Saku Mäenalanen

Saku Mäenalanen
Born (1994-05-29) 29 May 1994
Tornio, Finland
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Carolina Hurricanes
Charlotte Checkers (AHL)
Oulun Kärpät
Lahti Pelicans
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 125th overall, 2013
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2013–present

Saku Mäenalanen (born 29 May 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League (NHL). Mäenalanen was selected by the Nashville Predators in the 5th round (125th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Mäenalanen played junior hockey within the Oulun Kärpät organization. Following his selection in the NHL draft by the Predators, he made his professional debut in the Liiga with Oulun Kärpät during the 2013–14 season.

Unsigned by the Nashville Predators, Mäenalanen continued in the Liiga with Oulun Kärpät, also enduring a shortened loan stint with fellow Liiga club, Lahti Pelicans in the 2014–15 season.[1]

In the 2017–18 season, Mäenalanen enjoyed a breakout season in totalling 17 goals and 46 points in 59 games, ranking 11th among scorers in Liiga. He added 10 points in the postseason, helping Oulun capture the league championship. On May 18, 2018, Mäenalanen gained NHL interest and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. In signing with the Hurricanes he was reunited with former Finnish junior teammate, Sebastian Aho.[2]

International play

Maenalanen made his senior debut for Finland, at the 2018 IIHF World Championship. In a fifth place finish, he posted 2 goals and 3 assists in 8 contests.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Oulun Kärpät Jr. A 45 23 35 58 43 5 5 2 7 18
2013–14 Oulun Kärpät Jr. A 5 3 3 6 2 12 4 4 8 10
2013–14 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 25 4 3 7 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Jokipojat Mestis 15 9 6 15 4 — — — — —
2014–15 Oulun Kärpät Jr. A 6 2 6 8 2 — — — — —
2014–15 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 20 4 1 5 2 7 0 1 1 0
2014–15 Lahti Pelicans Liiga 8 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2014–15 Hokki Mestis 17 5 8 13 6 10 2 4 6 22
2015–16 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 46 6 10 16 14 13 3 1 4 6
2016–17 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 34 11 10 21 6 2 0 0 0 0
2017–18 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 59 17 29 46 26 18 5 5 10 16
Liiga totals 192 43 53 96 48 40 8 7 15 22
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Finland
World Junior Championships
2014 Malmö

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Finland WJC 1st, gold medalist(s) 7 7 4 11 0
2018 Finland WC 5th 8 2 1 3 8
Junior totals 7 7 4 11 0
Senior totals 8 2 1 3 8

Awards and honours

Award Year
Jr. A SM-liiga
All-Star Team 2012–13 [3]

References

  1. ↑ "Maenalanen loaned to Pelicans" (in Finnish). Oulun Kärpät. 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  2. ↑ "Canes sign Maenalanen to one-year contract". Carolina Hurricanes. 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  3. ↑ "All-Star Team announced". eliteprospects.com. 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
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