When the Seattle Kraken drafted Julius Miettinen No. 40 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, they selected him for his size and his ability to impose himself in the offensive zone.
Though he plays with a lot of intensity on the ice, off the ice he couldn’t be further from that. With a beaming smile, the Kraken are getting one of the brightest, most charming personalities in the WHL.
The 20-year-old from Helsinki, Finland, has enjoyed plenty of success this season with the Everett Silvertips. He has 26 goals, 38 assists, and a plus-51 rating, including a hat trick and two assists last night, Feb. 27, against the Kamloops Blazers. His five-point performance marked a WHL career high.
CONFIRMED: Julius Miettinen LOVES scoring goals 😍@SeattleKraken | @WHLsilvertips pic.twitter.com/tvnGswXN5a
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 28, 2026
Now, in what is likely his final season with the Tips before turning pro, Miettinen is looking to lead the franchise to its first WHL championship in team history. He’s focused on leading his team by dominating in tight areas.
“Just small details that the pro game needs you to have. Those are what I’ve been focusing on right now because the jump (to the pros) is gonna be hard,” Miettinen said. “Now I feel like I’m so much better than I was. And I mean, just everything you do as a center affects the game so much.”
Miettinen played in his second World Junior Championship in Minnesota. While wearing an A, he had two goals and two assists in six games, helping lead the team to a silver medal.
“It was awesome,” Miettinen said. “To be there with the Finnish guys as a second-year player, and having that first-year experience under your belt, helped so much.”
According to Miettinen, the Kraken have been paying close attention, monitoring his development ahead of the jump to the pros. He’s worked on his skating and edge work over the last two seasons since being drafted.
He has been in a locker room filled with NHL talent over the past four seasons, including former Silvertips captains Austin Roest and Ben Hemmerling. He named those players as guys who made the jump to the pros and lead by example.
“New place, new guys, new team — that’s always a jump. But I try to live in the moment,” Miettinen said. “It’s cool to see guys live their dreams. Not a lot of guys get the chance to do that. But from their last years, just seeing how they do things, like the life they live — you gotta be a pro.”
Plus, playing with that Landon DuPont guy has been pretty cool, too.
“That guy’s just unbelievable at everything he does,” Miettinen said. “He is so mature. I wouldn’t believe he’s 16 if I didn’t know. How he practices, how he treats his body — it’s just unbelievable. Just everything he does, he’s a pro.”
It’s been an incredible year for the green and white once again. At 47-7-2-1 with 97 points and first place in the Western Conference, they sit a staggering 36 points ahead of the second-place team in the U.S. Division.
The Silvertips seem to be well on their way to another deep playoff run with Miettinen at the helm. The team has fallen short in prior years, but this year feels more promising to him.
“Every year is a new year. You have a different team, different guys with you. But I feel like this year is different. I don’t know how many games we’ve been trailing in the last period, and then we just find a way to come back and win the games.
From the experience of last year, we know what it’s like. We know it’s a battle. It’s one game at a time. We’ve got to focus on the little details. One shift might change the whole season.”
Photo Courtesy of Evan Morud and the Everett Silvertips
Great article and story of a possible successful big piece of the team’s future.
Go Kraken!!!