Kemell spent the bulk of his third professional season with the Milwaukee Admirals, where he posted 29 points in 48 games before a March recall to Nashville. The production in the AHL was not bad, but for a first-round pick now three full seasons removed from his draft year, the lack of a breakout is hard to ignore. His 19 assists ranked fourth on the Admirals, and he showed flashes of the shot that made him a Liiga Rookie of the Year winner, but his goal-scoring touch at the AHL level has not translated into volume. Nashville gave him 16 NHL games across the season, and the usage was modest, mostly under 12 minutes a night in a bottom-six role. A two-assist, plus-four outing against Anaheim in April hinted at what he could do with confidence and linemates, but those nights were exceptions. The skating still profiles well for a middle-six role, and the shot release is quick enough to project power play utility, but his physical engagement and defensive consistency have not earned coaches’ trust for extended looks. Pittsburgh acquired Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov while Nashville invested in other young forwards, so the path is there if Kemell demands it. Fantasy managers in deep leagues should hold, but temper expectations. A 30-to-40 point NHL season is the realistic ceiling at this stage, with most of that value coming from assists and second-unit power play time. The 2026-27 season is a prove it year on his final ELC campaign.

Kemell’s AHL season took a small step forward though he saw his AHL production remain stagnant, and his AHL shot rate decline. He’s asserting himself a little more in the play, but sometimes at the cost of his defense. That being said, he got into his first two NHL games, taking eight shots on net, which was a very promising start especially when one considers that his ice time averaged just 10:21. he also had four Hits, which shows how far he’s come. He played in the AHL All-Star Game and on October 26 he tallied five points in an AHL game against Chicago. He seems destined to be a second liner, and should see 15-20 games in the season ahead before making the jump to full time in 2026-27. –

Kemell’s first full AHL season has done nothing to diminish his prospect status. Among over 420 AHL skaters who have played at least 40 games to date, Kemell is one of only 5 to notch at least a hit, two shots on goal, and two-thirds of a point per game. He accomplished this skating only 16:20 ATOI. Kemell is on an entry-level slide, meaning Nashville will get an extra year of contract control if Kemell plays fewer than 10 games this year. Presumably that and Milwaukee’s Calder Cup run are the primary reasons to wait on calling Kemell up to the Preds.

Kemell returned from the World Juniors empty-handed as Team Finland was knocked out in the quarterfinals vs Team Sweden. While there, he managed four points in five games, tied for first on the team. He returned to JYP for the second half of the season and struggled to produce with a meager five points in his final 15 games and shot a paltry 6%. His fortunes would soon change once he was assigned to the AHL, where he exploded for 23 points in 28 games between the regular season and playoffs, buoyed by shooting over 20%. Likely to return to the AHL for a full season in 2023/24, he is primed to build off his outstanding start in North America, with the chance to get a few NHL games and an outside shot of sticking in the lineup if his production continues. What a steal at 17th overall.

Kemell is off to the World Junior Championship and is set to be one of the tournament’s top forwards. The Finnish forward could use this break from Liiga to hopefully rediscover his level of production from 2021-22. Kemell’s points-per-game has slipped from 0.59 to 0.42 this year. It doesn’t help to be on one of the lesser teams in Finland’s top league, but still, the downward trend in production is never a positive sign. A big WJC would be a huge confidence boost for Kemell.