Blue Jackets sign Oiva Keskinen to entry-level contract

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Friday that the club has signed center Oiva Keskinen to a three-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Keskinen, 21, was originally chosen by the Blue Jackets in the seventh round of the 2023 NHL Draft.

Through 59 games this season with Tappara Tampere of the top-tier Finnish league, Keskinen finished with 15 goals and 20 assists to rank fifth in team scoring with 35 points coupled with 26 penalty minutes and a minus-four mark. In all, through two seasons with Tappara, Keskinen has totaled 113 appearances in which he has collected 22 goals and 40 assists for 62 points, underscored by a championship run coming in his freshman campaign.

Beyond his time at the pro level, Keskinen has also seen success in international competition, most recently at the 2024 World Junior Championship where through seven games with his native Finland he finished with five points counting two goals and three assists.

In all, Keskinen is the sixth player to sign his entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets in recent weeks, joining Saskatoon Blades goaltender Evan Gardner, Northeastern Huskies forward Jack Williams, Tri-City Americans defenseman Charlie Elick, North Dakota Fighting Hawks defenseman Caleb MacDonald, and Providence Friars defenseman Guillaume Richard.

For the Blue Jackets, the club closed out the 2024-25 regular season with a 40-33-9 record, two points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the second wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. In all, it marked the fifth consecutive spring in which the Blue Jackets did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Following the outcome of the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery, the Blue Jackets are slated to select 14th overall in the upcoming NHL Draft. Last summer, the Blue Jackets chose Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cayden Lindstrom with the fourth-overall selection.