Juuso Riikola (born 9 November 1993) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing with SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). His brother, Simo-Pekka also played professionally.
| Juuso Riikola | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Riikola with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019 | |||
| Born |
9 November 1993 Joensuu, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NL team Former teams |
SCL Tigers KalPa Pittsburgh Penguins IK Oskarshamn | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2012–present | ||
Playing career edit
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]
After four seasons within the Penguins organization and as a pending free agent, Riikola opted to return to Europe in securing a one-year contract with Swedish club, IK Oskarshamn of the SHL, on 25 May 2022.[9]
International play edit
Riikola played for the Finland national team at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.[10]
Career statistics edit
Regular season and playoffs edit
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 53 | 1 | 34 | 35 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | IK Oskarshamn | SHL | 42 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | SCL Tigers | NL | 43 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 283 | 26 | 63 | 89 | 124 | 31 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 35 | ||||
| NHL totals | 80 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International edit
| 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 | |
| 2024 | Finland | WC | 8th | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Senior totals | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||||
References edit
- ^ "2012–13 KalPa player statistics". Eliteprospects.com. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ "Penguins sign defenseman Juuso Riikola". Pittsburgh Penguins. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ Bombulie, Jonathan (12 October 2018). "Penguins defenseman Juuso Riikola earns rave reviews for NHL debut". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- ^ Hallikainen, Topi (29 November 2018). "NHL-kierroksen topit ja flopit: Riikola saalisti ensimmäisen NHL-tehopisteensä Crosbyn hattutempussa, Matthews palasi säkenöivänä". jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- ^ @Penguins (30 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" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Penguins Re-Sign Juuso Riikola to a One-Year Contract". Pittsburgh Penguins. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ "Tanev OT goal helps Penguins hand Avalanche first loss of season". NHL.com.
- ^ "Penguins Re-Sign Defenseman Juuso Riikola to a Two-Year Contract". Pittsburgh Penguins. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Juuso Riikola joins from Pittsburgh Penguins organization" (in Swedish). IK Oskarshamn. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Nämä Liiga-pelaajat mukana Leijonien MM-kisamiehistössä". liiga.fi.
External links edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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