Suvanto learning from idol Barkov prior to 2026 NHL Draft

The 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The first round will be June 26 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 on June 27 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at forward Oliver Suvanto from Tappara in Liiga, the top league in Finland. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Oliver Suvanto won't take credit for it, but the 17-year-old center played a role in Finland winning the gold medal at the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Finland captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed the entire NHL season because of a knee injury sustained during his first day of training camp with the Florida Panthers, needed someone to skate with as he ramped up to play at Worlds.

Suvanto, who said Barkov is one of the players he patterns his game after, was given the opportunity to work with him on the ice.

"Unbelievable," Suvanto said. "Just to see the level ... he might be one of the best players in the NHL. It was awesome the way he does the basic things, catching pucks, the stickhandling, shooting. It was just amazing to see the guy who does that maybe the best in the NHL."

Suvanto might not be far from joining Barkov in the NHL.

The 6-foot-3, 213-pound center, who won't turn 18 until Sept. 3, had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 48 games with Tappara in Liiga, the top professional league in Finland. He's No. 3 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters.

"Oliver Suvanto is the most complete and mature 17-year-old center seen in Liiga since Aleksander Barkov," NHL Director of European Scouting Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen said. "He has already been trusted in key roles for powerhouse Tappara. His strong skating, balance and physical strength make him highly effective in face-offs, battles and defensive coverage. A natural two-way player, he combines reliability and intelligence, rarely making mistakes while consistently supporting both ends of the ice."

Playing almost this entire season in Liiga (he skated in three games in Finland's under-20 junior league) was a significant jump for Suvanto, who played in Finland's under-18 league last season.

But he said it didn't take long to feel comfortable playing with and against older, more physically developed competition.

"Obviously it's tough, the battles against the men," Suvanto said. "I jumped from the U-18 level to Liiga almost like without any games in U-20, so of course it was new and tough in the beginning, but I think with my big size, I did well in that. ... I think it was kind of 10 games, and then I got a kind of confidence to try new things and try to move with the puck and try to do my own things."

He succeeded more often than not.

"He's a big boy, and he's physically pretty strong already, so he can compete battle-wise," Tappara general manager Janne Vuorinen said. "Then the other thing is that he's a very smart player. ... He can play a 200-foot game, coaches trust him in the different situations, and he's a very mature person for such a young guy, and a really hard-working kid, and a smart guy too."

The work ethic and hockey IQ are two of the areas Suvanto most matches with Barkov. Janne Vuorinen saw it firsthand when they were on the ice together before Worlds.

"Oliver was skating with Barkov, and they were doing skills, things after the practice and things like that, and they just kept on going with the different tricks," Janne said. "Barkov was teaching Oliver certain things, and they just kept on going, and they didn't get out of the ice. Those are two clear examples of how much the best are working at, and Oliver is right there with the work ethic."

Suvanto said he had never met Barkov, who grew up playing for Tappara and has been a co-owner of the team since 2020.

"I just knew of him," Suvanto said. "He's my big idol. I didn't know him as a person, and I don't know if he knew me; probably not. But yeah, got to skate with him, and it was a dream come true."

Suvanto said he got a few tips from Barkov on some finer details of the game, like how best to receive a pass. They also went 1-on-1 in the face-off circle, an area Suvanto wants to improve. Barkov provided a quality education.

"We took a few face-offs and talked about that," he said. "I've got to say, I lost quite a bit of them, but he told me advice, and I was really pleased from that. ... He just told me to be strong but don't respect the rules that much. Just try to win it, try to win the puck."

Their time together only lasted a few days before Barkov left for Switzerland to play in the Worlds, where he led Finland with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) and earned a spot on the tournament all-star team.

Suvanto laughed when asked if he took any credit for Barkov's performance, instead saying he was just happy he was able to help.

"When I look at him on the ice, I still see the guy that lifted the Stanley Cup, not a friend of mine," he said.

Barkov isn't the only one Suvanto has learned from over the years. He credits his father, Harri Suvanto, for helping him learn to enjoy hockey after he after an early "retirement" -- at age 5.

"I went to a training at a small club where I was born," Suvanto said. "The first season I went there, I went to the first training and I liked it. But the second time, he drove me there, I was tying my skates, and Dad asked me, 'Do you really want to go there? You don't have to.' I was like, 'Yeah, I want to go.' Two minutes after that, I was like, 'I'm not going there anymore.' And he was like, 'OK, let's go home.' 

"That winter, we just went to the outdoor ice. I liked hockey, but I just didn't want to get (on) a team yet. The next season, he put me on another club, and that's when I started playing, and I liked it."

Suvanto has done fine since then, and has gotten more help from his father, who had a 14-season professional career in Europe.

"He used to coach me when I was younger, until I was about 12 or 13," Suvanto said. "When we get in the car and go home, he told me advice, and every time I ask him now, he gives me good tips and good advice."

Suvanto will have the chance to put into practice all of what he's learned, from Barkov and his father, next season when he's expected to return for a larger role with Tappara.

His offseason goal is to get stronger to better handle the rigors of the men's league and to become a more consistent offensive producer.

And those that know him have no doubt Suvanto will put in the work.

"He's one of the hardest working players I've seen in my 20-plus years in the business," Janne Vuorinen said. "It's unbelievable how hard he works."