League season prediction – positions 1-4: The regular season winner will come from Tampere

The much-anticipated super season of the league 2026-27 starts on Tuesday, September 1st. It promises to be an exceptional season, as Jokerit returns to the top league and the three weakest teams will drop to the league’s B-series at the end of the regular season.

SuomiKiekko anticipates the upcoming season by evaluating the power dynamics of the teams. This preview covers the four strongest teams of the regular season.

4. Lukko

Lukko enters the league’s super season with one of the most balanced teams in the league. The team’s top names may not be the best in their positions, but when looking at the overall picture, Lukko has everything well in place.

The only major question mark is the goaltending department. Injuries ruined Antti Raanta’s last season, but that wasn’t exactly a surprise. The 37-year-old veteran has been suffering from injuries for a long time. His save percentage ended up being 88.8.

Raanta’s partner continues to be the 20-year-old Daniel Salonen. Last season, Salonen’s performances were quite inconsistent. Sometimes the young prospect played an incredible game, then in the next, he let in several easy goals. His save percentage was 88.7.

Lukko needs significant development from Salonen. If the goaltending department falters like last season, one can expect Lukko to become active in the transfer market well in advance.

Lukko’s defense, on the other hand, is excellent and strongly structured. Chris Harpur and Anton Olsson are the masters of their own zone. Jakob Stenqvist, Nuutti Viitasalo, and Arttu Välilä bring puck skills, and Peetro Seppälä is a fantastic all-around defender.

However, Lukko’s greatest strength is its offense. Mikael Ruohomaa is one of the league’s best playmakers. Alex Beaucage has one of the best shots in the league. Aleksi and Antti Saarela have proven capable of high point totals in the league.

A new addition to Lukko’s offense is Heikki Liedes, who is an excellent targeted reinforcement. Firstly, he is a great defensive center, but in addition, he is among the best in the league at scoring dirty goals. During his time at KooKoo, Liedes broke the 20-goal mark twice. In Tappara and Kiekko-Espoo, he scored 18 goals. This is exactly the type of player Lukko needed.

Felix Robert arrives at Lukko from the SHL. The small Canadian forward played the last two seasons with Växjö Lakers. In Sweden, he did not reach jaw-dropping point totals, but in his last season, he scored 16 goals. Robert also had decent point totals in the AHL.

Among Lukko’s familiar names, there is plenty of untapped potential. Last season, Jami Krannila did not reach his level, scoring 10+12=22 points in 53 games. The agile and dynamic forward is expected to do better. Among the young players, Leo Tuuva is a potential breakout player. He already scored promising 4+10=14 points in 34 games last season.

3. JYP

JYP has assembled a formidable team. The Hurricanes’ offense is, on paper, the best in the entire league.

Santeri Huovila is one of the best playmakers in the league. Valtteri Ojantakanen and Leevi Tukiainen are among the league’s top scorers. Jere Lassila was one of the top names in last season’s scoring race. When this group is combined with Alexander True, Daniel Torgersson, and Juuso Puustinen, along with new acquisitions Harri Pesonen and Reece Newkirk, it creates an exceptional offensive lineup that hasn’t been seen in the league for a long time.

JYP also has an excellent situation in defense. Sami Vatanen is the puck-moving leader, and Juuso Arola runs the second power play unit. Eetu Peltola, Trent Bourque, and Roni Jokinen are good two-way defenders, but the team lacks a nasty and rugged defenseman.

Interesting names in JYP’s defense include Malte Setkov and Veeti Väisänen. Setkov has played for a long time in Denmark’s top league and has scored impressive goal totals. The 20-year-old Väisänen has played the last two seasons in the WHL but already proved to be a league-level defender during the 2023-24 season at KooKoo.

JYP’s defense has a small positive problem. There is so much puck skill that it’s hard to find a big enough role for all players.

Last season, JYP’s biggest weakness was goaltending, so it was a bit surprising that nothing was done about it over the summer. Oskari Salminen and Oskari Setänen continue between the pipes this season as well.

Salminen has proven to be an excellent goaltender, but last season he struggled to make saves. His save percentage in the regular season was a disappointing 88.7. Setänen’s number was slightly better at 89.0. For JYP to seriously compete for the championship this season, the goaltending must take significant steps forward from last season.

However, it’s worth remembering regarding Salminen that last season was not his first poor performance. His previous strong season was 2022-23 when he played for the Manitoba Moose in the AHL. It has been over three years since those performances.

2. Ilves

Ilves has been banging its head against the wall in the league semifinals for years. Is this finally the season when the tufted ears make it to the finals?

Ilves starts the season with a strong team. Especially in terms of offense, the situation is excellent. The Tampere team managed to retain the high-scoring players from last season, including Lukas Jasek, Luke Henman, Jens Lööke, and Matic Török. For the top lines, Ilves has acquired Jan-Mikael Järvinen from the transfer market.

An interesting acquisition is also Aleks Haatanen, who is familiar to head coach Tommi Niemelä from his time with Pelicans. Haatanen is a versatile winger who can be a hard worker on the third line or a skilled scorer on the top lines. He is looking for one last breakthrough in Ilves to become a star-level player.

Another interesting new name is Topias Hynninen, 20. He showed very promising performances with Mikkelin Jukurit during the 2024-25 season, but last season was a bit disappointing, with 8+20=28 points in 57 games. The clever forward could rise to a surprisingly large role in Ilves’ offense.

In terms of defense, Ilves is high-quality and evenly matched, both good and bad. Jarkko Parikka, Leo Lööf, Toni Utunen, and John Nyberg create a solid and consistent foundation, but who will emerge as the puck-moving top defenseman? Among the new acquisitions, Tony Sund and Austin Strand have not been racking up points in recent years. Last season, Simon Johansson was clearly Ilves’ leading star. Now, a similar player cannot be found in the defense.

Ilves’ goaltending department has strengthened since last season, but there are still question marks hanging over it. The 30-year-old Christoffer Rifalk played the last seven seasons in the SHL with Rögle. In the last two seasons, his number of games was very low, although Rifalk’s statistics were decent. How will the Swedish player’s level and body hold up now that the game count increases in a 64-game regular season?

Rifalk’s partner will continue to be Mantas Armalis. The Lithuanian goaltender acquired during last season played a good end to the regular season but faltered badly in the playoffs. In seven decisive games, his save percentage was a disappointing 85.6.

Ilves has a strong team and an excellent coaching staff. Still, there are significant question marks surrounding the team, and once again, the tufted ears are the little brother of Tampere.

1. Tappara

The league is currently very balanced. A few teams at the bottom stand out as clearly weaker than others, but anything can happen between positions 2-14. Among the top teams, the only one that clearly stands out and enters as the clear favorite is Tappara.

In every area, Tappara is either the best in the league or at least among the best, whether it concerns coaching, goaltending, defense, or offense.

Christian Heljanko and Juha Metsola form a seasoned and reliable goaltending duo for the exceptionally long regular season. Both of their levels have fluctuated slightly in recent years, but especially Heljanko has always answered the call when Tappara has needed him the most.

Tappara’s defense is dazzling both in skill level and consistency. Jyrki Jokipakka, Niclas Almari, Jesper Mattila, and Joni Tuulola are excellent two-way defenders who shine at both ends of the ice. This quartet is unlikely to compete for the defensemen scoring title, but if we are looking for the league’s best defenseman, Jokipakka is very much in the running.

An interesting new name in the defense is Olle Standell. The 26-year-old Swede played last season with Leksands in the SHL and scored 5+14=19 points in 52 games. Another interesting name is the 18-year-old Juho Piiparinen, who was drafted in the first round of the NHL draft this summer. What kind of role will the young player manage to secure for himself in Tappara’s diamond-hard defense lineup?

The center position is Tappara’s biggest weakness, but it is not a real weakness either. The center line features Julius Mattila, whose health status is a question mark, Otto Rauhala, Oliver Suvanto, Aapeli Räsänen, and part-timer Tomi Sallinen. A top center who meets the standards of a leading team is missing.

However, the wings boast an incredible amount of firepower. Joachim Blichfeld is one of the league’s best forwards, the speedy Dylan Fabre did well in Ässät, Kasperi Simontaival had a strong last season, and Michael Lindqvist has had a long career in the SHL. Even if the center position lacks firepower, there is more than enough from the wings.

One question mark is the change in coaching. Kari Jalonen will surely implement a very different style of hockey than Rikard Grönborg. Jalonen is also a different type of leader. Will we see growing pains in the Tappara team this season? It’s hard to imagine that when considering Jalonen’s CV and how well-suited the team has been assembled for him.

It would be a surprise if Tappara is not seen at the top of the regular season standings next spring.

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