Antti Suomela

Antti Suomela (born 17 March 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for Lausanne HC of the National League (NL).

Playing career Suomela made his Liiga debut playing with Espoo Blues during the 2015–16 Liiga season.

He won the Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy for the most points scored during the regular season, posting 21 goals and 60 points in 59 games in the 2017–18 Liiga season with JYP Jyväskylä. He also won the 2017–18 Champions Hockey League with JYP Jyväskylä.

Gaining NHL interest, Suomela agreed to a one-year, entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks on 6 June 2018. After attending his first NHL training camp with the Sharks, Suomela made the opening night roster for the 2018–19 season. Suomela made his NHL a debut on 3 October, and recorded his first NHL point in a 3–2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on 5 October 2018.

He was re-signed as a restricted free agent by the Sharks to a one-year, two-way contract on 11 July 2019.

Suomela continued his tenure within the Sharks organization by signing a one-year, two-way contract on 7 October 2020. On 9 October, having remained in Finland due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Suomela was loaned by the Sharks to return to competitive hockey by joining Finnish top flight Liiga club, HIFK, on loan until the commencement of the delayed 2020–21 NHL season. In 10 appearances with HIFK, Suomela added 2 goals and 5 points before returning to the Sharks organization. He was dealt by the Sharks at the trade deadline to the Toronto Maple Leafs on 12 April 2021 in exchange for Alexander Barabanov.

With his contract concluded with the Maple Leafs, Suomela remained within the organization signing a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies on 15 June 2021.

Returning to Europe as a free agent for the 2022–23 season, Suomela signed a one-year contract in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with IK Oskarshamn on 12 May 2022. Rediscovering his offensive touch, Suomela quickly transitioned into Oskarshamn's top scoring threat and in 51 regular season games he finished top in the SHL in scoring with 37 goals and 66 points. He was awarded the Håkan Loob Trophy and the Guldhjälmen as the league MVP. He made three post-season appearances with Oskarshamn, however was unable to propel the club to the playoffs in losing in three games to Luleå HF in the Eighth finals.

On 13 March 2023, Suomela as a pending free agent opted to leave the SHL after just one season in signing a lucrative two-year contract with Swiss club, Lausanne HC of the National League (NL).

Career statistics Bold indicates led league

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2010–11 Kiekko-Espoo FIN U18 Q 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2010–11 Kiekko-Espoo FIN.2 U18 17 6 3 9 0 — — — — — 2011–12 Blues FIN U18 28 3 9 12 14 12 4 1 5 16 2011–12 Blues II FIN U18 Q 10 3 11 14 2 — — — — — 2011–12 Blues II FIN.2 U18 5 5 3 8 0 — — — — — 2012–13 Blues Jr. A 17 2 7 9 6 2 0 0 0 0 2012–13 Blues II Jr. B 10 6 4 10 8 — — — — — 2013–14 Blues Jr. A 40 11 17 28 36 11 1 5 6 6 2014–15 Blues Jr. A 44 27 38 65 12 9 6 4 10 2 2015–16 Blues Jr. A 6 5 7 12 2 9 3 8 11 8 2015–16 Blues Liiga 52 13 13 26 20 — — — — — 2016–17 JYP Liiga 58 22 23 45 37 15 4 2 6 0 2017–18 JYP Liiga 59 21 39 60 6 6 1 2 3 0 2018–19 San Jose Sharks NHL 27 3 5 8 4 — — — — — 2018–19 San Jose Barracuda AHL 47 6 14 20 14 2 0 1 1 0 2019–20 San Jose Barracuda AHL 14 5 4 9 6 — — — — — 2019–20 San Jose Sharks NHL 20 1 6 7 4 — — — — — 2020–21 HIFK Liiga 10 2 3 5 4 — — — — — 2020–21 San Jose Barracuda AHL 10 1 5 6 2 — — — — — 2020–21 San Jose Sharks NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2020–21 Toronto Marlies AHL 7 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 2021–22 Toronto Marlies AHL 48 14 12 26 10 — — — — — 2022–23 IK Oskarshamn SHL 51 37 29 66 45 3 2 4 6 2 2023–24 Lausanne HC NL 52 12 29 41 10 18 5 6 11 0 2024–25 Lausanne HC NL 47 15 25 40 14 19 4 13 17 2 Liiga totals 179 58 78 136 67 21 5 4 9 0 NHL totals 51 4 11 15 8 — — — — — SHL totals 51 37 29 66 45 3 2 4 6 2 NL totals 99 27 54 81 24 37 9 19 28 2

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2018 Finland WC 5th 4 1 0 1 0 2023 Finland WC 7th 5 1 3 4 2 Senior totals 9 2 3 5 2

Awards and honours Award Year Liiga Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy 2018 Champions Hockey League Champion 2017–18 SHL Håkan Loob Trophy 2023 Guldhjälmen 2023