Salminen Choosing Different Path | FEATURE

Samu Salminen has his eyes set on the National Hockey League.
Taken in the third round, 68th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Devils, the Finnish native will make his way to North America next season to join the University of Connecticut.
It may sound like an unusual path for a player who has competed for his entire career in his native Finland, but for the youngest of three Salminen brothers, playing in the NCAA has always been on his mind.
Sami and Saku are Samu's brothers. They're eight and ten years older than Samu. Saku was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2013, but never made the jump to NHL. Sami, although never drafted, was the inspiration for Samu's path. His eldest brother attended and played hockey for Northern Michigan University in 2012-13 and remained with the University for four years, receiving his education while playing hockey. Like most younger siblings, they look up to the older ones and Samu was no different.
"That's what I wanted to do since I was 10 years old. My older brother was in college too. He always told me that I to go there too. I'm so excited to go there."

Because Samu was an NCAA commit, he was not able to play in the Finnish professional league last season, which would have been a far more traditional path. Instead, he remained with the U-20 Jokerit club for a third year, his first as captain, and had 48 points (19g-29a) in 44 games.
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Now he is getting ready to play for UCONN, suiting up for the Huskies in his first NCAA season. He's fresh off his first in-person Devils Development Camp, held last month in New Jersey. Although the camp was less than a week, it was an important step for him to take.
"Good experience, all kinds of stuff with coaches and players that help me like what's the little details," Salminen said in his stall set up at Prudential Center, "I have to prove my game, I have only played in Europe. It's going to be a different kind of game if you consider it with North America (style hockey). I have to be ready for that upgrade the next season."
At 19 years old, Salminen is beginning to get used to and understand what will be expected of him playing on this side of the world. He noted the drills and skills of Development Camp, the advice on his stick play and physical battles, and competing for the puck as areas where the different, smaller-sized ice in North America, will take some adjustment. He noted that in Finland, while they hone skills and tactics from a player's earliest years of playing hockey, there is an adjustment to make and he expressed his appreciation to being at Devils Development Camp.
"I'm glad I'm here with all these professional guys. I watch them during the ice and of course, they are good guys for playing, but I have to beat them. That's what it has to be."