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| 1978 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Risto Siltanen
Selected in 11th round
No.
173 overall by St. Louis Blues
Born October 31, 1958
 | Position:
Defense
Height: 5-9 Weight: 180
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Tampere Ilves (Finland)
Birthplace: Mantta, Finland
Hometown:
Mantta, Finland |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1976-77 |
Tampere Ilves | Finland |
36 | 10 |
7 | 17 |
28 | | 1977-78 |
Tampere Ilves | Finland |
36 | 7 |
8 | 15 |
42 |
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PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
World Championships: 1977 (fifth place), 1978 (seventh place)
European Championships: 1977 (fourth place), 1978 (fifth place)
World Junior Championships: 1977 (fourth), 1978 (sixth)
European Junior Championships: 1976 (bronze medal), 1977 (fourth
place), 1978 (gold medal)
Finland Rookie of Year: 1976-77 (Tampere
Ilves)
World Junior Championships All-Star First
Team: 1977, 1978
Finland All-Star First Team: 1976-77 (Tampere
Ilves)
Finland World Junior Championships Captain: 1978
Tampere Ilves MVP: 1976-77 |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: October 10, 1979 (Edmonton at
Chicago)
Numbers: 8 (Edmonton); 8 (Hartford); 12 (Quebec)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status: Retired 1997 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years | Teams | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | | 1979-1987 |
Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec | 562 |
90 | 265 | 355 |
266 |
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| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS | | Years | Teams | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | | 1980-1987 |
Edmonton, Quebec | 32 |
6 | 12 | 18 |
30 |
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NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Hartford Budweiser Cup (Most Valuable Defenseman): 1982-83
NHL Records: Most assists in one playoff game by a defenseman (5 for
Quebec at Hartford on April 14, 1987, shares record)
Quebec/Colorado
Records: Most assists in one playoff game (5 at Hartford on April
14, 1987), most points in one playoff game by a defenseman (5 at Hartford on
April 14, 1987), most assists in one playoff game by a defenseman (5 at
Hartford on April 14, 1987)
1979-80: Played on first Edmonton Oilers NHL team.
Miscellaneous: Told St. Louis front office that he did not want to play
for Blues after regained his rights via NHL Reclaim Draft in June 1979.
Threatened to return to Finland unless he was traded back to Edmonton for 1979-80 season.
St. Louis met his demand. ... His first NHL game was also first in history of
Edmonton Oilers NHL franchise and first in Wayne Gretzky's NHL career.
... Was first Edmonton Oilers defenseman to score a hat trick in NHL, a feat
he achieved vs. Winnipeg on April 4, 1981. ... Set Edmonton record (since
broken) for fastest goal from start of a period when he scored seven seconds
into third period vs. Detroit on Dec. 27, 1980. ... Was first Finnish player
in Hartford/Carolina franchise history. ... Missed parts of 1985-86 season
with separated shoulder, an injury suffered during Hartford's Jan. 2, 1986,
game vs. Quebec, and with sprained knee, an injury suffered during Hartford's
Feb. 14, 1986, game vs. Winnipeg. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Tampere Ilves (Finland);
Team Finland; Edmonton (WHA); Fredericton (AHL); Bern (Switzerland); Turku
TuTo
(Finland); Bietigheim-Bissingen (Germany)
Canada Cup: 1981 (sixth
place)
World Championships: 1983 (seventh)
European
Championships: 1983 (sixth)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame:
Inducted 1998
Finland Lynces Academic Statue: 1989-90 (Tampere Ilves)
Finland All-Star First Team:
1989-89, 1989-90 (Tampere Ilves)
Tampere Ilves MVP: 1988-89 (co-winner), 1989-90 (co-winner)
Tampere Ilves Records: Most goals in one season by a defenseman (19 in
1988-89, shares record), most points in game by a defenseman (5 vs. Rauma on March 11, 1990), most assists in one game by a defenseman (4 vs.
Rauma on March 11, 1990, shares record)
1978-79: Played on WHA regular-season champion (Edmonton).
Miscellaneous: Spoke no English
when he arrived in Edmonton, and used teammate Hannu Kamppuri as
an interpreter. ... Signed contract to leave NHL and join Bern (Switzerland)
in May 1987. ... Worked in Finnish hockey schools during off-seasons of his
playing days.
Personal: Nicknamed "The Incredible Hulk"
and "The Littlest Hulk." |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE: Siltanen did not sign with
St. Louis after the draft, instead remaining in Finland and later signing with Edmonton
(WHA) as a free agent in March 1979. He did not enter the NHL until the
1979 NHL-WHA merger. St. Louis regained his rights in the NHL Reclaim Draft on
June 9, 1979. Two months later, St. Louis traded Siltanen and Tom Roulston to
Edmonton for Joe Micheletti on August 7, 1979. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '78 | | Total Selected: |
234 | | Forwards: |
143 | | Defense: |
67 | | Goaltenders: |
24 | | Major Junior: |
127 | | College Players: |
80 |
| Canadian: |
170 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
0 | | USA Citizens: |
47 | | U.S.-Born: |
47 |
| European: |
17 |
| Reached NHL: |
95 |
| Won Stanley Cup: |
16 | | Hall of Fame: |
1 |
| All-Star Game: |
18 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
1 |
| Olympians: |
16 |
| Picks Traded: |
46 |
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