Saku Mäenalanen

Saku Mäenalanen (born on May 29, 1994 in Tornio) is a Finnish professional ice hockey right/left winger. He is currently playing with the Jokerit of the KHL. His NHL rights are owned by the Carolina Hurricanes. Mäenalanen was selected by the Nashville Predators in the 5th round (125th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Club career
Mäenalanen began playing junior hockey with the Kärpät organisation. In the 2010-11 season, Mäenalanen played 26 games with the Laser HT under-18 team and 1 game with the Kärpät under-18 team. Then he again played with the Kärpät organisation.

He made his senior debut in the Liiga with the Kärpät during the 2013-14 season. He played 25 games. He also played 15 games on loan with the Jokipojat of the Mestis and 5 regular season games and 12 play-off games with the Kärpät under-20 team. In this season, Mäenalanen became the Finnish champion

In the 2014-15 season, Mäenalanen continued in the Liiga with the Kärpät where he played 20 regular season games and 7 play-off games in this season. He also played his last 6 games with the Kärpät under-20 team. In this same season, Mäenalanen spent 17 regular season games and 10 play-off games on loan with the Hokki of the Mestis and 8 games on loan with the Pelicans of the Liiga. In this season, he became again the Finnish champion.

Mäenalanen then continued with the Kärpät of the Liiga. In the 2017-18 season, Mäenalanen enjoyed a breakout season in totalling 17 goals and 46 points in 59 regular season games, ranking 11th among scorers in Liiga. He added 10 points in 18 play-off games, helping Kärpät capture the Liiga title.

On May 18, 2018, Mäenalanen gained NHL interest and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes organisation. In signing with the Hurricanes he was reunited with former Finnish junior teammate, Sebastian Aho. Mäenalanen began the 2018-19 season with the Hurricanes AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. He was recalled to the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL on December 6, 2018 after playing in 23 games and recording 11 points with the Charlotte Checkers. He made his NHL debut the following day in a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. He recorded his first NHL goal on January 8, 2019 in a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders. All in all, Mäenalanen played 34 regular season games and 9 play-off games with the Carolina Hurricanes and 31 games with the Charlotte Checkers.

As a restricted free agent after his first North American season, Mäenalanen was unable to agree to terms with the Hurricanes on a new contract. With his rights still held by the Hurricanes, Mäenalanen opted to return to his native Finland to continue his career in the KHL. He agreed to an optional two-year contract with Jokerit on September 25, 2019.

International career
Mäenalanen played with the Finnish National Team at the 2014 World Junior Championship (winning there gold and being the best goal-scorer of the tournament with 7 goals scored) and at the 2018 World Championship.