the top NHL-affiliated prospects outside of North America. This week, a look at the best starts to the season among European prospects (in alphabetical order):

Filip Eriksson, Luleå HF (SHL)

The 20-year-old forward is in his third season in the SHL, Sweden’s top professional league, and has already set SHL career highs for goals (seven), assists (seven) and points (14) through 16 games.

Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the sixth round (No. 165) of the 2023 NHL Draft, he had six points (two goals, four assists) in 37 games with Växjö in 2024-25, and an additional five points (three goals, two assists) in 10 games on loan to Djurgarden in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second-highest professional league in Sweden.

Anton Frondell, Djurgarden (SHL)

The 18-year-old forward signed his entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 15 and has been one of the most dangerous goal-scorers in the SHL. He has eight goals in 15 games -- tied for the third-most in the league. He had a hat trick Oct. 4, one of two multigoal games for him this season.

Selected No. 3 by the Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Draft, Frondell had 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) with Djurgarden in HockeyAllsvenskan last season.

Roni Hirvonen, Kärpät (Liiga)

The 23-year-old forward spent the past two seasons with Toronto of the American Hockey League, but in June signed with Karpat in Finland and is making his presence felt. He is tied for 12th in Liiga with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 16 games -- including four multipoint games and a point streak that lasted five games earlier in the season. He had 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) in 96 games during parts of two seasons in the AHL prior to returning to Liiga.

Selected in the second round (No. 59) in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Hirvonen is a restricted free agent. The Maple Leafs still have his NHL rights since they gave him a qualifying offer this offseason.

Ludvig Johnson, HC Fribourg-Gotteron (NL)

The 19-year-old defenseman is off to his most productive start as a professional with nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 19 games in National League, the highest professional league in Switzerland. He is the highest-scoring defenseman, aged 20 or younger, and is tied for 14th amongst defensemen of any age in NL.

Selected in the sixth round (No. 174) of the 2025 draft by the Utah Mammoth, Johnson is just one point shy of tying his total of 10 points (four goals, six assists) set last season with EV Zug (NL).

Viktor Klingsell, Skelleftea AIK (U20 Nationell)

The 18-year-old forward averaged nearly a point per game in U20 Nationell in 2024-25, his draft season, with 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists) in 43 games, and has more than picked up where he left off in Sweden’s top junior league. He leads the league with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 12 games, including six straight multipoint games early in the season.

He was selected in the fifth round (No. 156) of the 2025 draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

Benjamin Rautiainen, Tappara (Liiga)

The 20-year-old forward is enjoying a strong start to his second full season in Liiga. He is tied for 10th in league scoring with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 17 games. He’s following up a successful rookie season in Finland’s highest professional league in which he scored 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 50 games, and added four points (two goals, two assists) in nine playoff games before he was selected in the fourth round (No. 108) of the 2025 draft by the Lightning.

The last player aged 20 or under to average at least one point per game during a full season in Liiga is Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, who had 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists) in 36 games with Karpat in 2015-16.

Kim Saarinen, HPK (Liiga)

The goalie, 19, has assumed the primary starting duties for HPK, playing 11 of 18 games this season. He’s found some early season success, too, with a 2.50 goals-against average and .901 save percentage. Those numbers track from last season, when Saarinen had a 2.49 GAA and .911 save percentage with three shutouts in 30 games in 2024-25.

He was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the third round (No. 88) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

Melker Thelin, Farjestad BK (SHL)

The goalie has six games played, but he’s made the most of his opportunity this season, playing behind veteran Emil Larmi. The 20-year-old is 4-1-0 with a 1.12 GAA and .951 save percentage. He’s allowed two goals or fewer in each of his five starts.

He was selected in the fifth round (No. 134) in the 2023 draft by the Mammoth.

Herman Traff, IK Oskarshamn (HockeyAllsvenskan)

The forward has had as productive a start to his season as any European-based prospect. The 19-year-old leads IK Oskarshamn and ranks third in scoring in HockeyAllsvenskan with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 13 games. His production has been powered by an active 11-game point streak (five goals, 11 assists).

He was selected in the third round (No. 91) of the 2024 draft by the New Jersey Devils, Traff had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 25 games with HV71 (SHL) last season.