Chicago Steel add Finnish forward Niklas Helppi for 2026-27 roster

Chicago Steel added another long-term piece to their 2026-27 roster plan when Niklas Helppi’s move from Kärpät U18 became official, giving Geneva a 6-foot-3 Finnish forward with real scoring numbers and room to grow. The July 13 transaction was more than a routine roster update. It was another sign that Chicago is building ahead, not just filling spots.

The Steel already knew Helppi well before the move was confirmed. Chicago took him 109th overall in the seventh round of the 2026 USHL Draft, and its May 5 draft recap framed him as a 6-foot-3 forward from Finland who produced 53 points in 41 games for Kärpät U18, with 22 goals and 31 assists. He added 10 playoff points in 12 games, the kind of postseason output that matters when a junior club is trying to project which late-round picks can become more than depth pieces. At 190 centimeters and 90 kilograms, Helppi brings a junior frame that fits the Steel’s preference for players who can handle pace without giving away reach.

Helppi’s profile goes beyond the box score. Elite Prospects lists him as a left-shot forward born April 20, 2009, in Oulu, and his 2025-26 junior international line includes 13 Finland U17 games with two goals and two points. Finnish coverage on Jan. 27 described him as a driver on Kärpät’s effective line while he sat near the top of the U18 SM-sarja scoring race behind Jokerit’s Akseli Virtanen. On March 30, he turned in a semifinal hat trick, another marker that he was producing when the games tightened and the spotlight sharpened.

That matters for Chicago’s broader build. The Steel’s 2026 Phase II draft class totaled 13 selections, and the organization has been stacking young talent while preparing for a larger stage. The USHL has already said Chicago will move into an expanded Fifth Third Arena after the 2025-26 season, and the league’s 2026-27 schedule begins with the 11th annual USHL Fall Classic in Chicago from Sept. 16-20, 2026, where the Steel are set to play their first game in USG Arena. The league also enters its 25th season as USA Hockey’s only Tier-I junior league, a backdrop that makes every import and every draft pick part of a longer runway.

Helppi fits that model cleanly: drafted, productive, big enough to translate, and young enough to develop with the club’s next identity instead of being asked to solve everything immediately. Chicago is betting that the Finnish forward’s scoring touch and frame will age well in North American junior hockey, and the early paper trail says the Steel were already convinced enough to keep him in the plan.