Aleksi Saarela

Last updated

Aleksi Saarela
Aleksi Saarela (48039020172).jpg
Saarela with the Charlotte Checkers in 2019
Born (1997-01-07) 7 January 1997 (age 27)
Helsinki, Finland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NL team
Former teams		 SCL Tigers
Lukko
Ässät
Carolina Hurricanes
Florida Panthers
NHL Draft 89th overall, 2015
New York Rangers
Playing career 2013–present

Aleksi Saarela (born 7 January 1997) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). He was originally selected 89th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers.

Contents

Playing career

Saarela made his SM-liiga debut playing with Lukko during the 2012–13 SM-liiga season. [1] On 28 February 2016, the rights to Saarela, along with a 2016 second-round draft pick and a 2017 second-round draft pick, were traded from the New York Rangers to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Eric Staal. [2] [3]

In the 2015–16 season, Saarela led Porin Ässät with 20 goals and finished third in overall scoring with 33 points in 51 games. On 20 April 2016, he signed a one-year contract to return to his original club, Lukko, on a one-year contract. [4] Under two months later, on 13 June 2016, Saarela was then signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. [5]

On 3 January 2018, Saarela was recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes from the Charlotte Checkers prior to a game with the Pittsburgh Penguins. [6] However, it was short lived as he was sent back down days later without playing a game.

He made his NHL debut during game five of the Hurricanes' first round playoff series against the Washington Capitals. [7]

On June 24, 2019, Saarela was traded by the Hurricanes, along with Calvin de Haan, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Gustav Forsling and Anton Forsberg. [8]

Saarela participated in the Blackhawks 2019 training camp, before he was reassigned to begin the 2019–20 season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs. Unable to crack Chicago's roster, Saarela requested a trade and after just 5 games with the IceHogs Saarela was dealt by the Blackhawks to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Ian McCoshen on October 23, 2019. He was directly assigned to report to the Panthers' AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. [9]

On 22 August 2020, following the Panthers' elimination from the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, Saarela returned to original club, Lukko of the Liiga, as a restricted free agent from the Panthers due to the delayed 2020–21 North American season. [10]

On August 6, 2021, Saarela agreed to a one-year deal with the SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). [11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2012–13 Lukko Jr. A22810186102682
2012–13 Lukko SM-l 31120—————
2013–14LukkoJr. A17616228—————
2013–14 LukkoLiiga120222—————
2014–15 Ässät Liiga5166121820000
2015–16 ÄssätLiiga5120133314—————
2016–17 LukkoLiiga4915132810—————
2016–17 Charlotte Checkers AHL 96410250002
2017–18 Charlotte CheckersAHL69251843882132
2018–19 Charlotte CheckersAHL69302454121778154
2018–19 Carolina Hurricanes NHL —————10000
2019–20 Rockford IceHogs AHL50110—————
2019–20 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL4312193112—————
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL9224010000
2020–21 LukkoLiiga4323143722114484
2021–22 SCL Tigers NL 311012226—————
2022–23 SCL TigersNL4824153910—————
Liiga totals209654911466134484
NHL totals9224020000
Medal record
Representing Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Finland
IIHF World U18 Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Switzerland

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2013 Finland U17 7th52242
2014 Finland WJC18 6th21010
2015 FinlandWJC18Silver medal icon.svg73586
2016 Finland WJC Gold medal icon.svg74374
Junior totals2110102012

Awards and honors

AwardYear
AHL
Calder Cup (Charlotte Checkers) 2019 [12]

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References

  1. ↑ "2012–13 Lukko player statistics". Eliteprospects.com. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Canes Acquire Saarela, Picks for Eric Staal". Carolina Hurricanes. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Rangers Acquire Eric Staal from Carolina". Blueshirts United. 28 February 2016. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Aleksi Saarela returns home" (in Finnish). Lukko Rauma. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Canes agree to terms with Aleksi Saarela". Carolina Hurricanes. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Williams, Terrell (3 January 2018). "Canes Recall Aleksi Saarela From Charlotte". NHL.com. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  7. ↑ DeCock, Luke (20 April 2019). "Aleksi Saarela's NHL debut a Carolina Hurricanes first". Raleigh News & Observer. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  8. ↑ "Blackhawks acquire de Haan, Saarela from Hurricanes". Chicago Blackhawks. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "Panthers acquire Aleksi Saarela from Blackhawks". Springfield Thunderbirds. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  10. ↑ "Welcome back Saarela!" (in Finnish). Lukko. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "Import quartet complete - Tigers sign Finnish forward Aleksi Saarela". swisshockeynews.ch. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Check and Mate! Charlotte wins Calder Cup". American Hockey League. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.


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