Vilen’s offensive numbers dipped slightly in his second full AHL season, finishing with 24 points in 58 games after posting 29 the year before; however, fortunately for him, his value is not necessarily tied to point totals. Vilen’s calling card remains his defensive reliability. He is logging 20 minutes a night for Utica and seeing time on both special teams, showing the organization trusts him in all situations. While his ceiling is likely capped as a third-pair or depth option, Vilen brings poise in transition, penalty-kill utility, and steady puck movement. For a Devils team with eyes on playoff runs, those traits make him a legitimate depth candidate.

Vilén has been injured until recently, but he has developed some more tools over the past year or so that make his offensive projection a bit more positive. His shot is still underutilized and underrated, and his playmaking ability has taken strides in the last season. Defense is still his bread and butter, with an active stick and strong awareness of when to lay the body, but there might be more to his two-way game than originally anticipated.

Vilen seemed a bit hit-or-miss to start the 2023-24 season in the AHL but found more consistency in the second half of the season with Utica. He’s projected as a bottom-four, defense-minded defenseman in the NHL at his best.

After what I felt were mixed results in the preseason for Vilen, he’s quickly turned it around in Utica, moving up fron the bottom-pair to the first-line in only a few games, Vilen has shown strong offensive awareness and looks quicker and more alert on the ice. His NHL upside didn’t seem so projectable to start this year but there looks to be hints of bottom-four potential if he continues on his current pace. – Austin Kelly

Vilén has been exceeding all expectations this season with Pelicans, as he’s already scored 10 points in 21 games, which is almost double his last season’s total (in 50 games). He’s got a lot bigger role with the team and some PP time on the blue line in his team’s 2nd PP unit. He’s been developing his offensive and on-puck game a lot, and will likely be one of Finland’s leading defenders in the upcoming World Juniors.