Oskari Laaksonen
Born (1999-07-02) 2 July 1999
Tampere, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
SHL team
Former teams		 Luleå HF
Ilves
Lahti Pelicans
NHL Draft 89th overall, 2017
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2017–present

Oskari Laaksonen (born 2 July 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing with Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round, 89th overall, of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Laaksonen as a youth played with Ilves' U16, U18, and U20 teams. After playing for Ilves U20, Laaksonen was drafted 89th overall by the Sabres in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Laaksonen made his Liiga debut during the 2017–18 season, on 9 January 2018, in a 6–5 defeat to HPK.[2] He played out the season to contribute with 4 assists in 21 games.[3]

On 15 June 2020, Laaksonen was signed by the Sabres to a three-year, entry-level contract.[4] It was announced he would initially continue his tenure with Ilves for the 2020–21 season, however on 21 September 2020, Laaksonen was loaned by the Sabres to fellow Liiga club, Lahti Pelicans.[5]

Entering the 2022–23 season assigned to begin his third year with the Sabres AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, Laaksonen was limited to just 10 appearances through the opening months. On 15 December 2022, Laaksonen was traded by the Sabres to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Joseph Cecconi. He was immediately re-assigned to join their AHL club, the Texas Stars.[6] Remaining with Texas until the conclusion of the season, Laaksonen recorded 8 points through 29 regular season games before adding 3 points in 6 playoff contests.

As an impending restricted free agent from the Stars, Laaksonen opted to return to Europe in signing a two-year contract with Swedish club, Luleå HF of the SHL, on 26 May 2023.[7] His NHL rights were later relinquished by the Stars on 1 July 2023.[8]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2019 Canada

Laaksonen appeared for Finland in 6 junior international friendly games in 2016, before he was later selected to represent his country at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[9] He collected 1 goal in 7 games from the blueline, helping Finland claim the gold medal for their 5th title.[10]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016–17 Ilves Jr. A 27 6 3 9 14 6 1 1 2 4
2017–18 Ilves Jr. A 40 4 11 15 52 — — — — —
2017–18 Ilves Liiga 21 0 4 4 8 — — — — —
2018–19 Ilves Liiga 46 3 21 24 36 4 0 1 1 0
2019–20 Ilves Liiga 46 2 10 12 14 — — — — —
2020–21 Lahti Pelicans Liiga 20 4 8 12 14 — — — — —
2020–21 Rochester Americans AHL 28 2 15 17 6 — — — — —
2021–22 Rochester Americans AHL 71 5 29 34 44 2 0 1 1 0
2022–23 Rochester Americans AHL 10 0 2 2 8 — — — — —
2022–23 Texas Stars AHL 29 2 6 8 12 6 1 2 3 0
Liiga totals 133 9 43 52 72 4 0 1 1 0

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2019 Finland WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 1 0 1 6
Junior totals 7 1 0 1 6

References

  1. ↑ "Meet Oskari Laaksonen, Buffalo's third round pick". Buffalo Sabres. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Ilves stopped by HPK". Liiga. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "Oskari Laaksonen player biography". finnprospects.com. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Sabres sign Laaksonen to 3-year, entry-level deal". Buffalo Sabres. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "Sompi and Laaksonen join Pelicans" (in Finnish). Lahti Pelicans. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "Stars, Sabres swap AHL defenseman". American Hockey League. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "Welcome Oskari Laaksonen!" (in Swedish). Luleå HF. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Stars announce qualifying offers". Dallas Stars. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "Oskari Laaksonen player profile". eliteprospects.com. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Finland defeats United States to win World Junior Championship". National Hockey League. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
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