Golden Knights sign first-round pick to entry level contract
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
The Vegas Golden Knights are showing a tremendous amount of faith in their first-round pick.
On June 15, Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced that they had signed first-round pick defenseman Juho Piiparinen to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Drafting Piiparinen was the result of the Golden Knights’ wheeling and dealing in June, after the team traded forward Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers and made subsequent deals with the Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks before adding the defenseman with the 29th overall pick.
Piiparinen impressed during his draft year, working his way through the junior ranks in his native Finland before landing with Tappara in Liiga, the top hockey league in the county. He played 29 games with the club, recording three assists and a +6 rating. Piiparinen would also represent Finland at the 2026 World Junior Championship, notching an assist and a +6 rating in six games.
He skated with the rest of the Golden Knights’ prospects during the team’s development camp in June.
“It was a great moment for me,” said Piiparinen in June about being drafted by the Golden Knights. “I wasn’t expecting that Vegas would draft me, but I’m really honored about their trust in me as a player and as a person too that they’re drafting…It’s an honor to be a part of this organization.”
