We often get caught up in what a hockey player looks like rather than what they actually do. Matias Vanhanen is a perfect example. At 5-foot-11 and 176 pounds, he is undersized by NHL standards. His skating is far from elite, and his shot lacks the velocity and power you would typically want from a player projecting to score at the highest level. On the surface, there are enough limitations to make it easy to question whether his game will translate.
But hockey isn't played on a scouting report. It's played on the ice. And when you watch Vanhanen closely, the impact he has on the game is difficult to ignore. Shift after shift, he finds ways to make his team better.
Born on September 11, 2007, his birthdate meant he was draft eligible in 2025 as one of the absolute youngest players in his class, and he went unselected. Had he been born just a few days later, he would have entered the draft as a first-year draft eligible prospect in 2026 instead.
A year later, everything had changed. Vanhanen crossed the Atlantic and joined the Everett Silvertips of the WHL. He became an important player on a team that went on to win the WHL Championship, earning himself a second opportunity at the NHL Draft in the process.
In 2025, every NHL team had the opportunity to select Vanhanen. Nobody did. A seventh-round pick could have acquired him for a minimal investment, yet he remained on the board through all seven rounds. Twelve months later, the New Jersey Devils had to spend the 37th overall pick to get him and were very happy to do so. That is an extraordinary change in perceived value in the span of one year.
There are plenty of reasons a player's value can change that dramatically in a year. Opportunity can change. Environment can change. Development can accelerate. A player can simply perform better when given a larger role. More information can also change how a player is viewed.
Whatever the combination of factors was for Vanhanen, his journey creates an interesting opportunity to look beyond the draft result and examine the player himself.
What makes him so impactful? Which parts of his game are most likely to translate as the level gets higher? And how much should we value those traits when they come in a player whose physical tools may not immediately stand out?
Vanhanen's story is a useful case study in the difference between how a player looks and how much impact they actually have. His physical tools may not immediately resemble those of an NHL player. His ability to consistently influence the game does.
Offensive Production
Vanhanen’s scoring stems directly from a cerebral approach to the game. Elite route selection and timing allow him to identify high-danger scoring areas and pockets of quiet ice with consistent success. He’ll cut laterally, speed up, or slow down, effectively changing his timing as he approaches those scoring positions to ensure that he’s arriving to an area where a teammate can get him the puck with perfect timing. Creating time and space for himself in tight areas is another strength in Vanhanen’s game. He wisely pushes off defenders to create separation or pops out to give himself room to release the puck without a defender disrupting the play. While driving the net, Vanhanen will actively avoid stick checks by lifting his stick, preventing a defender from anchoring and getting underneath his stick, only to present his stick as an option at the opportune time. Vanhanen operates with the intention of getting inside the dots and maximizing his scoring threats. High-level processing allows him to read the body language of defenders and exploit their weight shifts as Vanhanen cuts to the middle to work himself into quality scoring positions.
Vanhanen serves as a consistent playmaking threat within the offensive zone. An innate awareness allows him to identify seams, passing lanes, and pockets of quiet ice with reliable frequency. Most of his offensive creation consists of crafty 5-to-10 foot passes designed to funnel the puck toward the middle of the ice. He excels at finding teammates in open ice, exposing defenders, and threading pucks through passing lanes during dynamic situations. Vanhanen pre-scans and identifies what he wants to do with the puck prior to receiving it, and he positions his body in a way to maximize his passing options. With his ability to make intricate plays in small areas, Vanhanen advances pucks to high-danger areas while giving his teammates the time and space they need to execute.
Shooting Mechanics
Despite his goal-scoring instincts, Vanhanen lacks an elite shot. His offensive production relies primarily on high hockey IQ rather than pure shooting ability. From a technical shooting perspective, he does not pose a significant threat. A lack of power behind his release remains a notable deficiency, likely stemming from underdeveloped lower-body mechanics. He fails to generate sufficient torque through his hips during the release. Often, his hips remain stationary while he transfers weight, keeping his body fully squared toward the net. This limitation means he struggles to generate scoring threats from outside the dots, and he will not overpower goaltenders under his current framework. Pucks released off his back foot also lack necessary velocity. Significant adjustments to his shooting mechanics are required for him to evolve into a relevant scoring threat at the NHL level.
Intelligence
Vanhanen’s intelligence and IQ are on display on both sides of the puck. With possession, he shows a rare ability to dictate the pace of play and draw in opponents, which creates time and space for his teammates. While navigating through the neutral zone and creating offensive zone entries, Vanhanen winds his way through, identifying quiet ice and working his way there with purpose, widening out and decelerating to pull opponents towards him and effectively opening up time and space for his teammates to fill lanes. He understands how to create and manipulate lanes, moving the puck outside his body to expose seams before making a play. Additionally, he expertly places pucks in areas where teammates can recover them, applying new information quickly as the play develops. Calculated delays frequently cause opponents to hesitate, which leaves passing lanes open for extended periods.
On the defensive side of the puck, Vanhanen plays with structure and efficiency. Constant scanning and quick processing allow him to evaluate the options of the opposing puck carrier. He consistently positions himself to neutralize threats, intercepting passes and cutting off plays through precise reads and exceptional timing. His sense and awareness away from the puck make him a player that coaches can trust in all situations. This reliability ensures that teammates can play with confidence, knowing there will be no missed assignments.
Quick Stick
Vanhanen’s defensive impact centers around a quick, active stick and the ability to strip pucks effectively. He possesses impeccable timing when disrupting plays, often baiting an opponent into believing a lane is open before quickly extending his reach to eliminate the option. This tactical approach makes him a consistent nuisance for opposing teams, as he generates turnovers from unlikely positions. When engaging a puck carrier, Vanhanen attacks at a proper angle to establish inside position. This positioning provides the perfect point of attack to utilize his quick stick and strip the puck. The technique with which he executes leads to Vanhanen either securing possession himself or placing the puck in an area where a teammate can successfully gain possession. He’s able to quickly turn situations where his team is defending into controlled possession, using his hockey sense to anticipate the play and understand how to efficiently cut it off. This combination of quick stick lifts and precision puck-stripping makes him a defensive threat across all three zones.
Puck Battles
Wall battles represent another area of excellence in Vanhanen’s game. He approaches board battles with the same cerebral, methodical disposition applied throughout his entire game. Every element of his competition for pucks is backed by purpose and thought, from his body positioning and leverage to the way he bumps opponents off the puck and makes deliberate plays to advance it once he secures possession. Vanhanen plays with determination and provides a consistent second effort on every puck. He regularly uses his body to protect pucks, purposefully initiating contact and adjusting his body position to maintain his inside position to shield the puck, keeping the opponent on his hip. Vanhanen’s high success rate in these battles allows him to drive play for his team by consistently killing opposition momentum and creating quick counter-strikes.
Small Area Plays
Vanhanen consistently makes plays that put his team in positive positions, often leaving a developing play in a better scoring situation than when he found it. He identifies seams and moves the puck across the midline, actively creating high-danger opportunities within the offensive zone. Exceptional processing ability allows him to deviate based on what the opposing defenders give him. He evaluates the body and stick positioning of opponents, making plays around them and placing pucks through lanes that defenders are not able take away.
Vanhanen makes intricate plays in all three zones, finding ways to drive play and help his team advance up the ice. He creates situations where he forces defenders to turn their focus to him, often using that to create passing lanes to advance the puck to his teammates. He makes difficult plays look easy, often pulling the puck in to execute passes across his body.
Vanhanen is a player whose impact becomes more apparent the longer you watch him. There isn't one elite tool that defines his game. Instead, it is the consistency of his decisions, his ability to process the game, his defensive awareness, the turnovers he creates, his success in puck battles and the way he consistently puts his team in better positions.
That is what makes his progression so interesting. One year after going completely unselected, Vanhanen became the 37th overall pick in the NHL Draft. His game gave teams enough reason to believe that the things he does well can translate to the next level.
The lesson from Vanhanen isn't that tools don't matter. They do. It's that tools are only part of the equation. What ultimately matters is how a player uses them to influence the game. There are players who look like NHL players. There are players who play like NHL players. Vanhanen's game is a good reminder to pay attention to the latter.
Chris Whalen
Chris Whalen is a Player Development Expert, Hockey Analyst and former OHL Executive with nearly a decade of experience in OHL Hockey Operations. Through executive management, scouting, video coaching and player development, Chris has built a career around analyzing the game and breaking down the decisions, habits and details that separate players at the next level.
Whales' Whiteboard is independent hockey analysis built from hours of video research, with the goal of helping fans see the game a little differently.
If you found this breakdown valuable, consider supporting Whales' Whiteboard. Your support helps Chris continue putting the time into the research, video analysis and detailed breakdowns that go into every article.
If you enjoyed it, buy Chris a coffee and help keep the Whiteboard going.