Juuso Riikola

Juuso Riikola (born 9 November 1993) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing with SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). His brother, Simo-Pekka, also played professionally.

Playing career Riikola made his SM-liiga debut playing with KalPa as a 19-year-old during the 2012–13 SM-liiga season. He dressed for 20 games while posting 6 assists from the blueline.

In his sixth season with KalPa in 2017–18, and while serving as an alternate captain, Riikola scored a career high 8 goals for 24 points in 59 games.

On 17 May 2018, as an undrafted free agent, Riikola signed a one-year, entry-level deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL for a reported $925,000. He made his NHL debut on 11 October 2018 against the Vegas Golden Knights at PPG Paints Arena. Riikola recorded his first career NHL point, an assist, on 28 November against the Colorado Avalanche. He scored his first NHL goal on 29 December 2018 against the St. Louis Blues.

On 30 May 2019, the Penguins re-signed Riikola to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $850,000. On 16 October 2019, against the Colorado Avalanche, Riikola played as a left winger due to injuries to several Penguins forwards.

On 5 September 2020, the Penguins signed Riikola to a two-year, $2.3 million extension.

After four seasons within the Penguins organization and as a pending free agent, Riikola opted to return to Europe to secure a one-year contract with Swedish club, IK Oskarshamn of the SHL, on 25 May 2022.

International play Riikola played for the Finland national team at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2010–11 KalPa Jr. A 28 3 7 10 24 — — — — — 2011–12 KalPa Jr. A 37 4 9 13 65 8 2 1 3 6 2012–13 KalPa Jr. A 14 2 3 5 12 — — — — — 2012–13 KalPa SM-l 20 0 6 6 6 — — — — — 2013–14 KalPa Liiga 54 1 4 5 28 — — — — — 2013–14 KalPa Jr. A 6 0 2 2 10 — — — — — 2014–15 KalPa Liiga 40 6 8 14 24 4 1 0 1 25 2014–15 KalPa Jr. A 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2015–16 KalPa Liiga 51 5 10 15 24 3 0 1 1 2 2016–17 KalPa Liiga 59 6 19 25 28 18 1 6 7 4 2017–18 KalPa Liiga 59 8 16 24 14 6 0 1 1 4 2018–19 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 37 2 3 5 10 — — — — — 2018–19 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 5 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 2019–20 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 36 1 6 7 6 — — — — — 2020–21 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2021–22 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 53 1 34 35 24 6 0 0 0 0 2021–22 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 5 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2022–23 IK Oskarshamn SHL 42 2 17 19 16 2 0 0 0 0 2023–24 SCL Tigers NL 43 3 14 17 20 — — — — — Liiga totals 283 26 63 89 124 31 2 8 10 35 NHL totals 80 3 10 13 18 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2013 Finland WJC 7th 6 0 1 1 4 2018 Finland WC 5th 8 0 2 2 4 2024 Finland WC 8th 8 1 1 2 4 Junior totals 6 0 1 1 4 Senior totals 16 1 3 4 8