Confirmed Signing with Link: Antti Suomela signs 1 year ELC with San Jose Sharks

[Booba]

Counting their 2 junior eligible players (Chmelevski and Chekhovich), the Sharks currently have 47 players under contract for 18/19 with 3 RFAs left to be signed (Hert, Demelo, Tierney).

I expect them to make a few moves (trades/buyouts) between the draft and the first week of July.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Counting their 2 junior eligible players (Chmelevski and Chekhovich), the Sharks currently have 47 players under contract for 18/19 with 3 RFAs left to signed (Hert, Demelo, Tierney).

I expect them to make a few moves (trades/buyouts) between the draft and the first week of July.

Aren't the junior players exempt from the limit?

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Counting their 2 junior eligible players (Chmelevski and Chekhovich), the Sharks currently have 47 players under contract for 18/19 with 3 RFAs left to signed (Hert, Demelo, Tierney).

I expect them to make a few moves (trades/buyouts) between the draft and the first week of July.

Paul Martin is almost guaranteed to be bought out.

Tim Heed is probably the most likely player to be traded; Mikkel Boedker and Melker Karlsson will likely be traded as well.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Sharks gets a really good player, i hardly think you guys even understand what you just got.

He just my become the next William Karlsson of today, surely not going to score 40+ goals,
but other means, yes, really think so.

 

[uncleben]

Aren't the junior players exempt from the limit?

If they play less than 10 games in the NHL, yes.

 

[Kcoyote3]

If they play less than 10 games in the NHL, yes.

I guess it also means once they finish their junior years and come to the AHL at the end of next season, they may count?

 

[Flick of the Switch]

I've got nothing to contribute to the weather discussion, but Antti "Ana" Suomela happened to play in my home team, JYP for a couple seasons so I can shed some light on the fella for those not familiar with him.

Antti is a good all-around center, I can't really think of any significant weaknesses, he's got good playmaking, can score, is not huge but not small either, decent speed, good hands, good vision, makes linemates better and most importantly in my opinion he doesn't do a lot of mistakes. He's not a flashy guy and at times can be invisible, but still he handles his defensive duties very well and ends up with 1+1 after the night anyway. He does score most of his goals from very close proximity to the opposing goal and has the ability to create a little bit of room for himself if needed, so he shouldn't have any major issues adapting to NA hockey either.

Definitely a good low risk, high reward signing for Sharkies as the man certainly has the potential to be something between a defensive #2C or a scoring #3C . Hard for me to come up with any negatives on the guy as he just played really solid 2 seasons for us and was the top scorer in the Finnish League on the 17-18 season and straight up made the opposition look shamefully bad at times.

Highlight reel because who doesn't like highlight reels

 

[TheRocket87]

I've got nothing to contribute to the weather discussion, but Antti "Ana" Suomela happened to play in my home team, JYP for a couple seasons so I can shed some light on the fella for those not familiar with him.

Antti is a good all-around center, I can't really think of any significant weaknesses, he's got good playmaking, can score, is not huge but not small either, decent speed, good hands, good vision, makes linemates better and most importantly in my opinion he doesn't do a lot of mistakes. He's not a flashy guy and at times can be invisible, but still he handles his defensive duties very well and ends up with 1+1 after the night anyway. He does score most of his goals from very close proximity to the opposing goal and has the ability to create a little bit of room for himself if needed, so he shouldn't have any major issues adapting to NA hockey either.

Definitely a good low risk, high reward signing for Sharkies as the man certainly has the potential to be something between a defensive #2C or a scoring #3C . Hard for me to come up with any negatives on the guy as he just played really solid 2 seasons for us and was the top scorer in the Finnish League on the 17-18 season and straight up made the opposition look shamefully bad at times.

Highlight reel because who doesn't like highlight reels

Skillwise he's a decent guy, but soft as hell. The reason he disappears in the playoffs and has been really really bad on the international level is that he's useless in board battles and rarely comes out with the puck. If he can get a lot better at that, he can without question be the player you described.

 

[Flick of the Switch]

Fair, good shout on sotfness, he is/was quite dependent on having linemates that can either win a lot of corner grinds or out-rotate the opposing D, the latter one was easier to abuse with the clumsy Finnish defensemen in Liiga. The World Championship was a disaster for him, looked nothing like himself.

 

[TheRocket87]

Fair, good shout on sotfness, he is/was quite dependent on having linemates that can either win a lot of corner grinds or out-rotate the opposing D, the latter one was easier to abuse with the clumsy Finnish defensemen in Liiga. The World Championship was a disaster for him, looked nothing like himself.

I think he's been flat out bad in practically all of his international appearances, not just the WC.

 

[rinne]

Good signing from Sharks.

Suomela is good offensive player. His potential is something like middle-6 C. Probably #3C but could make it at least as low end 2C also if everything goes right. He has the tools. But he is soft as mentioned. I don't see that Suomela is physically ready for NHL. He has to improve that side of his game a lot. So instead of middle-6 C there might be just new "Michael Keränen". Keränen jumped from Liiga after playing it through in 2013-2014. Keränen didn't manage to make it in NHL. I believe he got one game in Minnesota. Beside that he spent two seasons in AHL before jumping back to Europe.

I am not saying that Suomela is like Keränen. I think Suomela is better player. But the problems in physicality are somewhat similar.

At best Sharks got a center who can create offense from middle-6 role. At worst they only have AHL:er. The cost of this signing wasn't much so it is good gamble to take. The potential is there so the reward could be great. Will be interesting to see how Suomela survives.

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

When exactly was he signed? Teams cannot sign European UFA’s at this time.

I'd like to hear more about this. Did they do the signing before 1st of June or did they find some kind of loophole?

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Would fit well with Kane.

 

[Halla]

his regular seasons stats are great but his playoff stats are pretty awful (9pts in 21 games)

no risk with this kind of signing though. if he isnt good enough, he will be in the AHL

 

[DeVols]

At first I read this as "Anssi Salmela," who had a legitimate cult following when he was with the Devils.

 

[Puck Dogg]

Damn, so does anybody have any information on the player? Can he play in the NHL next season?

Suomela has some puck skills and hockey IQ but appears somewhat light and plays smaller than what his height (6-0") suggests. Needs to bulk up to move his game to another level. Decent defensively, but his physical game is nothing to write home about. AHL is likely best suited for him, unlikely to be NHL level player yet.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Imagine moving from frigid Finland to balmy SoCal...he hit the jackpot

Ummm...can I make that trade in reverse? I miss winter and beaches are lame.

 

[Hostile Offer]

sad for the habs

I'm not really bummed at all we missed on this guy but I sure wouldn't have opposed signing him. Good luck for him in SJ.

 

[Charlie Conway]

Good signing for SJ!

Looks like a shifty forward in front of the net, and he creates with small amounts of space. Excited to see how he transitions.

I wouldn't be surprised if his scoring takes a hit with the way a lot of d-men play physically and cross-check near the crease. A lot of the Liiga guys look more passive.

Still, as everyone has said, he has the tools to be a quality middle-6 C if it all comes together.

 

[Brock Radunske]

Ummm...can I make that trade in reverse? I miss winter and beaches are lame.

Sacrilege!

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Imagine moving from frigid Finland to balmy SoCal...he hit the jackpot

He didn't sign with the Ducks or Kings...

 

[Brock Radunske]

He didn't sign with the Ducks or Kings...

Yeh, it's been covered.

 

[HOPE]

I'm not really bummed at all we missed on this guy but I sure wouldn't have opposed signing him. Good luck for him in SJ.

Great fit in the AHL could have turned a very great assets

 

[lwvs84]

Technically SJ is central Cal (as is SF) but lots of people forget the real estate between here and Oregon. Its like those Spanish maps from the 1700s where the land lines just fade into nothingness.

Yeah, but when I lived up there everyone there considered themselves Nor Cal, so I just go with it lol. Central tends to be like 10% of the state above LA County through like Fresno area (at least in terms of what people think of Central Cal being). Actually, the only time I've heard people talk about Central California is referring to Sequoia National Forrest (which is actually pretty far south).