She is serving as a captain of the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey program during the 2024–25 season.

[3][4] As a junior player with the Finnish national under-18 team, she participated in the IIHF U18 Women's World Championships in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

[9] She recorded one assist in seven games as Finland won the first World Championship silver medal in team history.

Laitinen's older brother, Villi (born 1999), is a professional ice hockey defenseman in the Finnish Liiga.

[12] At a pre-Olympic press conference in January 2022, she confirmed that she was in a relationship with NHL player Jesperi Kotkaniemi.