Anssi Salmela
| Anssi Salmela | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
August 13, 1984 Nokia, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
New Jersey Devils Tappara Pelicans Atlanta Thrashers | ||
| 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 the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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]
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 | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| SM-l totals | 226 | 36 | 42 | 78 | 208 | 28 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 20 | ||||
| NHL totals | 64 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2011 Slovakia | |
 |
2008 Canada | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
|
2004 Finland | |
Played for Finland in:
- 2004 World Junior Championships (Bronze medal)
- 2008 World Championships (Bronze medal)
- 2011 World Championships (Gold medal)
International statistics
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 2008 | Finland | WC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 |
| Junior int'l totals | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | ||
References
- ^ "Salmela joins New Jersey". (in Fin) yle.fi. 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ^ "Brodeur stops penalty shot, saves Devils in season opener". cbssportsline.com. 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ "Devils acquire veteran defender Hävelid". cbcsports.ca. 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ "Lehtonen saves career-high 49 shots in Thrashers' sixth straight win". cbssports.com. 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ "Thrashers ship Kovalchuk to Devils for players, 1st rounder". The Sports Network. February 4, 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.