Otto Somppi

Otto Somppi
Born (1998-01-12) 12 January 1998 (age 26)
Helsinki, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
Liiga team
Former teams		 Lukko
Syracuse Crunch
Lahti Pelicans
NHL draft 206th overall, 2016
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2018–present

Otto Somppi (born 12 January 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for Lukko in the Liiga. He was drafted 206th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Junior

Somppi played junior hockey for Jokerit in the U20 SM-sarja before getting drafted 18th overall by the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in the first round of the 2015 CHL Import Draft.[1][2]

On 11 September 2015, Somppi made his QMJHL debut and scored first QMJHL goal in a three point effort against a 4–3 loss to the Charlottetown Islanders.[3] Overall, he played 59 games with 13 goals and 33 assists in the 2015–16 QMJHL season and was selected to the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[4] The following season, he played 60 games with 17 goals and 24 assists. In his final QMJHL season, he was selected as alternate captain of the Halifax Mooseheads, making 28 goals and 55 assists in 59 games played.[5][6]

Professional

After being drafted 206th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Somppi signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Lightning on 19 April 2018.[7]

On 3 May 2018, Somppi made his professional debut for the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, in a 6–4 loss against the Toronto Marlies.[8] He was reassigned to the Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL after breaking his finger early in the 2018–19 season.[9] On 12 December 2018, he scored his first AHL goal in a 8–1 win against the Marlies.[10] In the 2019–20 AHL season, he appeared in 45 games with five goals and 13 assists.[6] The following season, he was briefly loaned to the Lahti Pelicans in Liiga, appearing in nine games with one goal and two assists, before getting recalled back to the Syracuse Crunch for the rest of the 2020–21 season, where he made 12 goals and 14 assists in 32 games.[11][12]

On 27 July 2021, the Lightning signed Somppi to a one-year two-way contract extension.[13][14]

Following the conclusion of the 2021–22 season with the Crunch, Somppi as an impending restricted free agent left the Lightning after five seasons within the organization and returned to the Finnish Liiga after agreeing to a one-year contract with Lukko on 6 June 2022.[15]

International play

Somppi represented Finland men's national under-17 ice hockey team at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and at the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival.[16][17] He was selected to Finland men's national under-18 ice hockey team for the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships, winning a gold medal at the latter.[18][19]

Personal life

His favourite ice hockey player is Valtteri Filppula, a Finnish former NHL forward.[18] His older brother, Juho, is also an ice hockey player.[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Jokerit Jr. A 38 6 7 13 10 2 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 59 13 33 46 25 — — — — —
2016–17 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 60 17 24 41 30 4 0 1 1 2
2017–18 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 59 28 55 83 28 2 0 1 1 0
2017–18 Syracuse Crunch AHL — — — — — 3 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Syracuse Crunch AHL 27 2 2 4 10 — — — — —
2018–19 Orlando Solar Bears ECHL 21 12 12 24 8 3 0 0 0 6
2019–20 Syracuse Crunch AHL 45 5 13 18 24 — — — — —
2020–21 Lahti Pelicans Liiga 9 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Syracuse Crunch AHL 32 12 14 26 22 — — — — —
2021–22 Syracuse Crunch AHL 50 5 18 23 14 3 0 0 0 0
AHL totals 154 24 47 71 70 6 0 0 0 0

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Finland U17 4th 6 3 3 6 2
2015 Finland IH18 4th 5 1 2 3 14
2016 Finland U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 1 1 2 2
Junior totals 18 5 6 11 18

References

  1. ^ Lampinen, Jouni (25 April 2016). ""Unelmien täyttymys, että pojat tulevat mitalit kaulassa kotiin"". Sipoon Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Big debut for Otto Somppi as the Moose pick up one point". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Game summary: Halifax Mooseheads – Charlottetown Islanders, September 11, 2015". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Somppi heading to top prospects game". Halifax Mooseheads. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Mooseheads name Alternate Captains". Halifax Mooseheads. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Otto Somppi at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  7. ^ "Lightning sign forward Otto Somppi to entry-level contract". National Hockey League. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Game summary: Syracuse Crunch – Toronto Marlies, May 3, 2018". American Hockey League. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  9. ^ Lahtinen, Miikka (4 November 2018). "Ikävä tilanne! Tampa Bay Lightningin suomalaislupauksen sormi murtui – kausi yhä avaamatta". Leijonat (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Game summary: Syracuse Crunch – Toronto Marlies, December 12, 2018". American Hockey League. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Lightning's Otto Somppi: Joins Finnish club". CBS Sports. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  12. ^ Degerlund, Toni (12 January 2021). "Otto Somppi palasi takaisin Pohjois-Amerikkaan Lahdesta – Pelicans oli tyytyväinen keskushyökkääjän peleihin vaikka kauden alkua varjosti loukkaantuminen" [Otto Somppi returned back to North America from Lahti - Pelicans were happy with the centre's performances even though the start of the season was marred by injury]. Uusimaa (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  13. ^ Highsmith, Jordan (27 July 2021). "Lightning sign Otto Somppi to one-year contract". WTSP. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  14. ^ Pulkkinen, Aki-Petteri (28 July 2021). "Hallitseva Stanley Cup -mestari solmi jatkosopimuksen suomalaishyökkääjänsä kanssa" [The reigning Stanley Cup champions sign a contract extension with their Finnish forward]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Center Otto Somppi in blue!" (in Finnish). Lukko. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  16. ^ "2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge Game Summary: Finland – Canada White, November 2, 2014". Hockey Canada. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Olympiakomitea nimesi joukkueen EYOF-kisoihin" [Olympic Committee names team for EYOF]. Suomi Urheilu (in Finnish). 13 January 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  18. ^ a b Burns, Bryan (25 June 2016). "Lightning select Otto Somppi at No. 206 at NHL Draft". National Hockey League. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  19. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (6 May 2021). "Reliving the golden goals". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 5 December 2021.