Mikko Rantanen, who plays for TPS in Finland's top professional league, could turn out to be the next star Finnish forward to enter the NHL.
The last Finnish-born forward to be selected among the top 10 at an NHL draft was center Aleksander Barkov by the Florida Panthers at No. 2 at the 2013 draft. The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Rantanen won't go that high at the 2015 NHL Draft, which will be held June 26-27 at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., but it won't take much longer for his name to be called.