Juuse Saros (born 19 April 1995) 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

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). Saros was selected by the Predators in the fourth round (99th overall) of the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Al ...

Playing career

Saros was born in

Forssa Forssa is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located almost in the centre of a triangle defined by the three largest major cities in Finland (Helsinki, Turku and Tampere), in the Tavastia Proper region, and which is crossed by Highway 2 ...

but grew up in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

. He played his entire youth career and first three professional seasons with hometown club,

HPK Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK) is a professional ice hockey team in the Liiga, the top men's ice hockey league in Finland. Their home ice is the Ritari-areena in Hämeenlinna. HPK was established in 1929. The parent club of the team is HPK Edu ...

of the

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 ...

. On 16 June 2015, he was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the

, having been drafted by Nashville in the

. Saros was named to the 2012–13 Jr. A SM-Liiga All-Star Team and was a member of Team Finland at the IIHF U18 World Junior Championships where he was named the tournament's Best Goaltender. Saros was on the Finland Team in the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey Championships. Saros made his NHL debut on 28 November 2015, against the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. He won his first NHL game on 22 October 2016, against the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. Saros recorded his first NHL shutout on 30 December 2016, making 25 saves against the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. He set a franchise record for the most saves in a shutout on 14 December 2017, making 46 saves against the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. On 16 July 2018, he was re-signed by the Predators to a three-year, $4.5 million contract. On 16 August 2021, Saros was signed to a four-year, $20 million extension with the Predators. The 2021–22 season was one of Saros' strongest, and he was widely credited as a key factor in the Predators qualifying for the

2022 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs began on May 2, 2022, one day after the 2021–22 NHL regular season, and concluded on June 26, 2022, with the Colorado Avalanche winnin ...

. He was a finalist for the

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...

, awarded to the league's best goaltender. Saros suffered a foot injury in the final week of the regular season that took him out of the postseason entirely, dubbed "a real dagger" to the Predators' playoff hopes. With Saros absent, the team was swept by the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

in the first round. On 5 January 2023, Saros made a franchise-record 64 saves in the Predators' 5–3 win over the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1995 births Living people Finnish ice hockey goaltenders HPK players Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators draft picks Nashville Predators players People from Hämeenlinna Sportspeople from Kanta-Häme {{Finland-icehockey-goaltender-stub