Tony Salmelainen

Tony Salmelainen (born August 8, 1981) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He last played for HIFK of the Finnish Liiga in 2013. He was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers as their second-round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. His father Tommi Salmelainen was the first European ever to be drafted by an NHL team.

Tony Salmelainen
Salmelainen with the Edmonton Road Runners in 2004
Born (1981-08-08) August 8, 1981
Espoo, Finland
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Winger
Shot Right
Liiga team
Former teams		 HIFK
Ilves
Edmonton Oilers
Chicago Blackhawks
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Genève-Servette HC
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 41st overall, 1999
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2000–2013

Playing career

Salmelainen started his ice hockey career as a junior player in the Blues organisation, and moved to HIFK for his SM-liiga debut in the 1999-2000 season. In an eventful debut, Salmelainen scored his first goal in his very first shift, and was injured later in the game. He played 19 games for HIFK next season, and transferred to Ilves to get more ice time.

After two seasons with Ilves, Salmelainen moved to North America, where he spent three years with the Edmonton Oilers organization, playing in 13 NHL games in the 2003–04 NHL season.

When the NHL resumed play in 2005, Salmelainen returned to HIFK. He played an excellent season, including setting a personal record by scoring a five-goal, six-point night against the Pelicans in a home game on October 10, and culminating in being chosen best player of the regular season after leading the league in points and goals.

Salmelainen also made headlines during the 2005–06 season when he was sent off during a game against HPK, and threw a trashcan down the corridor to the dressing rooms in anger. After narrowly missing goaltender Jan Lundell, the trashcan accidentally hit his team's bus driver, who was injured in the face. Salmelainen was interrogated by the police and received a two-game suspension.

Salmelainen's NHL player rights were traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Jaroslav Špaček on January 26, 2006. In the summer of 2006, he signed a new contract with the Blackhawks. On June 16, 2007, he was traded, with Jassen Cullimore, to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange of Sergei Samsonov.

On August 31, 2007, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Salmelainen to a one-year, two-way contract. On October 23, 2007, Salmelainen was suspended by the Maple Leafs for failing to comply with the terms of his contract after he had signed to play for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the Russian Super League for almost $1.5-million (U.S.).[1]

After one season with Yaroslavl, Salmelainen moved to the Swiss National League A with Genève-Servette HC, where he played five seasons.

On July 29, 2013, Salmelainen returned to his first professional club, in signing a one-year contract with HIFK of his native Finland.[2] However, he was soon forced to end his career due to a neck injury.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997–98 Kiekko–Espoo FIN U18 5 2 2 4 10 — — — — —
1997–98 HIFK FIN U18 28 23 16 39 30 — — — — —
1997–98 HIFK FIN U20 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1998–99 HIFK FIN U20 21 13 10 23 45 — — — — —
1999–2000 HIFK FIN U20 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1999–2000 HIFK SM-l 1 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2000–01 HIFK SM-l 19 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
2000–01 Ilves FIN U20 6 4 5 9 2 — — — — —
2000–01 Ilves SM-l 26 3 10 13 2 3 0 0 0 0
2001–02 Ilves SM-l 49 10 9 19 30 3 0 0 0 2
2002–03 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 67 14 19 33 14 17 6 8 14 0
2003–04 Toronto Roadrunners AHL 58 19 25 44 27 3 0 1 1 0
2003–04 Edmonton Oilers NHL 13 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2004–05 Edmonton Road Runners AHL 76 22 24 46 26 — — — — —
2005–06 HIFK SM-l 53 27 28 55 63 12 4 2 6 36
2006–07 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 57 6 11 17 26 — — — — —
2007–08 Toronto Marlies AHL 2 2 0 2 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl RSL 29 3 4 7 2 16 0 0 0 6
2008–09 Genève–Servette HC NLA 29 16 12 28 28 4 1 2 3 2
2008–09 Lausanne HC SUI.2 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2009–10 Genève–Servette HC NLA 50 25 28 53 14 18 10 12 22 33
2009–10 Lausanne HC SUI.2 — — — — — 1 2 0 2 0
2010–11 Genève–Servette HC NLA 43 10 11 21 34 6 1 4 5 4
2011–12 Genève–Servette HC NLA 30 9 14 23 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Genève–Servette HC NLA 7 1 3 4 4 7 2 0 2 10
2012–13 Lausanne HC SUI.2 1 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2013–14 HIFK Liiga 7 3 2 5 2 — — — — —
SM-l/Liiga totals 155 45 49 94 99 18 4 2 6 38
AHL totals 203 57 68 125 67 20 6 9 15 0
NHL totals 70 6 12 18 30 — — — — —

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1998 Finland EJC 6 1 1 2 0
1999 Finland WJC18 6 1 2 3 8
2001 Finland WJC 7 3 2 5 6
Junior totals 19 5 5 10 14

Awards

References
  1. globesports.com: Salmelainen heads to Russia
  2. "Salmelainen to return to HIFK" (in Finnish). HIFK. July 29, 2013. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
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