Riku Laukkanen

Fantasy Summary

A mobile defenseman who moves the puck well up ice. He possesses strong skating and playmaking abilities.


Observations

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June 2023 – The Penguins have decided not to sign Airola and therefore will surrender the rights to him going forward. Airola is an offensive-leaning defenseman who spent his 2022-23 season in Finland’s second-tier league Mestis. He tallied 22 points in 29 games in Mestis while adding another seven points in 15 LIIGA games. Airola’s development has been significantly impacted by injuries over the past several years which has clouded his projection. When healthy Airola is a smooth-skating right-handed defenseman who can run a powerplay. Tyler Ball

 

June 2020 –  Airola had a decent season with Ketterä of the Mestis league in Finland. In 26 games, he scored 11 total points. After a strong performance, he then played two games with SaiPa of the Liiga. Airola is praised for his solid puck-moving skills. He does a great job of keeping his head up and making a clean first breakout pass. He doesn’t have the best shot, but he does well to get shots on goal. Next season he will continue his development playing for Ilves of the Liiga. Clare McManus

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 4.0
NHL Certainty 1.0
Country FIN
Position D
Roster Type Europe
Shoot/Glove Right
Date of Birth June 29, 2000
Height 5‘11”
Weight 163 lbs
Drafted 2019 Round 7; Overall: 211

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2014-2015 SaiPa U16U16 SM-sarja1 0 00 0|        
 2015-2016 SaiPa U16U16 SM-sarja Q1 0 11 0|        
  SaiPa U16U16 SM-sarja12 4 59 8|        
 2016-2017 SaiPa U18U18 Mestis Q20 6 1117 10|        
  SaiPa U18U18 Mestis16 4 913 4|Playoffs2 0 00
  SaiPa U20U20 SM-sarja1 0 00 0|        
 2017-2018 Ketterä U18U18 Suomi-sarja Q1 0 00 0|        
  Ketterä U20U20 Mestis40 6 2531 26|Playoffs3 0 00
 2018-2019 SaiPa U18U18 SM-sarja10 4 1115 0|        
  SaiPa U20U20 SM-sarja41 4 2731 20|        
  SaiPaLiiga3 0 00 2|        
  Finland U20 (all)International-Jr7 2 24 0|        
 2019-2020 KetteräMestis26 0 1111 14|        
  SaiPaLiiga2 0 00 0|        
  Finland U20 (all)International-Jr6 1 12 2|        
 2020-2021 IlvesLiiga19 0 33 6|        
  KOOVEEMestis2 0 11 0|        
 2021-2022 KOOVEEMestis2 0 00 2|        
 2022-2023 IlvesLiiga5 0 00 2|        
  IlvesChampions HL4 0 00 0|        
  SaiPaLiiga10 0 77 0|        
  KOOVEEMestis29 8 1422 22|        
 2023-2024 SaiPaLiiga39 5 712 16|        
 2024-2025 SaiPaLiiga31 5 712 8|        

Highlights