Oilers Sign Jere Sallinen

After numerous reports early on Sunday, the Oilers made it official, they have signed forward Jere Sallinen to a one-year entry level contract. Sallinen was drafted in the 6th round (163rd overall) in 2009 by the Minnesota Wild, but has played his entire career since then in Europe.

The #Oilers have signed fwd Jere Sallinen to a one-year ELC. pic.twitter.com/j1iCEfQsmZ

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 13, 2016

While the contract is for the 2016-17 season, it’s worth taking a look at the player now and seeing what the Oilers may have acquired here. This signing is reminiscent of the moves to bring Lennart Petrell and Iiro Pakarinen over from Europe. Neither of those players proved to be sexy names, but both have contributed somewhat at the NHL level. Depth players brought in for nothing but a contract.

Who Is He?:

Sallinen has played the past two seasons in the KHL, suiting up for Jokerit Helsinki. At 6′ and 183 pounds, he appears to be a decently sized player. At first glance, there isn’t much available regarding his style, but Hockey’s Future once mentioned how some scouts compared him to Bobby Holik, a strong power forward during his NHL days. Here is the complete report from Hockey’s Future.

Opinions vary widely on Sallinen. Some scouts view him as a Bobby Holik-type power forward while others feel he is merely a big bodied, undisciplined player who put up big scoring numbers playing against smaller junior players but does not have the requisite skill level to be successful at the NHL level. On the plus side, his energy and enthusiasm, as well as a willingness to compete all over the ice, are popular with both teammates and fans alike. While not as awe inspiring as some of the other prospects in Finland, Sallinen is a strong skater and also handles the puck well in traffic. Unfortunately, he suffered a back injury this past season which limited his season to nine games. With his punishing style of play, that is something that has teams concerned.

Production:

Sallinen hasn’t lit up the KHL scoring wise, that’s for sure. In 50 games this season, he posted 8-11-19. That doesn’t scream offensive producer if you ask me. In 2014-15, his numbers were quite similar, 8-7-15 in 48 games. His best offensive season as a pro came back in 2012-13 when he was playing in the SM-liiga with HPK Hameenlinna. That season, he posted 15-27-42 in 57 games.

If anything, we are looking at a role player here, someone that gets by on things other than offense. Judging by KHL production the last two seasons, it’s fair to wonder if he has the bat to make it in the NHL.

What Can We Expect?:

This signing appears to be more of a depth move, more of an AHL move if you will. Sallinen’s offensive production doesn’t appear substantial enough to warrant consideration for a top nine job in the NHL, and we don’t know enough about his other aspects to clearly project him. Looking at it from here. he may be a cheap and young option to plug onto the fourth line should he bring a physical and defensive element to the table.

He’ll likely get a look in training camp, but from here he looks like a decent bet to see AHL action next year. If he proves to be a strong defensive player and a physical presence, then we may see him in a depth role as time rolls on. As of today, however, we simply don’t know enough about him to safely project him into the future.

The one thing that really sticks out to me is lack of offense, however. I think it may hold this player back from ever cracking the NHL lineup. Should be interesting to see him come training camp in September.

Regardless, the Oilers have begun to put pieces in place for what is a key 2016-17 season. Minor pieces, yes, but pieces regardless.