Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Ristolainen (born 27 October 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected eighth overall by the Sabres at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.[1][2]
| Rasmus Ristolainen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Ristolainen with the Buffalo Sabres in 2016 | |||
| Born |
27 October 1994 Turku, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Buffalo Sabres TPS | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL Draft |
8th overall, 2013 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
Playing career
Ristolainen made his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres on the opening night of the 2013–14 season, on 2 October 2013, against the Detroit Red Wings. He scored his first career NHL goal later in the month, on 25 October against Jacob Markström of the Florida Panthers. On 5 January 2014, Ristolainen scored the overtime winner in the final of the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships against previously undefeated Sweden, giving Finland the gold medal. He scored his first NHL hat-trick on 10 December 2015 against the Calgary Flames. In so doing, he became the first Sabres' defenceman to score a hat-trick since Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Housley did so in the 1987–88 season.[3]
On 21 March 2017, Ristolainen delivered a check to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. Guentzel suffered a concussion on the play, and Ristolainen was given a three-game suspension for interference by the league.[4]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2009–10 | TPS | FIN U18 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | TPS | FIN U20 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | TPS | FIN U18 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2010–11 | TPS | FIN U20 | 27 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | TPS | SM-l | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | TPS | FIN U20 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | TPS | SM-l | 40 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | TPS | SM-l | 52 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | TPS | FIN U20 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 34 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 34 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 82 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 79 | 6 | 39 | 45 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 73 | 6 | 35 | 41 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 5 | 38 | 43 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 69 | 6 | 27 | 33 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 93 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 110 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| NHL totals | 493 | 42 | 185 | 227 | 255 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Finland | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 2014 Malmö | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Finland | U17 | 10th | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2011 | Finland | U17 | 7th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2011 | Finland | U18 | 4th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2012 | Finland | WJC | 4th | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2012 | Finland | WJC18 | 4th | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2013 | Finland | WJC | 7th | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 | |
| 2014 | Finland | WJC |  |
5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WCH | 8th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 40 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 56 | ||||
| Senior totals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
References
- "Sabres select Finnish defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen AKA "the Finnish Hammer" with their first pick in NHL draft". Buffalo News. 30 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 July 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- Ryndak, Chris (30 June 2013). "2013 NHL DRAFT". NHL.com. Buffalo Sabres. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- Cuthbert, Justin (11 December 2015). "Ristolainen scores 1st career hat trick; emerging as elite young D-man". thescore.com. The Score. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- Goldberg, Rob (23 March 2017). "Rasmus Ristolainen Suspended 3 Games for Hit on Penguins Forward Jake Guentzel". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Zemgus Girgensons |
Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick 2013 |
Succeeded by Nikita Zadorov |