Seattle Goes Crazy for a Sharp-Dressed Finn
By Miracle Lucketti, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Hockey has long favored conformity over individuality, but the NHL’s recently relaxed dress code allows fans a chance to see more of their favorite players’ personalities through their wardrobes. With this new freedom, many skaters are taking the opportunity to get a little flashy with it - including Seattle’s Eeli Tolvanen.
Seattle Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen on the “Blue Carpet” ahead of the team's 3-1 season-opening victory against the Anaheim Ducks on October 9th, 2025, at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
With fans and media alike taking to social media to recap (and roast) the best and worst walk-in looks of the week, Tolvanen has found himself, more often than not, in the best-dressed group. This comes as no surprise to Kraken fans, who have seen Tolvanen rock some killer dress-code-approved looks for years now. Still, it’s been fun to watch the rest of the NHL fanbase start to notice and appreciate his eye for fashion.
“It’s something that I’ve always liked,” Tolvanen said on his fashion journey. “I was really big on shoes, earlier on. It started with Nike Dunks, and I’ve kind of grown out of those now. Sometimes I like something [with a] little more personality.”
Though Tolvanen moved on from Dunks, his personality definitely still shines through. He favors streetwear, often sporting the winning combination of a cozy oversized sweater, wide-leg pants, a hat, and a statement jacket. Notably, this blue fuzzy-cardigan number that I cannot get enough of:
When asked if he models his style after anyone in particular, Tolvanen credits his fiancée: “She helps me a lot. She orders me a lot of stuff, sends it to me [online].” Online shopping seems the way to go for him, with Tolvanen adding that if he sees someone wearing a piece he likes online, he'll just hunt it down. Shopping just-because-you-feel-like-it is a ridiculously relatable mood, so it makes sense that Tolvanen told us his shopping trips are often impulsive, with him gravitating toward items that catch his eye rather than planning ahead.
Eeli doesn’t have a clear favorite walk-in look this season, but says, “There are a couple nice ones. One Prada jacket is pretty nice, I like that.” And while I’m not sure exactly which of the many amazing jackets he is referring to, I would be remiss not to take this opportunity to shout out my personal favorite walk-in jacket this season. Behold, this gorgeous purple, corduroy, Acne Studios number:
“I don’t go in for [anything] special. If I see a nice pair of shoes somewhere, I’m just gonna buy it.”
Even armed with all this background knowledge on his style journey, it still came as a surprise to me, while doing my due diligence for this piece, that the Finnish winger had a brief stint as a co-owner of a Scandinavian clothing brand called INTO. Founded by Tolvanen and his brothers in 2019, INTO focused mainly on hoodies, beanies, and some women’s tees. The brand became difficult to maintain due to the brothers living in different time zones and competing commitments, such as Tolvanen’s intense hockey schedule, especially during the COVID pandemic.
“Too much work during hockey season,” he said. “We all live in different time zones, too, so it was too hard to handle it, so it kind of fell off.” Asked if he’ll design again, Tolvanen quickly rejected the idea: “After that, probably not. I think it’s harder than you think, [to design] something nice. I think I’ll just, like, stay with some brands that have nice stuff, new collections, and all that.”
When we began this interview, Tolvanen jokingly told fellow Finn Kaapo Kakko to “take notes.” Naturally, that meant we had to end by asking about his teammate’s style. When presented with the hypothetical option to steal pieces from a teammate’s closet, Tolvanen gave us his top three: “Monty [Brandon Montour] has some nice jackets. Muzz [Josh Mahura], too. Monty has some more expensive stuff, and Muzz is more of the streetwear, but it’s all nice pieces. And Dunner [Vince Dunn] has a more, like, Italian vibe. I really like it; I think it looks good on them. I guess I’d [take a] couple pieces each.” Sorry, Kaapo.
As for which teammates’ wardrobes he would avoid, Tolvanen responded quickly, keeping it lighthearted. “Definitely, Matty [Beniers]. We can start with Matty.” He joked. “Wrighter [Shane Wright], Cats [Berkly Catton]... oh, Lars [Adam Larsson], too.” (He’s wrong there, but he's allowed his incorrect opinion). Tolvanen clarified his reasoning on Larsson: “Him and his Lululemon. I’m definitely staying away from that.”
“I think it’s way more fun to go buy some new brands and jackets than to go buy a new suit.”
With the Kraken well into the swing of the season, there has been no shortage of fans requesting Tolvanen’s walk-in photos on social media, asking to see “Tolvy’s fits,” and insisting that other fans start “giving him his flowers” for the looks. Fans can rest assured that Tolvanen doesn’t seem keen to slow down on the fashion front anytime soon, so the fits should keep on comin’. And while I'm looking forward to seeing how Eeli could possibly outdo himself as the season continues, I know that he’ll find a way.
Just, apparently, not in anything Lululemon.
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