Harsh news for the lion’s golden hero in the NHL – seven Finns given their marching orders
A total of seven Finnish players have received last-minute assignments to the AHL farm league – just before the new NHL season begins.
The matter was confirmed on Monday evening when the fates of the players placed on the NHL’s waiver list on Sunday were revealed. No Finnish player was picked up by the deadline for a new NHL team.
Starting their season in the AHL are Boston Bruins’ Henri Jokiharju, Carolina Hurricanes’ Juuso Välimäki, New Jersey Devils’ Topias Vilén, Vegas Golden Knights’ Ville Heinola, and Antti Tuomisto, as well as Montreal Canadiens’ goalie Kaapo Kähkönen.
In addition, the Dallas Stars assigned forward Arttu Hyryn to the farm.
The most notable Finnish player to receive a farm assignment is Jokiharju, who was among the stars of the spring World Championships.
The 27-year-old defenseman celebrated a world championship in the spring while wearing the Lions’ jersey and was one of the key players on Finland’s gold medal team. Jokiharju played all 10 games in the World Championship tournament and recorded stats of 2+6=8. He was also selected to the tournament’s all-star team.
Jokiharju already has a long NHL career behind him. The second-generation professional hockey player has played 448 regular-season games in the league over seven seasons.
The farm assignment is particularly harsh because the Finnish defenseman is just starting his second season of a three-year contract. The lucrative deal guarantees Jokiharju an annual income of three million dollars.
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