Eeli Tolvanen (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈeːli ˈtolʋɑnen]; born 22 April 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a right winger for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tolvanen was selected by the Nashville Predators 30th overall, in the 2017 NHL entry draft. He was born and grew up in Vihti, Finland.
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Playing career
Amateur
Tolvanen first played in his native Finland within the Kiekko-Espoo of the SM-sarja. Upon the 2015–16 season, Tolvanen opted to pursue a North American development path, choosing to play junior hockey for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League (USHL). During the season, he put up 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points, causing him to be selected by the Oshawa Generals in the 2016 OHL Import Draft. He would later commit to play collegiate hockey with Boston College on 13 June 2016.
Tolvanen would have a standout 2016–17 season with the Musketeers where he would stand eighth in the league in points (54), third in goals (30), and first in even-strength goals (24). Due to this, Tolvanen was selected as the 30th pick overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2017 NHL entry draft, where he was categorized by ESPN analyst Corey Pronman as "the steal of the draft." However, Tolvanen's collegiate aspirations were closed after his application was rejected by Boston College admissions due to an issue with his high school course credits on 22 June 2017.
Professional
Following two seasons in the USHL, Tolvanen started his professional career in July 2017 by agreeing to an optional two-year contract with the Finnish-based Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He scored his first career KHL hat trick in his season debut against Dinamo Minsk on 23 August 2017. Tolvanen subsequently became the youngest player to record a hat trick in KHL history at 18 years old. He would score his second career KHL hat trick on 25 September 2017 in his eleventh game of the KHL season against Vityaz. As a result of his outstanding play, Tolvanen claimed KHL Rookie of the Month honors in September and October. In October, Tolvanen had recorded five goals and four assists for nine points through 12 games and was selected to represent Finland at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He was also voted in by fans to play at the 2018 KHL All-Star Game. Tolvanen finished the regular season with 19 goals and 17 assists through 49 games to set a new KHL scoring record for players under the age of nineteen. The previous record was held by Evgeny Kuznetsov who scored 32 points in 44 games in the 2010–11 season. During the KHL playoffs, Tolvanen tallied six goals to tie Valeri Nichushkin for the KHL goalscoring record. After Jokerit were eliminated by CSKA Moscow in the quarterfinals, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators.
Upon signing his entry-level contract, Tolvanen made his NHL debut on 31 March 2018, in a 7–4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. He played 13:34 of ice time and recorded two shots on goal. He played three games with the Predators on their top line to help them finish the 2017–18 season.
Prior to the 2018–19 season, Tolvanen participated in the Predators' 2018 Development Camp and Prospect Showcase tournament. Tolvanen scored two goals in the tournament as the Predators rookies fell to the Washington Capitals prospects. He was then assigned to the Predators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, to start the 2018–19 season. Tolvanen recorded his first career AHL goal on 13 October against the Hershey Bears. By the end of November, Tolvanen had accumulated four goals and 11 points through his first 21 games. He also ranked ninth among all AHL rookies in shots on goal with 48 and tied for fourth on the team in points. As a result, he was recalled to the NHL level on 1 December. He subsequently made his season debut that night and scored his first career NHL goal against Cam Ward of the Chicago Blackhawks. Tolvanen became the 177th player in franchise history to score a goal for the team. He added one assist through the next three games before being reassigned to the Admirals on 13 December. Upon rejoining the team, he added one more point to tie for sixth on the Admirals before being loaned to the Finland national U-18 team. Tolvanen finished his rookie season with the Admirals with 15 goals and 35 points.
International play
Tolvanen was selected to represent Finland under-18 team at the 2016 World U18 Championships where he helped Finland win gold. The following years he played for Finland junior team in the 2017 and the 2018 World Junior Championships. Tolvanen was also selected to play for Finland senior team at the 2018 Winter Olympics. In his Olympic debut, he recorded four points to help Finland beat Germany 5–2. He ended the tournament with 9 points in 5 games.
During 2025 World Championship, Tolvanen played against his brother Atte, who has received Austrian citizenship. They were third pair of brothers who faced each other, following Robert and Martin Reichel as well as Larry and Steve Rucchin.
He represented Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics and won a bronze medal.
Personal life
Tolvanen is the youngest of three brothers, Joona and Atte, who all play ice hockey. Joona plays in the Finnish Mestis league, while the older Atte plays for EC Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian ICE Hockey League.