Aleksi Saarela

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.

Aleksi Saarela
Aleksi Saarela (48039020172).jpg
Saarela with the Charlotte Checkers in 2019
Born (1997-01-07) 7 January 1997
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

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 overal 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 Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Lukko Jr. A 22 8 10 18 6 10 2 6 8 2
2012–13 Lukko SM-l 3 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Lukko Jr. A 17 6 16 22 8 — — — — —
2013–14 Lukko Liiga 12 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2014–15 Ässät Liiga 51 6 6 12 18 2 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Ässät Liiga 51 20 13 33 14 — — — — —
2016–17 Lukko Liiga 49 15 13 28 10 — — — — —
2016–17 Charlotte Checkers AHL 9 6 4 10 2 5 0 0 0 2
2017–18 Charlotte Checkers AHL 69 25 18 43 8 8 2 1 3 2
2018–19 Charlotte Checkers AHL 69 30 24 54 12 17 7 8 15 4
2018–19 Carolina Hurricanes NHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
2019–20 Rockford IceHogs AHL 5 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 43 12 19 31 12 — — — — —
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 9 2 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Lukko Liiga 43 23 14 37 22 11 4 4 8 4
2021–22 SCL Tigers NL 31 10 12 22 6 — — — — —
2022–23 SCL Tigers NL 48 24 15 39 10 — — — — —
Liiga totals 209 65 49 114 66 13 4 4 8 4
NHL totals 9 2 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 0
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 Finland
IIHF World U18 Championships
Silver medal – second place2015 Switzerland

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Finland U17 7th 5 2 2 4 2
2014 Finland WJC18 6th 2 1 0 1 0
2015 Finland WJC18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 3 5 8 6
2016 Finland WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 4 3 7 4
Junior totals 21 10 10 20 12

Awards and honors
Award Year
AHL
Calder Cup (Charlotte Checkers) 2019 [12]

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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