Niclas Almari

Niclas Almari (born 11 May 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with Lukko of the Liiga. Almari was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round, 151st overall, in the 2016 NHL entry draft.

Playing career Almari played as a youth in his native Finland, within the junior programs at the Jr. A level of the Espoo Blues, Jokerit and HPK. Almari secured his first rookie playing contract with HPK on 29 April 2016.

After his draft selection to the Penguins, Almari split his first professional season in 2016–17 between HPK and Mestis affiliate, LeKi. He made his professional debut on 17 September 2016, against Kärpät and later scored his first Liiga goal on 5 October 2016 against Jukurit. Almari also spent 10 games with HPK's junior club and helped contribute in winning the Jr. A SM-liiga's title. At the conclusion of the season, Almari accepted an amateur try-out with Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on 11 April 2017. In helping his development, Almari trained with Wilkes-Barre and was a part of their extended squad into the post-season.

In returning to HPK for his third season in 2018–19, Almari continued to show an upward trend in his development, appearing in 42 regular season for 5 points. In the playoffs, Almari appeared in all 18 post-season games for HPK, helping claim the Championship on 4 May 2019.

On 10 May 2019, Almari was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In the final season of his entry-level contract, Almari was assigned to AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre before he was later reassigned on loan by Pittsburgh to close out the 2021–22 season with Lukko of the Liiga.

On 1 June 2022, Almari was signed to a two-year contract extension to remain with Lukko, having left the Penguins organization.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2014–15 Espoo Blues Jr. A 26 4 4 8 16 — — — — — 2015–16 Espoo Blues Jr. A 12 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 2015–16 Jokerit Jr. A 27 2 5 7 10 2 0 1 1 4 2016–17 HPK Jr. A 10 1 4 5 0 10 1 10 11 0 2016–17 HPK Liiga 24 3 2 5 10 — — — — — 2016–17 LeKi Mestis 23 1 6 7 8 — — — — — 2017–18 HPK Liiga 41 4 4 8 6 — — — — — 2017–18 LeKi Mestis 4 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2017–18 Espoo United Mestis 9 0 3 3 16 — — — — — 2017–18 HPK Jr. A — — — — — 5 2 1 3 14 2017–18 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 2018–19 HPK Jr. A 2 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2018–19 HPK Liiga 42 1 4 5 6 18 0 0 0 2 2019–20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 51 1 6 7 18 — — — — —2020–21Lahti PelicansLiiga28167650000 2021–22 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 13 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 2021–22 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 6 0 4 4 2 — — — — — 2021–22 Lukko Liiga 15 0 2 2 6 7 0 0 0 2 Liiga totals 150 9 18 27 34 30 0 0 0 4

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2014 Finland U17 5th 6 0 1 1 0 Junior totals 6 0 1 1 0

Awards & honors Award Year Liiga Champion (HPK) 2019