Sakari Salminen

Sakari Jalmari Salminen (born May 31, 1988) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played for Örebro HK in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Sakari Salminen
Born	(1988-05-31) May 31, 1988 (age 37) Pori, Finland
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	161 lb (73 kg; 11 st 7 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Right
team Former teams	Free agent KalPa Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod HC Fribourg-Gottéron Växjö Lakers Jokerit Dynamo Moscow Ässät HIFK Örebro HK
National team	Finland
Playing career	2007–present

Playing career

Salminen played in his native Finland for Liiga clubs, Porin Ässät and KalPa before signing a two-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on May 21, 2013.^[1] When his contract with Nizhny Novgorod was up, he moved to HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the Swiss National League A (NLA) for the 2015–16 season.^[2] He parted company with the club in late January 2016^[3] and signed with the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) shortly after^[4] to finish the season with the team.

In April 2016, he inked a one-year deal with Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League.^[5] In the 2016–17 season, Salminen appeared in 56 games for Jokerit, registering 6 goals and 26 points.

With Jokerit opting not to continue their option with Salminen, he agreed to a one-year contract to remain in the KHL with Russian outfit, HC Dynamo Moscow, on September 15, 2017.^[6]

International play

Salminen was selected to the Finnish National Team that won a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004–05	Ässät	FIN U18		26	8	7	15	12		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Ässät	FIN U18		20	20	16	36	6		8	6	10	16	6
2005–06	Ässät	FIN U20		19	4	9	13	10		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Ässät	FIN U20		31	21	30	51	32		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Ässät	FIN U20		12	18	5	23	4		12	5	10	15	4
2007–08	Ässät	SM-l		30	3	10	13	2		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Jukurit	Mestis		8	1	5	6	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Ässät	SM-l		55	16	14	30	16		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Ässät	SM-l		52	12	13	25	20		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	KalPa	SM-l		57	12	33	45	10		7	4	2	6	29
2011–12	KalPa	SM-l		54	24	23	47	16		7	1	6	7	0
2012–13	KalPa	SM-l		54	26	29	55	18		5	2	2	4	0
2013–14	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod	KHL		54	18	30	48	16		7	3	2	5	4
2014–15	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod	KHL		60	18	29	47	30		5	0	1	1	0
2015–16	HC Fribourg–Gottéron	NLA		43	10	15	25	10		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Växjö Lakers	SHL		12	4	2	6	6		13	3	3	6	4
2016–17	Jokerit	KHL		56	6	20	26	16		4	0	0	0	2
2017–18	Dynamo Moscow	KHL		18	2	6	8	12		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Ässät	Liiga		15	7	9	16	16		7	1	2	3	0
2018–19	Ässät	Liiga		35	10	21	31	18		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	HIFK	Liiga		22	5	7	12	8		12	4	3	7	6
2019–20	Örebro HK	SHL		45	8	16	24	26		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Ässät	Liiga		11	2	0	2	12		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Ässät	Liiga		55	7	26	33	30		—	—	—	—	—
SM-l/Liiga totals				440	124	185	309	166		38	12	15	27	35
KHL totals				188	44	85	129	74		16	3	3	6	6

International

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Finland
Winter Olympics
	2014 Sochi

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008	Finland	WJC		6	1	3	4	4
2013	Finland	WC		10	1	2	3	0
2014	Finland	OG		2	0	0	0	4
Junior totals				6	1	3	4	4
Senior totals				12	1	2	3	4