Lassi Thomson

Lassi Thomson (born 24 September 2000) is a Finnish professional ice hockey who plays as a defenceman for HC Lugano in the Swiss National League. He was selected 19th overall by the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the first round of the 2019 NHL entry draft. He has also previously played for Ilves in Finland and the Malmö Redhawks in Sweden.

Playing career Amateur Thomson played minor ice hockey in Ilves's development system in Finland. In June 2018, he was selected by the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) 53rd overall in the Canadian Hockey League's 2018 import draft. On loan from Ilves, Thomson made his WHL debut in the 2018–19 season and scored 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points. The Rockets finished in a tie with the Kamloops Blazers for the final WHL playoff spot. The two teams played a one-off tiebreaker game to determine the team which would move on. Kamloops won the game 5–1, knocking Kelowna out of playoff contention.

Professional Ilves Thomson decided to return to Ilves for the 2019–20 season, and signed a two-year contract with an option year. In his first professional season in Liiga, Thomson appeared in 39 games, scoring seven goals and 13 points. In the following pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season Thomson returned to Ilves to start the season. On 15 July 2019, Thomson was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Senators. He joined Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Belleville Senators, during the 2020–21 season and made 35 appearances, tallying one goal and 13 points. Thomson made his NHL debut on 11 November, with the Senators in a 2–0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings after being recalled the same day from Belleville due to a breakout of COVID-19 in the team. He recorded his first NHL point in the following game on 13 November on an assist in a 6–3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was returned to Belleville on 8 December, after playing in eleven games. He was recalled for one game on 1 January 2022, against the Toronto Maple Leafs and then called up again on 25 January. He finished the season playing in 16 games for the Senators, tallying five points (all assists). In 44 games with Belleville, he added ten goals and 26 points. At the beginning of the 2022–23 season, Thomson was assigned to Belleville. He was recalled by Ottawa on 22 November 2022. He was immediately slotted into the roster alongside Nick Holden in the 24 November game versus the Vegas Golden Knights, giving up a goal in the third period. He played one more game before being sent back to Belleville. While with Belleville, Thomson suffered an upper-body injury in December that kept him out for 11 games. He finished the season with seven goals and 33 points in 56 games with Belleville. However, Anaheim waived Thomson again one week later, and he was subsequently reclaimed by the Senators. He was then assigned to Belleville after no other team put in a claim. Thomson played out the 2023–24 season in Belleville, registering six goals and 21 points through 67 regular season games. He helped Belleville make it to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time in team history, but was surpassed by other prospects. In five playoff games, he added two assists. In 50 games with Malmö, Thomson scored 17 goals and 29 points. The Redhawks made the SHL playoffs and in eight playoff games, he marked three goals and four points. He started the 2025–26 season with Belleville after going unclaimed but was recalled by Ottawa on 19 November after defenceman Thomas Chabot suffered an injury and the team was going on a seven-game West Coast road trip. He did not play however, and was returned to Belleville on 22 November. On 14 March 2026, he was recalled again, but in his first appearance after being called up on 24 March against the New York Rangers, he was injured in the second period. He returned to the lineup on 28 March and registered his first point of the season on 31 March, assisting on a goal by Michael Amadio in a 6–3 loss to the Florida Panthers. He finished the season with three assists in 11 games with Ottawa and 14 goals and 25 points in 55 appearances with Belleville. However, the Senators were swept in the first round by the Hurricanes. Thomson went scoreless in his only game.

International play

Thomson won a gold medal with Finland's Under-18 team at the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships. He was successful in making the team the following year in 2020 and was named the team's captain going into the 2020 World Junior Championship. In seven games in the tournament, he tallied three assists.

Personal life Thomson's father is Scottish.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2017–18 Ilves U20 SM-sarja 49 12 15 27 44 — — — — — 2018–19 Kelowna Rockets WHL 63 17 24 41 40 — — — — — 2019–20 Ilves Liiga 39 7 6 13 12 — — — — — 2020–21 Ilves Liiga 18 0 2 2 4 — — — — — 2020–21 Belleville Senators AHL 35 1 12 13 12 — — — — — 2021–22 Belleville Senators AHL 44 10 16 26 54 2 0 0 0 0 2021–22 Ottawa Senators NHL 16 0 5 5 2 — — — — — 2022–23 Belleville Senators AHL 56 7 26 33 28 — — — — — 2022–23 Ottawa Senators NHL 2 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 2023–24 Belleville Senators AHL 67 6 15 21 56 5 0 2 2 2 2024–25 Malmö Redhawks SHL 50 17 12 29 26 8 3 1 4 10 2025–26 Belleville Senators AHL 55 14 11 25 54 — — — — — 2025–26 Ottawa Senators NHL 11 0 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 Liiga totals 57 7 8 15 16 — — — — — SHL totals 50 17 12 29 26 8 3 1 4 10 NHL totals 29 0 8 8 6 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2018 Finland U18 7 0 2 2 2 2020 Finland WJC 4th 7 0 3 3 8Junior totals 14 0 5 5 10

Awards and honours Award Year WHL West Second All-Star Team 2019