Sami Lepistö

Sami Lepistö
Born (1984-10-17) October 17, 1984
Espoo, Finland
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams		 Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Jokerit
Washington Capitals
Phoenix Coyotes
Columbus Blue Jackets
Chicago Blackhawks
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Lev Prague
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 66th overall, 2004
Washington Capitals
Playing career 2003–present

Sami Lepistö (born October 17, 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He is the son of former Jokerit captain and youth international defenceman Jussi Lepistö. Sami was drafted by the Washington Capitals as their third-round pick, #66 overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Jokerit

Lepistö played professional hockey for Jokerit in the SM-liiga. In his first season in 2003-04, Lepistö had three goals and seven points in 53 games, followed by an assist in eight playoff games for Jokerit. He also played for Finland in the 2004 World Junior Hockey Championship, scoring four goals and eight points in seven games. Lepistö saw his offensive numbers rise in 2004-05, as he had seven goals and 25 points in 55 games. Lepistö also had a solid playoff performance for Jokerit, as he had a goal and eight points in 12 games. Lepistö returned to Jokerit in 2005-06, and increased his offensive numbers once again, scoring eight goals and 29 points in 56 games. Lepistö had an injury plagued 2006-07 season, as he had one goals and 10 points in 26 games. On May 31, 2007, Lepistö was signed to a two-year entry-level contract by the Washington Capitals.[1]

National Hockey League

Lepistö was sent to the Hershey Bears of the AHL in 2007-08, where in 55 games, he scored four goals and 45 points, as well as having a solid +29 rating. Lepistö also made his NHL debut on February 16, 2008 with the Capitals. In seven games with Washington in 2007-08, Lepistö had an assist. He was returned to Hershey, where he had an assist in five playoff games. After the season, Lepistö played for Finland at the 2008 World Hockey Championship, where he had a goal and an assist in seven games.

Lepistö spent most of the 2008-09 season with Hershey once again, as in 70 games, he had four goals and 42 points, as well as a +24 rating. He once again appeared in seven games with the Capitals, where Lepistö earned four assists. On June 27, 2009, Washington traded Lepistö to the Phoenix Coyotes for the Coyotes fifth round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[2]

Lepistö spent the entire 2009-10 season with the Phoenix Coyotes, where he scored a goal and 11 points in 66 games, helping the club to the playoffs. In seven playoff games with the Coyotes, Lepistö had a goal. Lepistö also played for Finland at the 2010 Winter Olympics, as he had an assist in six games. He returned to the Coyotes for the 2010-11 season, where Lepistö had four goals and 11 points in 51 games.

On February 28, 2011, the Coyotes sent Lepistö and Scottie Upshall to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Rostislav Klesla and Dane Byers.[3] On July 15, 2011, Lepistö signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Kontinental Hockey League

On June 4, 2012, it was announced that Lepistö has signed a one-year contract to play for the rebuilding Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL.[4]

On January 12, 2013, Lepistö was traded to Lev Prague of the KHL. In summer 2013 he signed a two-year contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. After that he signed for one year with Salavat Yulaev Ufa. During the 2016 playoffs, he tied Nikita Zaitsev and Chris Lee to lead all defenceman in playoff scoring with 13 points.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 Jokerit SM-l 53 3 4 7 20 8 0 1 1 4
2004–05 Jokerit SM-l 55 7 18 25 44 12 1 7 8 12
2005–06 Jokerit SM-l 56 8 21 27 68 — — — — —
2006–07 Jokerit SM-l 26 1 9 10 32 10 2 2 4 4
2007–08 Hershey Bears AHL 55 4 41 45 51 5 0 1 1 4
2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 7 0 1 1 12 — — — — —
2008–09 Hershey Bears AHL 70 4 38 42 80 — — — — —
2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 7 0 4 4 6 — — — — —
2009–10 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 66 1 10 11 60 7 1 0 1 6
2010–11 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 51 4 7 11 37 — — — — —
2010–11 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 19 0 5 5 18 — — — — —
2011–12 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 26 1 2 3 4 3 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 26 0 3 3 30 — — — — —
2012–13 Lev Prague KHL 11 0 5 5 20 3 0 0 0 2
2013–14 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg KHL 53 6 19 25 67 4 1 1 2 6
2014–15 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg KHL 60 7 16 23 44 5 0 1 1 4
2015–16 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 60 11 19 30 33 19 6 7 13 16
NHL totals 176 6 29 35 137 10 1 0 1 6
KHL totals 210 24 62 86 194 31 7 9 16 28
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
2010 Vancouver
2014 Sochi
World Championships
2011 Slovakia
2008 Canada
World Junior Championships
2004 Finland

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2004 Finland WJC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 7 4 4 8 10
2008 Finland WC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 1 2 10
2010 Finland OG 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 6
2011 Finland WC 1st, gold medalist(s) 9 0 3 3 6
2013 Finland WC 4th 10 0 4 4 2
2014 Finland OG 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 1 2 0
2015 Finland WC 6th 8 0 2 2 4
2016 Finland WCH 8th 3 0 0 0 2
Junior totals 7 4 4 8 10
Senior totals 49 2 12 14 30

Awards and honours

Award Year
AHL
Calder Cup (Hershey Bears) 2009
International
WJC Best Defenceman 2004
WJC All-Star Team 2004

References

  1. ↑ "Capitals sign Sami Lepistö to entry-level contract". capitals.nhl.com. 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  2. ↑ "Coyotes' trade for 3 defensemen". azcentral.com. 2009-06-27. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  3. ↑ "Blue Jackets trade Klesla to Coyotes for Upshall, Lepisto". TSN. 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  4. ↑ "Lepisto signs with KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl".
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