Latest news with #Liiga
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Finnish Former Predator Returns Home
Finnish forward Miikka Salomäki, 32, has signed a one-year contract with SaiPa Lappeenranta, the Finnish Liiga club announced on Friday. Salomäki has spent the last 12 seasons abroad in various leagues across North America and Europe, including the NHL. He played last season for Sparta Prague in the Czech Extraliga. 'I feel very good about coming to SaiPa,' said Salomäki. 'I followed the team's progress last season with interest and, of course, the decision was easy also because I already know both Hapa (sports director Harri Aho) and Raipen (head coach Raimo Helminen).' 'We're very happy to have an experienced player like Miikka join SaiPa,' said Aho. 'He's a versatile and hard-working player who, as a power forward, fits perfectly into the team's playing style. We were looking for a top-level player and we're very pleased with this acquisition.' Salomäki hails from northern Finland and came of age in the Kärpät system, but he has played abroad since he was 20, save for nine games with IFK Helsinki in 2021-22. Miikka Salomäki leaves Lausanne, signs with Sparta Prague Veteran Finnish forward Miikka Salomäki has signed a one-year contract with HC Sparta Prague, the Czech Extraliga club announced on Wednesday. He was picked in the second round, 52nd overall, by the Nashville Predators in 2011. He played 167 regular-season games and 30 playoff games with Nashville between 2014 and 2019, spending the rest of the time with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals. He then spent stints in the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche organizations without playing any NHL games for either team before heading back to Europe in 2021. Salomäki spent one season in Sweden for Örebro HK and two in Switzerland for Lausanne HC. In 2023-24, he had 25 points in 37 regular-season games and was a key presence for the team as Lausanne advanced to the seventh game of the National League final. Last season with Sparta Prague, Salomäki had nine points in 36 regular-season and playoff games. This move completes somewhat of a trade between the two clubs, as in earlier in the off-season, Sparta signed former SaiPa defenseman Mark Pysyk. Former Sabres First-Rounder Signs With Sparta Prague Canadian defenseman Mark Pysyk, 33, has signed a one-year contract with Sparta Prague, the Czech Extraliga club announced on Thursday. The former NHLer is coming off a season where he helped SaiPa to the Finnish Liiga finals. Salomäki joins a SaiPa team that advanced to the Liiga finals last season, which followed five straight seasons of missing the playoffs. Salomäki is the only player on the roster with any NHL experience – as Pysyk was last season. Salomäki and defenseman Teemu Kivihalme were briefly teammates with the Toronto Marlies in 2019-20. Photo © Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images: Miikka Salomäki of the Nashville Predators bodychecks Zdeno Chára of the Boston Bruins during the 2017-18 NHL season. Former First-Rounder Kieffer Bellows Signs In Sweden American left winger Kieffer Bellows, 27, has signed a one-year contract with Brynäs IF, the Gävle-based SHL club announced on Sunday.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lehigh Valley Phantoms' Eetu Makiniemi Signs In Finland
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Eetu Makiniemi has signed a one-year deal in Finland with TPS, it was announced late last week. Makiniemi, a 2017 fourth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, spent this season with the Phantoms, going 3-0-2 while posting a 3.03 GAA and a .899 SP. Since coming over to North America in 2021, Makiniemi has appeared in 59 career AHL games (with the Phantoms, Chicago Wolves and San Jose Barracuda), posting a record of 30-20-6 along with a 2.79 GAA and a .905 SP. Advertisement Throughout his time in North America, Makiniemi got into two regular season games with the San Jose Sharks, going 1-0-1 while collecting a 2.13 GAA and a .906 SP. With Makiniemi heading back to his home country, he should have the chance to play a big role with TPS. Having posted solid numbers in Liiga in the past, Makiniemi could be one of the better goalies in the league and guide his team to the playoffs.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Philadelphia Flyers Lose Goalie To Overseas Club
The Philadelphia Flyers have lost one of their depth goalies, as Eetu Makiniemi has signed a one-year contract with TPS of the Finnish Liiga. Makiniemi, 26, signed a one-year contract with the Flyers for the 2024-25 season back in September. This was after he attended the Flyers' training camp on a professional tryout. Advertisement Unfortunately, Makiniemi's season ended in November after he suffered a sports hernia that required surgery. In five games with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he posted a 3-0-1 record, a .899 save percentage, and a 3.03 goals-against average. Makiniemi was eligible to hit the market as a Group 6 UFA this summer, but will instead be taking his talents overseas after landing this new deal. The Carolina Hurricanes selected Makiniemi with the 104th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, but he never played a game for the club. In his two career NHL games with the San Jose Sharks during the 2022-23 season, he recorded a 1-0-1 record, a .906 save percentage, and a 2.13 goals-against average. Photo Credit: © Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Oilers sign a top young attacker from Finland's top league
This in from the Oilers, news they have signed The forward Viljami Marjala to a two-year entry-level contract. 1. Marjala finished 14th overall in Liiga scoring in Finland. Top scorer Atro Leppanen had 63 points in 60 games. Marjala had 52 in 54, with 44 of the points coming on assists. The Oilers already signed Leppanen, a 26-year-old d-man, in late April. 2. In the summer of 2021, Greg Boysen of the Hockey Writers said of Marjala: 'While Marjala is a strong skater, he does not have game-changing speed by any means. Even though he didn't shoot as much with Quebec as he previously had, he still has a heavy and accurate shot. He prefers to shoot from in close than taking low-percentage shots. His playmaking is what turns heads. He uses his vision and enhanced instincts to create scoring chances for his teammates. Marjala plays a smart and responsible defensive game. He understands his role and positions himself well on the ice. He plays much better than his listed 178 pounds. He battles hard for pucks and uses his body well to establish positioning on defense and protecting the puck when it's in his possession.' But Bruce Curlock, the prospects expert at Oilers Nation, has his doubts about the player: I don't see this much more than an AHL roster spot. This is a very good playmaking forward with decent size, but his skating and change of pace are very slow. Smart no question. However I think he gets overwhelmed by AHL players with size and speed.' 3. Puckpedia reports his contract as follows: 'The Oilers signed 22 y/o UFA F Viljami Marjala to 2 year ELC: Salary 775K Signing Bonus 97.5K GP Bonus 102.5K Minors 85K Cap Hit 872.5K, AAV 975K' 4. Bowman has made a number of signings, scoring winger Quinn Hutson from Boston University, puck-moving d-man Damien Carfagna from Ohio State University: Leppanen, big skilled German forward Josh Samanski, 23, and and top-scoring Czech center David Tomasek, 29, from the Swedish league. The team will need a steady stream of inexpensive players who can work for the Oilers on the third and fourth lines and third d-man pairings. Will any of these players pan out. If one of them does, Bowman will have done his job.
Belfast Telegraph
03-06-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Belfast Giants to open new season with Finnish double-header in Champions League
Adam Keefe's double winners, who earned their place at Europe's top table courtesy of reclaiming the Elite League title in April, will start their season with the visits of Liiga champions KalPa and Tampere-based Ilves in a blockbuster opening two fixtures. KalPa, who won their first Liiga title back in May, will be the Giants' first competitive opponents at the SSE Arena on Thursday August 28 before Ilves arrive into Belfast two days later on Saturday August 30, both games having a 7pm face-off. That is followed by the first of two trips to Switzerland a week later, the draw unkindly giving the Giants three National League teams to face in the League stage of the competition, with games in Lausanne and Zug comprising their double-header road trip in rounds three and four. There will be a French flair to kick things off as Belfast will be at the Vaudoise Aréna to take on Swiss regular season champions Lausanne on Friday September 5 at 5pm BST before a trip to the German side of the country, with their visit to the Brossard Arena in Zug on Sunday September 7 at 1pm BST. As per usual, the tournament takes a break for about a month before returning for two midweek games in October to round out the League stage, the Giants completing their Swiss sojourn with a trip to Bern in round five, clashing at the PostFinance Arena on Wednesday October 8 with a 6.45pm BST face-off. And their schedule will be rounded out a week later on Tuesday October 14 with their final home game, Swedish side Brynäs coming to the SSE Arena for a 7pm face-off. In order to reach the knockout stages, which begin in November, the Giants need to emulate last season's Sheffield Steelers and finish in the top-16 of the 24-team League, which would likely require around eight or nine points – a tall order given the brutal draw the Giants have received. Belfast Giants' Champions League schedule All face-off times BST Thursday August 28: Belfast Giants v KalPa, SSE Arena, 7pm Saturday August 30: Belfast Giants v Ilves, SSE Arena, 7pm Friday September 5: Lausanne HC v Belfast Giants, Vaudoise Aréna, 5pm Sunday September 7: EV Zug v Belfast Giants, Brossard Arena, 1pm Wednesday October 8: SC Bern v Belfast Giants, PostFinance Arena, 6.45pm
