Lenni Hämeenaho is the New Jersey Devils prospect closest to the NHL who is not already a regular. That is the simplest reason he ranks No. 4 in our 2026 Devils Prospect Rankings.
He has already played 33 NHL games. He has already scored in the league. He has already shown he can think the game at that speed. The question now is not whether he belongs in the organization. It is whether he belongs in the varsity lineup every night.
The criteria here favor skating, puck skills, hockey sense, compete, and defensive detail, then weigh production against age and league, trajectory, and realistic NHL projection. Proximity matters, but it does not override tools. Hämeenaho ranks this high because the tools and the proximity finally line up.
BackgroundBorn November 7, 2004 in Kajaani, Finland, Hämeenaho was selected 58th overall by the Devils in the 2023 NHL Draft. He spent three full seasons with Porin Ässät in Liiga and grew into a real pro scorer. The jump was steady: 21 points as an 18-year-old, 31 the next year, then 51 points in 58 games in 2024-25. That last season was the one that made the North American move feel overdue.
He signed a three-year entry-level contract on May 8, 2025. Training camp last fall was close. He made the opening-night roster on October 6, then was assigned to Utica a day later. The NHL debut came on January 19, 2026 in Calgary. Four days later he scored his first NHL goal against Vancouver. By the end of the year he had 8 points in 33 NHL games and 26 points in 37 AHL games.
He is 21, 6-foot-1, about 195 pounds, and shoots right. The contract runs through 2027-28.
The ToolsHockey sense is the foundation.
Hämeenaho finds space before the play arrives. He is not the fastest player on the ice and he does not need to be. He arrives on time, keeps his stick available, and makes the next play without forcing it. That is why he looked more comfortable in New Jersey as the season went along. The game did not shrink on him.
Puck skills are clean. He can receive in traffic, delay, and hit a teammate in stride. The finishing is real enough — he scored at a high rate in Liiga and produced at a point-per-game clip in limited AHL time — but it is not a one-trick shot. He scores because he is in the right place.
Skating is solid, not special. The stride is efficient. He can keep up in the NHL on a third line. He will not separate from top-pair defensemen in open ice. That puts a cap on the offensive ceiling and is the main reason he projects as a middle-six winger rather than a top-line driver.
Compete and defensive detail are better than the scoring line suggests. He backchecks, supports the puck, and does not disappear when the play turns around. In 33 NHL games he was not a liability. That matters more than the eight points when the question is whether he can stay in the lineup.
Production and TrajectoryThe Liiga years built the case. Three seasons against men, with production that rose every year, is a stronger foundation than most second-round wingers bring to North America. The 51-point season in 2024-25 was the proof of concept.
The first North American year was split, and that split is useful. In Utica he scored at a 0.70 points-per-game clip. In New Jersey he played 12:11 a night and put up eight points. The NHL numbers are modest. The context is not. He was not given power-play time. He was not sheltered into a pure offensive role. He was a 21-year-old winger learning the league in pieces.
The trajectory is still up. He looked strong in his first few NHL games and became even stronger as the days went on. Then he was sent back to the AHL and production never dried up. That is the profile of a player who can handle both levels, not a player who only works in one.
NHL ProjectionHämeenaho projects as a versatile middle-six winger. The best version drives play on the Devils third line, chips in 15 to 20 goals, and can slide up when injuries hit. The safer version is still an NHL regular — a complementary winger who thinks the game well enough to stay useful when the scoring is quiet.
That projection is why he sits above several higher-upside names. Alexander Command has the higher long-term floor at center. Mikhail Yegorov has the higher ceiling in net. Anton Silayev has the rarest tools. Hämeenaho is the one who can help the NHL roster this season.
He is still a Devils prospect under the rules used here: under 23, under 50 NHL games, not locked into a full-time role. Thirty-three games is experience. It is not graduation.
Is He Ready for a Full-Time Role?The honest answer is: almost.
He can play NHL games tomorrow without looking out of place. That is not the same as winning a job over a full 82-game schedule. The skating and strength still have to hold up against bigger, faster wingers every night. The scoring has to come more often than it did in those 33 games. The Devils lineup is not empty on the wings.
The most likely path is a real camp battle. If he has a strong September, he can open the year in New Jersey on the third or fourth line. If the roster is tight, he goes to Utica, plays 18 minutes, and waits for the first injury or slump. Neither outcome would be a disappointment. Both are consistent with a player who is on the NHL doorstep rather than already through it.
What to Watch in Devils CampThe wing jobs in New Jersey are not wide open. That is the real hurdle.
Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier are locked into the Devils top six. Anthony Mantha signed this summer to add size and finishing on the right side. Arseny Gritsyuk is coming off a 31-point rookie year and is expected to play in the top nine. Connor Brown and Dawson Mercer can both take wing minutes, and Mercer has already shown he can slide between center and the flank.
That leaves Hämeenaho fighting for the last middle-six or fourth-line wing spots. The most direct competition is Stefan Noesen — who knows the bottom-six role, can kill penalties and is just two seasons removed from scoring 22 goals — and Jesper Boqvist, who can play wing as well as center. Riley Tufte is another big body on the left who could steal a depth job if camp is about size and net-front work.
A few things will decide it:
- Does Hämeenaho create offense at even strength, or only look fine without the puck?
- Can he win board battles against NHL-sized wingers without losing the puck?
- Does the coaching staff trust him in the last five minutes of a close game?
- Can he beat out Noesen, Boqvist, or a bumped-down Brown/Mercer for one of the last wing seats?
If three of those four break his way, he makes the team. If they do not, Utica is still the right place for him to play real minutes.
VerdictHämeenaho will compete for a full-time NHL job in training camp. He has earned that look. The more likely outcome is that he starts the year in a bubble role — either a fourth-line spot in New Jersey or a top-line role in Utica with the first call-up ticket.
He is No. 4 because the sense, the professional background, and the NHL sample all point to a middle-six winger who can help soon. The title question is the right one. He is close enough that training camp will answer it.
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