Tommi Salmelainen
Encyclopedia
Tommi Salmelainen is a Finnish hockey
left winger who played for HIFK
. He was the first ever European
drafted in the NHL Entry Draft
in 1969
although he never did play in the National Hockey League
. He was taken by the St. Louis Blues in the sixth round, 66th overall.
Tommi Salmelainen's sons Tony
(Genève-Servette HC
) and Tobias (Porin Ässät
) are both professional ice hockey players.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
left winger who played for HIFK
HIFK (ice hockey)
HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897...
. He was the first ever European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
drafted in the NHL Entry Draft
NHL Entry Draft
The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League systematically select the rights to available amateur ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements...
in 1969
1969 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1969 NHL Amateur Draft was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This draft is notable for being the first NHL draft to be conducted after the league ended direct sponsorship of junior hockey.-Selections by round:...
although he never did play in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
. He was taken by the St. Louis Blues in the sixth round, 66th overall.
Tommi Salmelainen's sons Tony
Tony Salmelainen
Tony Salmelainen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who plays for Genève-Servette HC and formerly for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Russian Super League...
(Genève-Servette HC
Genève-Servette HC
Genève-Servette HC, is a professional ice hockey team based in Geneva, Switzerland and compete in National League A.-History:* 1905 : Foundation of Servette FC's ice hockey section....
) and Tobias (Porin Ässät
Ässät
Ässät is an ice hockey team in the Finnish elite league, SM-liiga. They play in Pori, Finland at the Porin jäähalli.-Team history:...
) are both professional ice hockey players.