Samuli Niinisaari

Position:
Defenseman
Height:
6-1
Weight:
200
Class:
Graduate Student
Hometown:
Hamina, Finland
Prev School:
Brown (ECAC)

AS A GRADUATE STUDENT IN 2023-24: Played in 27 games and registered 12 points on three goals and nine assists including a game-winner … Nine of 12 points game in Hockey East play (2g, 7a) … Finished second on the team on team with 54 blocks … Picked up an assist on the power play at Maine (3/9) ... Scored twice, including the game winner, vs. #16/17 New Hampshire (2/23), earning the game's No. 1 star ... Collected an assist at #1 Boston College (2/18) ... Registered assists in back-to-back games vs. UConn (2/9-2/10), setting up Friday's game winner ... Logged an assist and blocked four shots at Merrimack (2/2) ... Recorded assists on the game-tying and game-winning goals at #20 Harvard (11/24) ... Assisted the game-winning goal at #5 Providence (11/16) ... Collected an assist vs. Vermont (11/10) ... Logged four blocks vs. #9 Boston University (10/28) ... Blocked seven shots to tie a program single-game record at #19/20 Minnesota State (10/21) … Scored first UMass goal and blocked three shots vs. AIC (10/7).

AS A SENIOR IN 2022-23 (at Brown): Academic All-Ivy … Assistant captain … Skated in all 30 games as a senior defenseman … Finished the campaign with eight assists … Recorded two assists in Brown’s wins over LIU (Dec. 3) and in Brown’s win at #8 Merrimack (Jan. 7) … Finished the season with 67 blocked shots and 34 shots on goal.

AS A JUNIOR IN 2021-22 (at Brown): Earned Second Team All-Ivy and Academic All-Ivy honors after skating in 29 games … Finished the campaign with one goal and 11 assists for 12 points … Led the team in assists and finished fifth on the team in scoring … Blocked 48 shots to finish second on the team … Posted assists in three straight games in February … Played in nine Ivy League games and finished with a goal and five points … One of nine Ivy defensemen with four or more assists … Finished with 23 blocks in Ivy play.

AS A SOPHOMORE IN 2020-21 (at Brown): Season canceled due to COVID-19.

AS A FRESHMAN IN 2019-20 (at Brown): Skated in 29 games as a rookie defenseman … Finished with one goal and three assists … Scored first career goal at Colgate (3/7) in the ECAC first round series … blocked 26 shots … Appeared in 20 conference games … Took 20 shots.

BEFORE COLLEGE: Played the 2018-19 season with the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League … Finished the season with seven goals and 13 assists … Earned the Team MVP award at the end of the season as well as the Most Likely to Succeed award … Previously played for KooKoo in Finland, and served as team captain in 2017-18 … Finished with 16 assists and 20 points that season.

PERSONAL: Born Samuli Niinisaari on August 11, 1998 in Hamina, Finland … Son of Risto Niinisaari and Sanna Vallittu-Niinisaari … Has two siblings, Joona and Emilia … Graduated from Kouvolan Yhteislyseo (Kouvola, Finland) in 2018 and earned bachelor’s in Biology from Brown in 2023 … Pursuing a certificate in Business Analytics.