[3] Vanhanen joined the youth department of Tappara hockey club in Tampere, a neighboring municipality some 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Nokia, ahead of the 2018–19 season.

In the D1 AAA preliminary series (alkusarja), she ranked sixth of all Tappara Musta players for scoring, with 10 points in 16 games, and tied for third in team assists, with 7.

During the 2021–22 season, she played in the U16 SM-sarja with the men's under-16 team of Tappara and on loan with the Tampereen Ilves Naiset in the Naisten Liiga (NSML; rebranded as Auroraliiga in 2024).

[7] She joined the Finnish national under-18 team in the 2019–20 season, playing in nineteen international matches in addition to competing at the 2020 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, where Finland finished fourth.

National team head coach Pasi Mustonen described her as a player with "absolutely tremendous potential" and identified her adaptability as a key attribute that led to her selection.