Sami Venäläinen

Sami Venäläinen (born 14 October 1981) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who currently plays professionally in Germany for the Fischtown Pinguins.

Sami Venäläinen
Born	(1981-10-14) 14 October 1981 (age 43) Kangasala, Finland
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
DEL team Former teams	Fischtown Pinguins Tappara TPS SaiPa
NHL draft	249th overall, 2000 Phoenix Coyotes
Playing career	2000–2016

Career

Venäläinen is a product of the Tappara youth system and logged his first minutes for the club's men's team in the Liiga, the highest level professional competition in Finland, during the 2000–01 season. In 2008, he left Tappara and embarked on a three-year stint with fellow Liiga side HC TPS. In 2011, he was back at Tappara and spent another two season with the team. From 2013 to 2016, he played for SaiPa.

After 16 years in the Finnish top-tier, Venäläinen took his game abroad and on July 3, 2016, was signed by the Fischtown Pinguins of the German top-flight Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).^[1]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1997–98	Tappara	FIN U18		33	18	7	25	12		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Tappara	FIN U18		31	27	17	44	45		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Tappara	FIN U20		10	3	2	5	29		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Tappara	FIN U20		37	8	9	17	18		10	3	4	7	6
2000–01	Tappara	FIN U20		21	6	13	19	12		9	3	1	4	0
2000–01	Tappara	SM-liiga		36	0	1	1	2		1	0	0	0	0
2001–02	Tappara	SM-liiga		56	5	8	13	24		10	0	1	1	8
2002–03	Tappara	SM-liiga		55	5	9	14	48		13	0	0	0	10
2003–04	Tappara	SM-liiga		56	18	15	33	22		3	1	0	1	0
2004–05	Tappara	SM-liiga		55	5	6	11	32		8	1	2	3	6
2005–06	Tappara	SM-liiga		56	10	12	22	48		6	1	0	1	12
2006–07	Tappara	SM-liiga		54	14	7	21	67		5	0	0	0	4
2007–08	Tappara	SM-liiga		54	16	8	24	52		11	0	2	2	10
2008–09	TPS	SM-liiga		56	7	18	25	42		8	1	3	4	6
2009–10	TPS	SM-liiga		43	10	10	20	66		15	1	6	7	4
2010–11	TPS	SM-liiga		58	10	24	34	32		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Tappara	SM-liiga		58	8	17	25	55		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Tappara	SM-liiga		30	3	4	7	26		10	2	0	2	6
2012–13	LeKi	Mestis		8	3	2	5	2		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	LeKi	Mestis		11	4	5	9	2		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	SaiPa	Liiga		45	3	12	15	49		13	1	1	2	2
2014–15	SaiPa	Liiga		58	4	9	13	38		7	1	1	2	2
2015–16	SaiPa	Liiga		59	10	14	24	49		6	1	1	2	2
Liiga totals				829	128	174	302	652		116	10	17	27	72

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999	Finland	WJC18		7	0	3	3	2
2001	Finland	WJC		7	1	1	2	0
Junior totals				14	1	4	5	2