Anssi Salmela

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Anssi Salmela
Anssi Salmela cropped.jpg
Born (1984-08-13) August 13, 1984 (age 39)
Nokia, Finland
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams
Färjestad BK
HV71
Modo Hockey
Avangard Omsk
Tappara
Pelicans
Atlanta Thrashers
New Jersey Devils
National team  Finland
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2003–present

Anssi Salmela (born August 13, 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Playing career

Undrafted, Salmela's professional career started in the 2003–04 season with Finnish SM-liiga side Tappara, where he made his debut on January 24, 2004. His place was settled in Tappara for another year, but the next year he was transferred to Pelicans. In 2007, he moved back to Tappara.

Salmela was a member of Team Finland that won a bronze medal in the World Under-20 Championship. He made his debut for the senior national team in the 2008 IIHF World Championships held in Canada in 2008. On May 22, 2008, he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the New Jersey Devils of the NHL.[1]

In the 2008–09 season, Salmela made his NHL and North American debut with New Jersey in the season opener on October 10, 2008, in a 2–1 win over the New York Islanders.[2] However, Salmela spent the majority of his time with the Devils affiliate the Lowell Devils of the American Hockey League (AHL). On March 2, 2009, Salmela was traded by the Devils to the Atlanta Thrashers for Niclas Hävelid.[3] In his second game with the Thrashers Salmela scored his first career NHL goal in a 5–1 win against the Washington Capitals on March 16, 2009.[4]

On February 4, 2010, Salmela was traded back to the New Jersey Devils along with Ilya Kovalchuk for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and a 1st round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[5] Salmela scored only one goal in 2010-11, but it was a big one. On March 12, he scored an overtime goal against Al Montoya to give the Devils a 3–2 victory over the New York Islanders.[6] Salmela did not receive a qualifying offer from the Devils following the 2010–11 season, making him an unrestricted free agent.[7] He signed a two year contract with Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League, reportedly for US$1.5 million per season, on July 15, 2011.[8]

Awards and achievements

  • 2007–08 SM-liiga Bronze Medal
  • 2007–08 Juha Rantasila -palkinto (most goals for defender in SM-liiga)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 Tappara Tampere SM-l 10 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 2
2004–05 Tappara Tampere SM-l 48 1 5 6 49 8 0 0 0 0
2005–06 Tappara Tampere SM-l 8 0 1 1 0
2005–06 Pelicans SM-l 48 8 8 16 59
2006–07 Pelicans SM-l 56 11 12 23 58 6 1 1 2 4
2007–08 Tappara Tampere SM-l 56 16 16 32 40 11 0 6 6 14
2008–09 New Jersey Devils NHL 17 0 3 3 6
2008–09 Lowell Devils AHL 38 8 16 24 41
2008–09 Chicago Wolves AHL 2 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 9 1 2 3 2
2009–10 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 29 1 4 5 22
2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 9 1 2 3 0
2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 48 1 6 7 14
2010–11 Albany Devils AHL 2 0 0 0 0
2011–12 Avangard Omsk KHL 22 6 4 10 14 21 1 3 4 16
2012–13 Avangard Omsk KHL 37 2 12 14 37 11 0 1 1 6
2013–14 Modo Hockey SHL 8 2 4 6 20 - - - - -
2013–14 HV71 SHL 36 7 14 21 64 5 1 1 2 2
SM-l totals 226 36 42 78 208 28 1 7 8 20
NHL totals 112 4 17 21 44
KHL totals 59 8 16 24 51 32 1 4 5 22

International

Year Team Comp GP G A Pts PIM
2004 Finland WJC 7 1 2 3 6
2008 Finland WC 8 0 0 0 37
2009 Finland WC 7 1 0 1 2
2011 Finland WC 9 1 2 3 4
Junior int'l totals 7 1 2 3 6
Senior int'l totals 24 2 2 4 43

References

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External links