Sebastian Aho (ice hockey, born 1996)

For the Finnish ice hockey forward, see Sebastian Aho (ice hockey, born 1997).

Sebastian Johannes Aho^[1] (born 17 February 1996) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Aho was drafted by the New York Islanders, 139th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Sebastian Aho
Aho with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2019
Born	(1996-02-17) 17 February 1996 (age 29) Umeå, Sweden
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	177 lb (80 kg; 12 st 9 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams	Pittsburgh Penguins WBS Penguins (AHL) Skellefteå AIK New York Islanders
NHL draft	139th overall, 2017 New York Islanders
Playing career	2013–present

Playing career

SHL

Aho played as a youth with IF Björklöven before moving the fellow Swedish club Skellefteå AIK. Aho made his Elitserien debut on the blueline in 1 game with Skellefteå AIK during the 2012–13 season.^[2] He was signed to a new four-year contract with the club on Tuesday, 28 May 2013.^[3]

After helping Skellefteå AIK claim a second straight championship, Aho was rated amongst the top 10 European skaters for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.^[4] Despite this, Aho was passed over due to his diminutive size and returned to continue with Skellefteå AIK. After his first full SHL season in 2014–15, helping the club return to the finals for the third-consecutive season with 9 points in 41 games, Aho was again rated amongst the top 15 skaters for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.^[5]

New York Islanders

Aho was eventually drafted in his fourth eligible draft as an average prospect by the New York Islanders in the fifth round, 139th overall, of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft on 24 June 2017. He agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Islanders on 5 July 2017.^[6] Aho was assigned to the Islanders' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to begin the 2017–18 season after attending training camp.^[7] He was recalled to the NHL on 28 December,^[8] and played his first NHL game in a 6–1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on 31 December.^[9] He scored his first NHL goal in a 5–4 win over the New Jersey Devils on 7 January 2018.^[10]

After attending the Islanders training camp prior to the 2018–19 season, Aho was assigned to the Sound Tigers.^[11] On 3 January 2019, Aho and teammate Michael Dal Colle were selected to represent the Sound Tigers at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic.^[12]

Pittsburgh Penguins

Following seven seasons within the Islanders organization, Aho left as a free agent and was signed to a two-year, $1.55 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 2, 2024.^[13]

Personal life

He is of Finnish descent through his father.^[14] Finnish coach Tuomas Tuokkola and Finnish goaltender Pekka Tuokkola are his cousins.^[14]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010–11	IF Björklöven	J18		20	3	6	9	12		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	IF Björklöven	J18 Allsv		7	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Skellefteå AIK	J18		16	1	12	13	2		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Skellefteå AIK	J18 Allsv		17	3	2	5	10		7	0	2	2	2
2012–13	Skellefteå AIK	J18 Allsv		2	0	2	2	0		3	0	1	1	2
2012–13	Skellefteå AIK	J20		38	1	11	12	14		4	0	0	0	0
2012–13	Skellefteå AIK	SEL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Skellefteå AIK	J20		27	7	16	23	18		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Skellefteå AIK	SHL		21	1	4	5	2		13	0	0	0	0
2014–15	Skellefteå AIK	J20		4	0	2	2	4		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Skellefteå AIK	SHL		41	1	8	9	14		13	1	3	4	8
2015–16	Skellefteå AIK	SHL		39	3	13	16	12		16	3	4	7	6
2016–17	Skellefteå AIK	SHL		50	10	20	30	10		7	0	2	2	0
2017–18	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		40	9	20	29	20		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	New York Islanders	NHL		22	1	3	4	6		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		67	9	37	46	36		5	0	2	2	6
2019–20	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		49	3	27	30	18		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	New York Islanders	NHL		3	1	1	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	New York Islanders	NHL		36	2	10	12	10		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	New York Islanders	NHL		71	5	18	23	22		6	0	1	1	2
2023–24	New York Islanders	NHL		58	2	7	9	12		—	—	—	—	—
2024–25	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		27	0	14	14	8		2	0	0	0	2
SHL totals				152	15	45	60	38		49	4	9	13	14
NHL totals				190	11	39	50	52		6	0	1	1	2

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013	Sweden	U17			6	0	4	4	14
2013	Sweden	WJC18	5th		5	0	0	0	4
2013	Sweden	IH18	7th		2	0	0	0	0
2014	Sweden	WJC18	4th		4	2	0	2	8
2015	Sweden	WJC	4th		7	1	3	4	2
Junior totals					24	3	7	10	28

Awards and honors

Award	Year
SHL
Le Mat Trophy champion	2014
AHL
All-Star Game	2018, 2019, 2020	[15]