Aku Räty () (born 14 November 2002) is a Finnish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

prospect for the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). The Coyotes selected Räty 151st overall in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being sel ...

Playing career

Räty developed in the Kärpät alongside his brother,

Aatu Räty Aatu Räty () (born 14 November 2002) is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre for the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 52nd over ...

, with both being considered top prospects in the Finnish ranks in their respective NHL Draft years. Although Aatu was briefly in the running to be the top pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft (he eventually went 52nd to the New York Islanders), Aku remained on the board through the first four rounds of the

before the

selected him in the fifth round with the 151st overall pick. After marking marginal impacts in the top-ranked Finnish

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding lea ...

with Kärpät in his first three post-draft seasons, Räty transferred to

Ilves Ilves (; Finnish for "Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena. The colors of Ilves, green, yellow, and black, were taken from what was then the coat of arms of the cit ...

in 2022 and subsequently enjoyed a breakout year. Räty finished second on the team with 18 goals and fifth with 42 points in 53 games during the 2022–23 Liiga season, helping Ilves qualify for the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. He added one goal in 10 playoff games as Ilves were eliminated by the

Lahti Pelicans The Lahti Pelicans are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Isku Arena. The team is co-owned by (among others) former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Pasi Nurmine ...

in the Liiga semifinals. On May 3, 2023, the Coyotes signed Räty to a two-year, entry-level contract to take effect in the

2023–24 NHL season The 2023–24 NHL season is the List of NHL seasons, 107th season of operation (106th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on October 10, 2023, and will end on April 18, 2024. The Stanley Cup playoffs are t ...

. Räty's exclusive NHL draft signing rights with the Coyotes had been set to expire on June 1, 2023.

Personal life

Räty's brother, Aatu, plays for the

Abbotsford Canucks The Abbotsford Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and members of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in the 2021–22 season with home games at Abbotsford Centre as the AHL affilia ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

and was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. The Islanders traded Aatu to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

on January 30, 2023, as part of a deal to acquire centre

Bo Horvat Bowie William Horvat (born April 5, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected ninth overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. During his junior car ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 2001 births Living people 21st-century Finnish people Finnish ice hockey centres Ilves players Arizona Coyotes draft picks Oulun Kärpät players Ice hockey people from Oulu {{Finland-icehockey-centre-stub