Aleksi Saarela

Aleksi Saarela (born 7 January 1997) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). He was originally selected 89th overall in the 2015 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers.

Playing career Saarela made his SM-liiga debut playing with Lukko during the 2012–13 SM-liiga season. On 28 February 2016, the rights to Saarela, along with a 2016 second-round draft pick and a 2017 second-round draft pick, were traded from the New York Rangers to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Eric Staal.

In the 2015–16 season, Saarela led Porin Ässät with 20 goals and finished third in overall scoring with 33 points in 51 games. On 20 April 2016, he signed a one-year contract to return to his original club, Lukko, on a one-year contract. Under two months later, on 13 June 2016, Saarela was then signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.

On 3 January 2018, Saarela was recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes from the Charlotte Checkers prior to a game with the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, it was short lived as he was sent back down days later without playing a game.

He made his NHL debut during game five of the Hurricanes' first round playoff series against the Washington Capitals.

On June 24, 2019, Saarela was traded by the Hurricanes, along with Calvin de Haan, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Gustav Forsling and Anton Forsberg.

Saarela participated in the Blackhawks 2019 training camp, before he was reassigned to begin the 2019–20 season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs. Unable to crack Chicago's roster, Saarela requested a trade and after just 5 games with the IceHogs Saarela was dealt by the Blackhawks to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Ian McCoshen on October 23, 2019. He was directly assigned to report to the Panthers' AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

On 22 August 2020, following the Panthers' elimination from the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, Saarela returned to original club, Lukko of the Liiga, as a restricted free agent from the Panthers due to the delayed 2020–21 North American season.

On August 6, 2021, Saarela agreed to a one-year deal with the SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). In October of the same year, Saarela signed a two-year extension. Saarela stayed with the club until the end of the 2024-25 season, when he and the SCL Tigers agreed to terminate his contract, which extended until the end of the 2026-27 season, as Saarela was conscripted for his obligatory military service with the Finnish Defence Forces.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2012–13 Lukko Jr. A 22 8 10 18 6 10 2 6 8 2 2012–13 Lukko SM-l 3 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 2013–14 Lukko Jr. A 17 6 16 22 8 — — — — — 2013–14 Lukko Liiga 12 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 2014–15 Ässät Liiga 51 6 6 12 18 2 0 0 0 0 2015–16 Ässät Liiga 51 20 13 33 14 — — — — — 2016–17 Lukko Liiga 49 15 13 28 10 — — — — — 2016–17 Charlotte Checkers AHL 9 6 4 10 2 5 0 0 0 2 2017–18 Charlotte Checkers AHL 69 25 18 43 8 8 2 1 3 2 2018–19 Charlotte Checkers AHL 69 30 24 54 12 17 7 8 15 4 2018–19 Carolina Hurricanes NHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0 2019–20 Rockford IceHogs AHL 5 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2019–20 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 43 12 19 31 12 — — — — — 2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 9 2 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 2020–21 Lukko Liiga 43 23 14 37 22 11 4 4 8 4 2021–22 SCL Tigers NL 31 10 12 22 6 — — — — — 2022–23 SCL Tigers NL 48 24 15 39 10 — — — — — 2023–24 SCL Tigers NL 50 18 23 41 8 — — — — — Liiga totals 209 65 49 114 66 13 4 4 8 4 NHL totals 9 2 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 0

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2013 Finland U17 7th 5 2 2 4 2 2014 Finland WJC18 6th 2 1 0 1 0 2015 Finland WJC18 7 3 5 8 6 2016 Finland WJC 7 4 3 7 4 Junior totals 21 10 10 20 12

Awards and honors Award Year AHL Calder Cup (Charlotte Checkers) 2019