2. Samu Salminen
University of Denver
Samu Salminen’s journey to North America has been messy, to say the least. He was supposed to leave his home team of Jokerit in Finland to come play college hockey in the United States. He was supposed to immediately join the University of Denver, one of the great teams, possibly the greatest team, to join in college hockey. Its head coach, David Carle, is getting looks by NHL teams because he is head and shoulders ahead of the rest of college coaches.
Unfortunately, some issues with admissions/eligibility led to a change in his university. Salminen eventually committed to the University of Connecticut, better known as UConn. He was kind of “meh” there. He had 17 points in both his seasons, just up I-95 from Newark, and he eventually re-committed to Denver.
This season, Salminen is playing the type of role that the Devils will eventually want from him. He’s playing on a great team’s bottom six, dominating on the penalty kill, and he’s making plays in the moments he gets an opportunity. He has six goals and seven assists in 22 games, and he will have a chance to play big-time hockey in the Frozen Four. Two of his goals came in the same game, and they were both shorthanded. That’s a huge feat.
The Devils usually have prospects in the NCAA, but there aren’t as many top prospects there right now. Salminen is the one to watch, and he might win a National Championship.