| Vili Saarijärvi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 May 1997, Rovaniemi, Finland |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Right |
| Liiga team F. teams |
Lukko Grand Rapids Griffins Tucson Roadrunners |
| NHL Draft | 73rd overall, 2015 Detroit Red Wings |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
Vili Saarijärvi (born 15 May 1997) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for Lukko of the Finnish Liiga. He was drafted 73rd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career[]
During the 2014–15 season, Saarijärvi recorded six goals and 17 assists in 57 games for the Green Bay Gamblers, leading the Gamblers' defenceman in scoring, and finishing tied for 20th in scoring among all USHL defenceman. His first career USHL goal was a game-winning overtime goal on October 4, 2014, against the Chicago Steel. Following an outstanding season, Saarijärvi was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.[1]
On 30 June 2015, Saarijärvi was drafted 9th overall by the Flint Firebirds in the CHL Import Draft.[2] On 12 August 2015, the Firebirds signed Saarijärvi to an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) contract for the 2015–16 season.[3] Saarijärvi played his first career OHL game with the Firebirds on 24 September 2015, where he recorded his first career OHL point, an assist, in a game against the Saginaw Spirit.[4] On 24 June 2016, Saarijärvi was traded to the Mississauga Steelheads in exchange for Everett Clark, a second-round pick in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection, a fifth-round pick in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection and a conditional second-round pick in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection. During the 2016–17 season, he recorded 11 goals and 20 assists in 34 games for the Steelheads.[5][6]
On 3 July 2015, the Detroit Red Wings signed Saarijärvi to a three-year, entry-level contract.[7] During the 2017–18 season, in his first full professional season in North America, Saarijärvi split time between the ECHL's Toledo Walleye and the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. He made his AHL debut for the Griffins on 28 October 2017, and recorded his first career AHL point, an assist.[8] In 10 games with the Walleye, he had two goals and four assists. In 42 games with the Griffins, he had 11 assists.[9] During the 2018–19 season, in his second full professional season in North America, Saarijärvi recorded two goals, 14 assists, and a team-leading plus-19 rating, in 70 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins. He recorded his first career AHL goal on 20 October 2019 in a game against the Chicago Wolves.[10]
On 30 November 2019, Saarijärvi was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Eric Comrie.[11] Prior to being traded, he recorded one assist in 13 games with the Griffins. On 2 December 2019, he was assigned to the Coyotes' AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He finished the season with six assists in 25 games for the Roadrunners.[12]
On 15 May 2020, Saarijärvi signed with Lukko of the Finnish Liiga.[13][14]
International play[]
Saarijärvi represented Finland at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he led all defenceman in scoring, recording three goals and six assists in seven games, and won a silver medal. He was selected as the tournament's best defenceman and was named to the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championship All-Star Team.
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2014–15 | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | 57 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Flint Firebirds | OHL | 59 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Toledo Walleye | ECHL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Mississauga Steelheads | OHL | 34 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 8 | ||
| 2017–18 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 42 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Toledo Walleye | ECHL | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 70 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 25 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Lukko | Liiga | 50 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2021-22 | Lukko | Liiga | 52 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Liiga totals | 102 | 26 | 53 | 79 | 38 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 8 | ||||
References[]
- ↑ USHL Names 2014-15 All-Rookie Teams.
- ↑ Firebirds Select Red Wings Draft Pick Saarijarvi & Kantner in CHL Import Draft (30 June 2015).
- ↑ Red Wings Draft Pick Vili Saarijärvi To Play in Flint This Season (12 August 2015).
- ↑ Flint Shuts Out Saginaw 3-0 In Historic OHL Season Opener (24 September 2015).
- ↑ Firebirds Complete Trade with Mississauga (24 June 2016).
- ↑ Manzullo, Brian (24 June 2016). Firebirds trade Red Wings prospect Vili Saarijarvi to Mississauga.
- ↑ Roose, Bill (3 July 2015). Wings ink Saarijarvi, who may play in Flint.
- ↑ Wakiji, Dana (9 May 2018). By the Numbers Prospects: Vili Saarijarvi.
- ↑ Wakiji, Dana (3 August 2018). Saarijarvi looking forward to pivotal season.
- ↑ 2018-19 in Review: Vili Saarijarvi (5 July 2019).
- ↑ Kujawa, Kyle (30 November 2019). Red Wings acquire Eric Comrie from Coyotes.
- ↑ Coyotes Assign Vili Saarijarvi To Tucson (2 December 2019).
- ↑ "Odotuksissa on hänen olevan liigatasolla kärkipuolustajia" (fi-FI) (15 May 2020).
- ↑ Vili Saarijärvellä on suuret suunnitelmat Lukon takalinjoilla: "Tavoitteena on kuulua Liigan parhaimpiin puolustajiin" (fi-FI) (29 September 2020).
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Vili Saarijärvi. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |