Geographically and topographically (not to mention culturally), one would be hard-pressed to think of a more stark contrast between Finland and Iowa.

Yet, that’s exactly the seismic shift in surroundings that Pittsburgh Penguins 2024 draft pick Joona Vaisanen underwent.

The 19-year-old defenseman, chosen in the sixth round (No. 175 overall), grew up in Espoo, bordering Finland’s capital of Helsinki, but this past season, made his way to Dubuque, Iowa, to play in the United States Hockey League (USHL).

To say that Vaisanen brushed off the challenges of making such a significant move across the globe would be an understatement.

“Honestly, it wasn’t that hard,” he said. “Dubuque was a nice town, (I had a) good billet family over there, so they made me feel like home and helped me a lot like that. I was really happy with that.”

In his first year of North American hockey, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound blueliner contributed nine goals and 31 assists for the Fighting Saints, helping the club to a 41-13-3 record, best in the Eastern Conference.

After capturing the USHL Eastern Conference title, Vaisanen and Dubuque advanced to the Clark Cup before falling to the Fargo Force.

Vaisanen captured All-USHL first-team honors for the year and, over the winter, represented Finland at the World Junior Championship.

Another look at Joona Vaisanen’s goal as @fightingsaints pull within one. #ClarkCupPlyoffs | @WMUHockey pic.twitter.com/bPzfw9bPhA

— USHL (@USHL) May 11, 2024

Vaisanen, a right-handed shot who is preparing to begin collegiate competition at Western Michigan, found many positives in the aftermath of his debut campaign at Dubuque.

“First few months were a little hard adapting to the North American style of game, but just having a good coaching staff in front of me was really important to develop my game more,” he said. “They gained that trust in me and let me play my own game. I think I just found that new step in my game and it worked really well.”

One such coach Vaisanen developed a relationship with was none other than Kirk MacDonald, newly-named head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Joining the organization less than two weeks before the 2024 NHL Draft, MacDonald was able to feed insights about Vaisanen’s game to the Penguins’ scouting department, who made him one of their six picks this year.

With Vaisanen earning an invitation to the Penguins’ annual development camp in Cranberry last weekend, he was able to reunite with MacDonald.

“It was pretty awesome to hear his name called by us, and I think that he’s a guy (who’s) a great skater, can move the puck, whose defending is a little underrated, in my opinion,” MacDonald said. “He did a great job for us last year.”

Suffice to say, Vaisanen made an impression on MacDonald over their lone season together at Dubuque.

“Great work ethic. He didn’t wear a letter for us in Dubuque, but he was a great leader for us. He’s a first-year player, so (I) didn’t know him coming in, but I’ve got nothing but good things to say about him. I think he’s got a bright future. I think it was a pretty good pick in the late rounds.”

Vaisanen is not a name fans should anticipate seeing anytime soon in a Penguins sweater.

That said, Vaisanen turning professional and inking an entry-level contract with the Penguins, as his draft class mate Tanner Howe did Wednesday, could be closer on the horizon.

With his official joining of the Penguins organization likely still a ways in the future, Vaisanen looks to take the next step of his hockey career at Western Michigan.

As he prepares to enter the college ranks with the Broncos, Vaisanen has an idea of what’ll come next for him in terms of continuing to evolve as a defenseman.

“I think I’m a strong skater and good at moving the puck, so I think that’s what I emphasize in my game and I’d like to improve those more,” Vaisanen said. “There’s still some things I need to improve on and make me way better.

“I think I need to get way stronger and more powerful off the ice, with a few things on the ice, too. That’s going to develop me way more.”

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