2025 Top 25 Under 25: Nela Lopušanová (20), Elisa Holopainen (19)
Next up in our Top 25 Under 25 is spots 20 and 19!
20: Nela Lopušanová
by Geremy
Jumping from honourable mention last year to 20th this year, Nela Lopušanová is just getting started on her ascent up the ladder of The Ice Garden's Top 25 Under 25 rankings. She’s the only player on this list headed into her U18 season, and though she's already built up quite the resume, I don’t even know if the sky is the limit for her. It’s understandable that Lopušanová, being a U18 player from Slovakia who's only spent two seasons in North America playing for the Bishop Kearney Selects, isn’t ready to pull a Chloe Primerano and join the University of Wisconsin in the NCAA in her U18 year. The anticipation might kill some people, though, as we’re all going to be waiting one more year to see Lopušanová against some of the best competition women’s hockey has to offer.
The level of anticipation the hockey world has for Lopušanová is rightfully very high. She first came onto the scene two years ago at the 2023 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, where she put up an astonishing 12 points in five games, nine of which were goals. Not only were they goals, they were highlight reel goals. The then-14-year-old from Slovakia had quickly made an impression on the entire hockey world. She was seeing her goals on TSN, which Canadians can confirm is quite the accomplishment. For Lopušanová’s efforts at the 2023 U18 Worlds, she was named the tournament’s Top Forward and MVP and named to the All-Star Team.
Slovakia wasn’t able to move out of Pool B, though. Sweden routed them 6-1 in the quarterfinal, though Lopušanová was able to score her iconic Michigan Goal in that game. However, at the 2024 U18 World Championship, the format had changed. Slovakia went from playing the eighth- to fifth-ranked teams in Pool B to a mix of teams featuring the USA (who had just won bronze in 2023) and Sweden (who had just won silver in 2023) in the new Pool B. It didn’t go well for Slovakia, and, understandably, a 15 year old Lopušanová couldn’t hero her team past the quarterfinals. But they only lost 2-0 this time to Finland.
This past season, Lopušanová made sure the hockey world did not forget the impeding doom she was going to bring upon opposing teams. She was stellar once again at Bishop Kearney, but it's internationally where she shined. Once again, at the 2025 World Championships, Slovakia faced the reigning silver (Czechia) and bronze (Canada) medalists in their Pool. They lost all three games but they went down swinging in every game. They were tied 2-2 with Canada going into the third period, and they were down 4-3 to Czechia going into the third period.
There’s really not much more Lopušanová could have done for her team. Slovakia finished with eight goals in three round-robin games, tying them for third in round robin goals with Czechia, behind only Canada and the USA. Lopušanová factored in on all eight goals, leaving the round robin with four goals and four assists. If a player plays a major role in every goal your team scores, there’s no way to criticize them. From there, the tournament went fine for Slovakia. They once again lost in the quarterfinals (9-1 to the USA) ,but won the relegation game to secure their spot for the 2026 U18 WJC. Lopušanová left disappointed but her performance once again earned her a spot on the tournament All-Star team and being named tournament MVP again!
The hype train didn’t stop there. Lopušanová made her senior team debut, first at the Olympic Qualifiers. They crushed Group D, winning all three games and scoring 37 goals. Lopušanová led the tournament in scoring with 18 points in three games. With an Olympic spot on the line in Group I in Germany, Slovakia fell short, with Lopušanová scoring zero points. You can either take that as a failure or learning experience, and Lopušanová took it as the latter.
With a chance at promotion to the top division of the IIHF World Championship, Slovakia finished third. They tied Denmark, who was promoted to the top division, in points! But because Slovakia lost 2-0 to Denmark, the world would have to wait another year to see if Lopušanová would get to play against the best the hockey world has to offer. Tune into the IIHF Division 1, Group A World Championship to see Slovakia make another attempt to join the best 10 teams in the world.
Too High/Too Low? One could nitpick about how her accolades stack up against players who play in the NCAA, play in the top division of the IIHF World Championship, and the value of making it to a medal game versus bowing out in the quarterfinals. At the end of the day, though, she still has two U18 IIHF World Championship MVP honors, with another U18 World Championship to go. I definitely wouldn’t go any higher, as she’s yet to break through at the senior level in a noticeable way, apart from one tournament against the 21st, 22nd, and 27th ranked teams. I’d have her a bit closer to the 25th or Honourable Mention spots, but 20th works just fine. She has immense potential and skill. This should be a year of her doing away with any questions left about her game.
19: Elisa Holopainen
by Giselle Velazquez
Finland’s Elisa Holopainen comes in at number 19 on the Top 25 under 25 list.
The 23-year-old finished last season on top after winning the championship in the SDHL with Frölunda. She also won Forward of the Year and Most Valuable Player, after scoring 24 goals and adding 21 assists for 45 points in 36 games. In the playoffs, she recorded 11 points in 11 games to help Frölunda sweep the finals and win their very first championship. Not bad for her first season in Sweden.
Holopainen is described as a finesse player and a sniper and you can easily tell by her shooting skills, but it’s also her speed that catches attention. She’s fast and she’s skilled and she’s sneaky getting in some shots from up close too!
Holopainen scoring against Switzerland during the Euro Hockey Tour on Aug. 30, 2025. Video via @sportsonmaxfi on X.
Internationally, Holopainen represents Finland. She played on the U18 team for three years before moving to the senior team, where she’s represented Finland for the last five IIHF Women’s World Championships. At the latest Women’s Worlds in April, Holopainen won her second straight Bronze medal and was named Top Three Player on Team. She helped the Finns to a comeback win against host Czechia in the bronze medal game, scoring two goals. Recently, she played a major role in Finland’s showing at the Euro Hockey Tour. The left-shot forward recorded seven points in three games, playing alongside two incredibly talented players in future PWHL Vancouver forward Michelle Karvinen and the Boston Fleet’s Susanna Tapani.
Holopainen scores against Czechia at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship on April 12, 2025. Video courtesy of the IIHF.
Before joining the SDHL, Holopainen played in her native Finland in the Aurora Liiga for seven years, where she racked up countless awards and honors. She won the league’s Best Forward award five straight times. She was also awarded the Best Player four times and was named to the league’s First All-Star team six seasons in a row.
At only 23, the future is still bright for Holopainen. She’s already won numerous accolades in the Aurora Liiga and lit up the SDHL in only her first season, while also dominating in international play. Already an Olympian in 2022, Holopainen should be a lock for the Olympic team once again, given her recent track record. If she continues with her scoring prowess, she’ll be making an appearance at the Milano-Cortina games in 2026, and perhaps we’ll see her in North America in the PWHL soon.
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