Joki followed his draft year with a real men’s league season, playing 40 Liiga games for Lukko at 18 and producing 12 points with regular fourth-line duty in Rauma. Development camp showed how much that environment accelerated him. He was calm, patient, and noticeably mature all week, and the tough reception drills were where it showed most: pucks off the foot, pucks out of the air, catch-and-spin sequences, all handled with clean mechanics and no panic. He skated in a group with Dylan Hryckowian and Emil Hemming and did not look out of place next to two of the most pro-ready forwards in camp. Tracking him across the full year, the growth is significant. The pressure of playing against men has settled his decision-making, and he consistently takes the best available option instead of the fastest one. His fantasy profile is still a slow build, a two-way center whose production follows his role. The number to watch is his 2026-27 Liiga deployment, specifically whether Lukko moves him up the lineup and onto a power-play unit in his draft-plus-two season.

Joki has completed a full Liiga season as an 18-year-old center with Lukko, and the returns match what Dallas was buying at 146th overall: a long-runway, two-way pivot with an NHL frame. Through 39 games at the time of his midseason interview, he had four goals and eight assists for 12 points while earning the Red Bull Läpimurto helmet (awarded to the team’s top-scoring U20 player) in multiple outings. The scoring rate is modest by CHL standards but meaningful in Liiga, where an 18-year-old center logging regular shifts, killing penalties, and finishing checks against pros in their late twenties is doing real developmental work. His international profile grew at the 2026 World Junior Championship in St. Paul, where Finland named him to the 25-man roster alongside Lukko teammate Leo Tuuva. He scored one of the more memorable goals of the tournament in the semifinal against Sweden, threading a wrist shot through the legs of a shot-blocking defenseman and beating Love Harenstam to tie the game 1-1. Finland ultimately fell in a marathon 13-round shootout and settled for bronze. The WJC minutes confirmed what the Liiga tape already showed: Joki processes the game quickly, positions himself to finish off sequences (rebounds, back-door plays, one-touch releases), and competes physically at a level that earns trust in shutdown situations. The ceiling is not flashy. He is not going to drive a power play or generate highlight-reel offense. But the combination of size (6-2, 201 pounds), center eligibility, penalty kill value, and a deft finishing touch from the inside makes him a projectable bottom-six NHL center with long development runway. Dallas can afford to let him cook in Rauma for another season or two before bringing him to Cedar Park. For fantasy, he is a deep-league stash only, with upside limited to peripheral value in hits-and-faceoff formats. — Andrew Epps

Joki has turned his Lukko U20 breakout into a real Liiga job. He made Lukko out of camp and has produced three goals and nine points in his first 23 Liiga games, a solid return for an 18-year-old center in a depth role. NHL.com’s Finnish feature notes that he is already trusted at five-on-five and on the penalty kill, where he leans into his physical game and has no problem finishing heavier checks. Jatkoaika recently highlighted him as one of the pleasant surprises of Lukko’s season, sitting just behind fellow youngster Leo Tuuva on the team scoring list among the kids.

Known to play a simple and effective game, Joki always seems to be in the right spots – whether to facilitate or make use of his deft shot.

Selected 146th overall, Atte Joki is now a member of the Dallas Stars.

Players from Finland tend to need eye-popping numbers to get drafted, especially high – and Joki does not have that. What he does have is a very long runway and an interesting set of tools as an intelligent, 6-2, 201-pound centre. Dallas and Jim Nill have no problem taking things slowly and developing players appropriately.