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With the 46th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, the New York Islanders selected Robin Salo. Salo played for Sport Vaasa in the Finnish Liiga last season, putting up a goal and 15 assists in 65 games during the 2016-17 season. He’s also part of Finland’s international set up, playing for their U-18 and U-20 teams.
CanucksArmy has a great write-up of Salo and his potential in the NHL, showing that Salo compares favorably to Miro Heiskanen, who the Dallas Stars selected 3rd overall this draft. Salo posted a 51.9% Corsi-for and is a trusted penalty killer and useful top-4 defenseman for Sport.
For the traditionalists, here’s a look at Salo’s boxcar stats season by season.
Robin Salo
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
| 2011-2012 | Sport U16 | Jr. C I-divisioona Q | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sport U16 | Jr. C II-divisioona | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2012-2013 | Sport U16 | Jr. C SM-sarja Q | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Sport U16 | Jr. C SM-sarja | 28 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 16 | |
| 2013-2014 | Sport U17 | Jr. B2 SM-sarja | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Sport U18 | Jr. B Mestis | 25 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | |
| Sport U18 | Jr. B SM-sarja | 18 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 | |
| Finland U16 (all) | International-Jr | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2014-2015 | Sport U20 | Jr. A SM-liiga | 45 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 32 |
| Sport | Liiga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Finland U17 | WHC-17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Finland U17 (all) | International-Jr | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Finland U18 | WJC-18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Finland U18 (all) | International-Jr | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015-2016 | Finland U18 | Hlinka Memorial | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sport U20 | Jr. A SM-liiga | 27 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 8 | |
| Sport | Liiga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hermes | Mestis | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | |
| Finland U18 | WJC-18 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Finland U20 (all) | International-Jr | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016-2017 | Sport | Liiga | 54 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 14 |
| Finland U20 (all) | International-Jr | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 2017-2018 | Sport | Liiga | - | - | - | - | - |
(Credit to Elite Prospects for the season by season data)
There’s also a video of some of his highlights from the 2016 U-18 IIHF Championship to get a look at what the newest New York Islander can bring.
This story is developing.