The Minnesota Wild are considered to have one of the better prospect pools in the NHL. Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club’s top 30 prospects. Every player on the list will be 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Wild or are on AHL or NHL deals and have played less than 40 NHL games.
#23 Sebastian Soini, RHD
Age: 18
Shoots: Right
Height: 6'2''
Weight: 187
Contract: Unsigned
Draft: 2024 Fifth Round (140)
Last Year's Rankings: Not Ranked
Projection: AHL top-six defenseman who could receive NHL games as a bottom pair defender.
The Wild drafted Sebastian Soini in the fifth-round of this year's NHL Draft right after they took Aron Kiviharju, another Finnish defender. Both of them will be on team Finland for the upcoming World Juniors Tournament and both will be big pieces of it.
Soini, 18, is a big right-shot defenseman, something the Wild don't have much of in their prospect pool. He is mobile on his feet and sees the ice pretty well.
The 6-foot-2 defender played pro last year in the Liiga and in the Mestis on a loan. He had one assist in six games in the Liiga and eight assists in 32 games in the Mestis, which is Finland's equivalent to the AHL.
Some rankings had Soini being taken in the late third round or somewhere in the fourth, but the Wild were able to get Soini in the early parts of the fifth round.
He projects to be a bottom-pairing defender who will take some time to develop. A couple seasons in the Liiga and possibly the AHL and Soini could play some NHL games for the Wild down the road.
His frame is already pro ready, so to speak, but he will also mature and grow into his body a bit more which will help his physical game. Soini will be an interesting prospect to follow, especially at the upcoming World Juniors.
