This season was supposed to be Aron Kiviharju's revenge tour.

Once heralded as the most talented defenceman of the 2024 draft class, Kiviharju's draft year saw his stock continuously sink, with little he could do about it. He played just seven regular-season games before suffering a knee injury in practice, which kept him on the sidelines for over six months.

While he returned to action just in time for the U18 Worlds, the circumstances were far from ideal. It's not all that surprising that his third appearance at the event ended up being arguably his weakest.

Many still expected to hear Kiviharju's name during the first two rounds of the draft, but ultimately, 121 players were selected before the Minnesota Wild decided to take a chance on the Finnish blueliner.

Now, with a healthy summer unde