| Juuso Riikola | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 November 1993, Joensuu, Finland |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team F. teams |
Pittsburgh Penguins KalPa |
| Ntl. team |  Finland
|
| NHL Draft | Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2012–present |
Juuso Riikola (born 9 November 1993) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman currently under contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). His brother, Simo-Pekka also plays professionally for SaiPa in the Liiga.
Playing career[]
Riikola made his SM-liiga debut playing with KalPa as a 19-year-old during the 2012–13 SM-liiga season.[1] 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.[2] He made his NHL debut on 11 October 2018 against the Vegas Golden Knights at PPG Paints Arena.[3] Riikola recorded his first career NHL point, an assist, on 28 November against the Colorado Avalanche.[4] He scored his first NHL goal on 29 December 2018 against the St. Louis Blues.[5]
On 30 May 2019, the Penguins re-signed Riikola to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $850,000.[6] On 16 October 2019, against the Colorado Avalanche, Riikola played as a left winger due to injuries to several Penguins forwards.[7]
On 5 September 2020, the Penguins signed Riikola to a two-year, $2.3 million extension.[8]
International play[]
Riikola played for the Finland national team at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.[9]
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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 283 | 26 | 63 | 89 | 124 | 31 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 35 | ||||
| NHL totals | 73 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
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 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Senior totals | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||
References[]
- ↑ 2012–13 KalPa player statistics. Eliteprospects.com (2013-03-28). Retrieved on 2013-03-28.
- ↑ Penguins sign defenseman Juuso Riikola. Pittsburgh Penguins (2018-05-18). Retrieved on 2018-05-18.
- ↑ "Penguins defenseman Juuso Riikola earns rave reviews for NHL debut", Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 12 October 2018. Retrieved on 29 November 2018.
- ↑ NHL-kierroksen topit ja flopit: Riikola saalisti ensimmäisen NHL-tehopisteensä Crosbyn hattutempussa, Matthews palasi säkenöivänä (Finnish) (29 November 2018). Retrieved on 29 November 2018.
- ↑ @Penguins (29 December 2018). GOAL! JUUSO RIIKOLA! You never forget your first. Congratulations, Juuso! The Penguins lead 2-0 with 14:47 remaining in the 2nd period..
- ↑ Penguins Re-Sign Juuso Riikola to a One-Year Contract. Retrieved on 30 May 2019.
- ↑ Tanev OT goal helps Penguins hand Avalanche first loss of season.
- ↑ Penguins Re-Sign Defenseman Juuso Riikola to a Two-Year Contract. Retrieved on 5 September 2020.
- ↑ Nämä Liiga-pelaajat mukana Leijonien MM-kisamiehistössä.
External links[]
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Juuso Riikola. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |