Oilers sign top European defenseman Atro Leppänen to entry-level contract
The Edmonton Oilers announced Sunday that the club has signed Finnish defenseman Atro Leppänen to a one-year entry-level contract for 2025-26, adding one of the top European free agents heading into next season.
Through 60 games with Vaasan Sport in Finland’s first division in 2024-25, the 26-year-old led Liiga scoring with 21 goals and 42 assists for 63 points, breaking a 46-year-old all-time Liiga record for a blueliner. Meanwhile, his 42 assists led all defensemen, with 21 goals ranking second in the category.
It was only in 2023-24 that the six-foot, 183-pound Leppänen made his way into Finland’s top league, previously playing a standout role as a young blueliner in the second division Metsis, where he played with KeuPa HT and Kiekko-Espoo before making the step up after joining Vaasan Sport.
🚨 Atro Leppänen iskee ja tarraa vahvasti kiinni Liigan pistepörssin voittoon! 💪
📺 @MTVUrheilu | #Liiga #VaasanSport pic.twitter.com/Xgwem7eAgP
Through his two seasons in Liiga, the left-handed defenseman played 115 games, scoring 33 goals and 91 points. Outside of his record-setting offensive output in 2024-25, he also earned the Liiga Player of the Month award twice and the Lasse Oksanen Award, given to the best player from the regular season.
Leppänen becomes the fifth player to sign an entry-level contract with the Oilers this spring, joining goaltenders Nathaniel Day and Samuel Jonsson of the Flint Firebirds and Bofors IK, as well as Ohio State Buckeyes defenseman Damien Carfagna and German League forward Josh Samanski of the Straubing Tigers.
Although they’ve made signings for 2025-26, the Oilers remain focused on their final three games of the 2024-25 season before taking on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, hoping to make a deep run after a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
For the fourth straight season, Edmonton—currently third in the Pacific Division—will face the LA Kings in the first round of the postseason.