Devils Prospect Samu Salminen Weighing Professional Options

While it has looked like some NCAA seniors would be eligible to return for a fifth season, that potential option is now on hold.  The proposed ‘five for five’ rule is now not being implemented for the upcoming year thanks to a stay request in The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit getting granted on Friday.

To that end, any senior college player hoping to return for an extra year is out of luck, at least for now as the appeals process will undoubtedly continue.  One who is definitely moving on is Devils prospect Samu Salminen.  His agent, The-Team’s Markus Lehto, told New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols that he’s weighing his professional options for the upcoming season.

Salminen was one of the players who was originally slated to become an unrestricted free agent last weekend but he ultimately didn’t file the paperwork to do so.  That may have been in part due to a hope that he’d be granted a fifth season or that he wasn’t too concerned with testing the open market but either way, the 23-year-old is still with the Devils.

New Jersey drafted the forward in the third round back in 2021, selecting him 68th overall out of Jokerit’s junior system in Finland.  One year later, he was off to the University of Connecticut where he spent two years before transferring to the University of Denver.  Salminen had his best offensive showing last season, tallying 11 goals and 18 assists in 43 games.

In terms of Salminen’s pro options, there are three of them.  The first is an entry-level contract with the Devils.  It feels like if this was a viable one, it would have happened already.  The second is to sign a minor-league deal with their farm team in Utica, allowing him to play in New Jersey’s system but not count against their contract limit.  Alternatively, he could sign overseas, potentially returning back home in Finland, perhaps back in Jokerit.  As long as he doesn’t file the paperwork that says he has left school, New Jersey will continue to hold his rights.

While the AHL regular season begins on October 2nd, the regular season in Finland begins at the end of August.  Accordingly, it may not take too much longer for Salminen to decide on his plans for the upcoming campaign.