Capitals Draft Oliver Suvanto 18th Overall

With the 18th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals have selected Oliver Suvanto from Tappara Tampere of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

About Suvanto

Suvanto’s draft stock lies in his size and speed. He has a rare combination of a massive frame (6-foot-3, 207 pounds) and elusiveness with his skates. The fact that he played quality minutes for Tappara as a 17-year-old center and held his own says a lot about his potential.

Suvanto had two goals and nine assists through 48 games, and he had a plus-3 rating. He showed great defensive instincts, with a long reach and speedy skating allowing him to choose lanes well and intercept passes. He has the feel of a good shutdown center in the league.

The questions will come with his offense. While he has good offensive instincts and good puck-handling skills, he didn’t generate many scoring chances last season. He is hard to stop when he generates momentum, but he doesn’t have super explosive strides either.

Still, Suvanto is a very interesting draft prospect because of his size and speed combination. The Capitals have a lot of time to develop him. They got this pick via the John Carlson trade, and they’re hoping Suvanto is another prospect that will bloom in their system.

THW Prospect Profile Excerpt

Suvanto is a huge, young center. At 17, he’s one of the youngest skaters eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft. In Finland, he’s part of a rare breed of skaters who skipped Tappara U-20 to play in Liiga full-time. He has the talent for it. His combination of size, speed, and resiliency on his feet could make him an elite two-way center in the NHL.

He is also able to get into great positions with the puck to find opportunities on the forecheck. He’s shown the ability to move the puck past defensive sticks for great assists, especially with passes off the half-wall. He’ll need to improve his passing into the slot, in the middle of the ice, and choosing the right pass vs. the flashy one.

How This Affects the Capitals’ Plans

The Capitals just traded away Connor McMichael to the Blues in the Jordan Kyrou trade. While some have felt they needed a defenseman, especially on the left-hand side, Suvanto was the best player available. They’ve developed McMichael, Ryan Leonard, and Aliaksai Protas as center draft picks over the years, and they revived Dylan Strome’s career after diminishing results with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Suvanto has earned comparisons to Aleksander Barkov due to his defensive game and his size and speed combination, and his defensive game should translate well to the NHL. I could see him eventually becoming a middle-six forward for Washington and the top center on their penalty kill, which ranked 14th last season (80.2% penalty kill percentage). He fills a big need for Washington.