Anssi Salmela
| Anssi Salmela | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Salmela during his time with Modo Hockey in 5 October 2013 | |||
| Born |
13 August 1984 Nokia, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Tappara Lahti Pelicans New Jersey Devils Atlanta Thrashers Avangard Omsk Modo Hockey HV71 Färjestad BK Brynäs IF Kunlun Red Star Linköping HC Dinamo Riga EHC Biel Ilves | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2003–2021 | ||
Anssi Salmela (born 13 August 1984) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played parts of 5 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the New Jersey Devils and Atlanta Thrashers. Outside of the NHL, Salmela played for the Tappara, the Lahti Pelicans and Ilves of the SM-liiga. He has also played for Avangard Omsk, Kunlun Red Star, and Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), as well as, Modo Hockey, HV71, Färjestad BK, Brynäs IF, and Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), and EHC Biel of the National League.
Career
Before playing in the NHL, Salmela played parts of four seasons with Tappara and two seasons with the Lahti Pelicans of the SM-liiga. He had a successful time with Tappara. He was awarded the Juha Rantasila Trophy for most goals for defenseman with 16 and was also awarded a bronze medal with the team.[1]
He was not drafted by an NHL team. On 22 May 2008, Salmela signed a one-year, two-way contract to join the New Jersey Devils.[2] On October 10, 2008, Salmela made his NHL debut in a 2–1 win against the New York Islanders.[3] On November 12, he recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a Zach Parise goal in a 5–2 loss against the New York Rangers.[4]
On 2 March 2009, the Thrashers traded Salmela to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Niclas Hävelid and Myles Stoesz.[5] On March 16, Salmela scored his first NHL goal against José Théodore in a 5–1 win against the Washington Capitals.[6] He played parts of two seasons with e Thrashers.
On February 4, 2010, the Thrashers traded Salmela along with Ilya Kovalchuk and a 2010 second-round draft pick back to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, a 2010 first- and second-round draft pick.[7] He played parts of two seasons with the Devils.
On 15 July 2011, Salmela left North America and signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract to join Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[8]
He played for many other teams in Europe before retiring from playing professional ice hockey in 2021.
References
- ↑ "Tapparan Voittamat Palkinnot". Tappara (in Swedeish). Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- ↑ "Salmela joins New Jersey". yle.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Bruins fall all the way out". The Hockey News. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- ↑ "New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils Box Score: November 12, 2008". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- ↑ "Devils Acquire Niclas Havelid". NBC New York. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- ↑ "All about family for Pirates' Stuart". American Hockey League. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- ↑ "Kovalchuk traded to Devils". New Jersey Devils. Archived from the original on February 9, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Ex-Devil Salmela signs with KHL's Avangard Omsk"". New Jersey Devils. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
Other websites
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database