The Vegas Golden Knights selected Finnish defenseman Juho Piiparinen with the No. 29 overall selection in the first round of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Vegas entered the draft without a first-round pick after its 2026 first ultimately ended up in Calgary as part of the Noah Hanifin trade back in 2024. That transaction originally involved a conditional 2025 first, which was converted to a 2026 pick a few days later as a result of the Tomas Hertl deal with San Jose.
In the end, however, Vegas was busy throughout the first round of this year’s draft, which was held Friday night in Buffalo.
In fact, the Golden Knights completed three trades over the course of the evening, starting by shipping sniper Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers in exchange for the No. 26 pick, a 2026 third-round pick (No. 92) and a top-10 protected 2028 first.
From there, the Golden Knights moved back twice, first sending No. 26 to Montreal in exchange for No. 28 and a 2027 third and then dealing No. 28 to Anaheim for No. 29 and a 2026 fourth (No. 117 overall).
No. 29 — Juho Piiparinen, D, Tappara (Liiga)
The Golden Knights elected to use the No. 29 overall selection, drafting Piiparinen from Tappara of Finland’s Liiga league.
The 6-foot-3, 203-pound right-shot defenseman is just 17 years old.
He split the 2025-26 campaign between Tappara and its U-20 team, recording three assists and a plus-six rating at the senior level (Liiga) and scoring one goal and 13 points in 15 games with the U-20 team. He played for Finland at the World Junior Championship this past year, recording one assist and a plus-six rating in four games.
Piiparinen will continue with Tappara for the 2026-27 season.
He was the sixth-ranked European skater by NHL Central Scouting and was 26th overall on Elite Prospects’ consolidated rankings.
Piiparinen plays with poise and is entrusted to take care of his own zone late in games, even at the pro level. He is considered to be a calming presence on the blue line and often makes a strong first pass in transition, which could make him an excellent fit in Vegas in the future.
Piiparinen is a heavy defensive defenseman who plays a dependable game and makes very few mistakes. He doesn’t force low-percentage shots, instead electing to skate along the blue line or fake shots to open lanes. His shot lacks power, but his intelligent shot selection makes him an efficient shooter who gets pucks to the net. He has a strong stride but needs to improve his edge work and lateral agility.
He’s an accurate passer and is especially effective in transition, sending tape-to-tape passes with precision to execute on breakouts. He displays impressive patience, even under pressure, and can match up against the other team’s top players. He’s considered a very mature player and will continue to fill out his frame.
Elite Prospects considers him one of the most well-rounded defensemen in the draft:
McKeen’s Hockey has been very complimentary about Piiparinen’s abilities and projection as a reliable top-four defenseman:
Whether anchoring the blue line on the penalty kill, handling late-game situations with an extra attacker on the ice, or logging over 16 minutes a night in high-tempo pro matchups, Piiparinen has demonstrated that his game is built to withstand the rigors of modern professional hockey. He plays with a calm demeanor that rubs off on his teammates, consistently proving that he can process the game a step ahead of forecheckers and execute plays with a high degree of efficiency under pressure.
Piiparinen projects cleanly as a highly dependable, top-four NHL modern defensive hybrid who leans toward a steady, stay-at-home archetype but possesses the processing speed to keep plays moving positively. His combination of a highly coveted right-handed shot, pro-ready size, fluid mobility, and excellent spatial awareness makes him an incredibly valuable organizational asset. As his short-area agility continues to refine and his physical frame fills out even further, Piiparinen has all the necessary tools to develop into a minutes-eating, reliable defensive anchor who can safely match up against the opposing team’s top offensive weapons while providing steady, error-free transition play night after night.
Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis expects him to be more of a bottom-pair defenseman but also recognizes his reliable and intelligent play:
Piiparinen is a smart defender who doesn’t make many puck-handling mistakes. He’s good when he keeps things simple, but he can also rush the puck up the ice and lower the boom when needed. Piiparinen has played decent hockey against men, and his international action has been solid, too. Piiparinen isn’t flashy, but he’s calm and collected in his own zone and is generally reliable defensively. I was hoping to see him put up more offense this season, but his game is more about shutting opponents down with his mobility.
In his post-draft media availability, Piiparinen said his mind went blank when the Golden Knights drafted him. His father, Jarkko, was drafted by the Devils (No. 212 overall) in 1984 but never made it to the NHL. The Golden Knights are hopeful Juho will have much more success.
The native of Lahti, Finland says he gives everything “every day, in every practice and every situation” and describes himself as “a really competitive guy, and I always play for the team and give the best for the team.”
Piiparinen believes his play at the senior level as well as his appearance at the World Juniors helped him become a first-round draft pick. He said that his first interview at the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine was with Vegas and went well.
Clearly, the Golden Knights agreed.
Piiparinen is the ninth player selected in the first round by the Golden Knights. Seven of the previous eight have been traded, with Trevor Connolly (2024) being the lone exception.
The Golden Knights — who forfeited their 2026 second-round pick after violating the NHL’s media policy in this year’s postseason — have six more selections in this year’s draft:
Round 3: No. 92, No. 95
Round 4: No. 117
Round 5: No. 159
Round 6: No. 191
Round 7: No. 223
Day 2 of the NHL Draft is set to begin Saturday morning at 8 a.m. PT and will be televised on NHL Network and ESPN+.