Tony Salmelainen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | LW/RW |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
Chicago Blackhawks Edmonton Oilers |
| Nationality |  Finland |
| Born | August 8, 1981, Espoo, FIN |
| NHL Draft | 41st overall, 1999 Edmonton Oilers |
| Pro Career | 2003 – present |
Tony Salmelainen (born August 8, 1981 in Espoo, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers as their second-round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
Salmelainen started his ice hockey career as a junior player in the Blues organisation, and moved to HIFK for his SM-liiga debut in the 1999-2000 season. In an eventful debut, Salmelainen scored his first goal in his very first shift, and was injured later in the game. He played 19 games for HIFK next season, and transferred to Ilves to get more ice time.
After two seasons with Ilves, Salmelainen moved to North America, where he spent three years with the Edmonton Oilers organization, playing in 13 NHL games in the 2003-04 NHL season.
When the NHL resumed play in 2005, Salmelainen returned to HIFK. He played an excellent season, including setting a personal record by scoring a five-goal, six-point night against the Pelicans in a home game on October 10, and culminating in being chosen best player of the regular season after leading the league in points and goals.
Salmelainen also made headlines during the 2005-06 season when he was sent off during a game against HPK, and threw a trashcan down the corridor to the dressing rooms in anger. After narrowly missing goaltender Jan Lundell, the trashcan accidentally hit his team's bus driver, who was injured in the face. Salmelainen was interrogated by the police and received a two-game suspension.
Salmelainen's NHL player rights were traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Chicago Blackhawks for defensman Jaroslav Spacek on January 26th, 2006. In the summer of 2006, he signed a new contract with the Blackhawks.
[edit] Awards
- Lasse Oksanen trophy for best player during the regular season - 2006
- Aarne Honkavaara trophy for best goal scorer during the regular season - 2006
- Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy for most points scored during the regular season - 2006
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999-00 | HIFK | SM-liiga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | HIFK | SM-liiga | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | Ilves | SM-liiga | 26 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001-02 | Ilves | SM-liiga | 49 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2002-03 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 67 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 14 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2003-04 | Toronto Roadrunners | AHL | 58 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2003-04 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Edmonton Road Runners | AHL | 76 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 26 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | HIFK | SM-liiga | 53 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 63 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2006-07 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| NHL Totals | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
[edit] External links
- Tony Salmelainen on nhlfinns.com
| Preceded by Tim Thomas |
Winner of the Lasse Oksanen trophy 2005-06 |
Succeeded by Cory Murphy |
| Preceded by Steve Kariya |
Winner of the Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy 2005-06 |
Succeeded by Martin Kariya |
| Preceded by Pasi Saarela |
Winner of the Aarne Honkavaara trophy 2005-06 |
Succeeded by Jani Rita |
