Juho Piiparinen Set To Make NHL Preseason Debut Before VGK Decides Where He Heads Next

Tonight, the Golden Knights get their first live look at the future as 2026 first-round pick Juho Piiparinen makes his NHL preseason debut. The 18-year-old was sent back to his team in Finland to begin the season but was recalled just in time for training camp after receiving extremely limited ice time for Tappara.

I think he flew over here on Tuesday, right? He’s been here for a week, so it’s probably been a bit of a whirlwind for him. -Ryan Craig

Piiparinen has skated in practice alongside many of VGKs star players and participated in the scrimmage at City National Arena where he held up quite well in a fast-paced “game.” Now, for the first time since being drafted in June, he’ll have a chance to play as a Golden Knight against opponents, rather than teammates.

It’s the first game in wearing a Vegas shirt. So I’m really excited and looking forward to play that game, but I’m pretty nervous at the same time. So that’s a great combination. -Juho Piiparinen

He’ll be paired with AHL veteran and fellow Scandinavian Adam Ginning as part of a young VGK lineup heading to San Jose.

I thought he’s fit into practices very well with whatever group he’s been with. He’ll get an opportunity to play tonight in an NHL building, which I think is a very good thing for him. He’s come as advertised as a defender. Somebody that makes a good first pass. His puck play has been good. We’ve seen all that stuff. He seems like a very smart hockey player. I’m excited to see him in game situations. -Craig

One difference Piiparinen will have to contend with playing tonight as opposed to back in Finland is the size of the rink. The Finnish Elite League still has a number of stadiums, including Tappara, that are wider than NHL rinks. Piiparinen’s home rink, which he has played in for the last few seasons, is about seven feet wider than he’ll play on tonight, which he says changes the speed of the game. That’s just one of the many reasons the Golden Knights wanted to bring him to training camp.

It’s always more challenging bringing a European player over for camp because their season has already begun. We were able to get Juho here for camp. We’ll take a look at this over the next week to 10 days and make what we think the best decisions are for his development this year. There are different ways of looking at it. We’ve got some opinions on what’s important for a young player. So, we’ll see how that plays out at camp. -Kelly McCrimmon

Piiparinen is expected to be reassigned following the game but looks likely to remain in North America rather than returning to Finland. He was selected by the London Knights of the OHL in the annual CHL Import Draft a few days after he was picked by Vegas.

No matter where he goes next, Piiparinen has tonight to give Golden Knights fans a glimpse of what may be to come from one of the organization’s most promising defense prospects in years.