Topias Vilen

Growing up in Lahti, Topias Vilén began skating at four and came through the Pelicans' system alongside his older brother Elias, who nudged him into playing defence during childhood floor‑hockey games. He climbed the club ladder quickly and made his professional debut for Lahti's SM‑Liiga team on 18 February 2020 at just 16 years old, then signed a contract extension with the Pelicans in April 2020 to continue his development at home.

In 2020–21 Vilén split time between Finland's top league and the second tier, notching his first SM‑Liiga goal on 30 October 2020 and appearing in 35 Liiga games overall. The New Jersey Devils selected him 129th overall in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, but he remained in Finland and extended his Pelicans deal through 2023 to secure more senior minutes.

New Jersey signed him to a three‑year entry‑level contract on 12 May 2022, while loaning him back to Lahti for the 2022–23 campaign. After helping the Pelicans reach the Liiga finals in 2023, Vilén moved to North America and debuted in the AHL with the Utica Comets on 3 May 2023 in a playoff game versus the Toronto Marlies. Assigned to Utica for 2023–24, he recorded his first AHL points with two assists on 27 October 2023, spent time with ECHL affiliate Adirondack following an injury assignment on 24 November 2023, and produced his first ECHL goal on 3 January 2024 and his first AHL goal on 15 January 2024 in a 5–4 overtime loss to the Syracuse Crunch.

Comets coach Kevin Dineen highlighted Vilén's skating and passing as strengths while noting early challenges in puck retrieval and applying pressure—areas the defenceman improved as the season progressed until he became a regular, heavy‑minute option for Utica. He suffered an upper‑body injury during a Devils preseason game on 30 September 2024 but was activated and sent back to Utica on 29 October; he finished that season with one goal and 24 points in 58 games. After more time with the Comets in 2025–26, Vilén made his NHL debut for the Devils on 12 April 2026, skating just over 12 minutes in a 4–3 win over Ottawa, and was re‑signed by New Jersey to a one‑year, two‑way contract on 29 July 2026.

Internationally, Vilén has represented Finland from the under‑16 level upward and served as an alternate captain on several occasions, including at the 2021 World U18 Championship and the 2023 World Junior Championship. He is a mobile, puck‑moving defenceman who relies on skating and distribution while continuing to develop the physical and retrieval aspects of his game.