Otto Somppi (born 12 January 1998) 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 ...

forward for

Lukko Rauman Lukko (Finnish for "lock") is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, best known for its men’s professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently plays in the Fi ...

in 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 ...

. He was drafted 206th overall by the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

in the seventh round of the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

Playing career

Junior

Somppi played

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

for

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its h ...

in the

U20 SM-sarja The U20 SM-sarja ('Under-20 Finnish Championship Series') is the premier junior men’s ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja ('Junior A Finnish Championship Series') during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten ...

before getting drafted 18th overall by the

Halifax Mooseheads The Halifax Mooseheads are a Canadian major junior ice hockey club in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The team was founded in 1994 and began play in the Dilio Division of the QMJHL from the ...

of the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...

(QMJHL) in the first round of the 2015 CHL Import Draft. On 11 September 2015, Somppi made his QMJHL debut and scored first QMJHL

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

in a three

point Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

effort against a 4–3 loss to the

Charlottetown Islanders The Charlottetown Islanders are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, the Islanders play their home games at the Eastlink Centre, which has 3,717 arena se ...

. Overall, he played 59 games with 13 goals and 33 assists in the 2015–16 QMJHL season and was selected to the

CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is an annual event in which forty of the top NHL Entry Draft eligible prospects in the Canadian Hockey League play against each other in an all-star game environment. Players are able to boost their draft ranking w ...

. The following season, he played 60 games with 17 goals and 24 assists. In his final QMJHL season, he was selected as alternate captain of the Halifax Mooseheads, making 28 goals and 55 assists in 59 games played.

Professional

After being drafted 206th overall by the

in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Somppi signed a three-year

entry-level contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the Lightning on 19 April 2018. On 3 May 2018, Somppi made his professional debut for the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, in a 6–4 loss against the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. He was reassigned to the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

after breaking his finger early in the 2018–19 season. On 12 December 2018, he scored his first AHL goal in a 8–1 win against the Marlies. In the

2019–20 AHL season The 2019–20 AHL season was the 84th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began October 4, 2019, and was officially cancelled on May 11, 2020. The 2020 Calder Cup playoffs, which was also cancelled, would have followed the con ...

, he appeared in 45 games with five goals and 13 assists. The following season, he was briefly loaned to 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 ...

, appearing in nine games with one goal and two assists, before getting recalled back to the Syracuse Crunch for the rest of the 2020–21 season, where he made 12 goals and 14 assists in 32 games. On 27 July 2021, the Lightning signed Somppi to a one-year two-way contract extension. Following the conclusion of the 2021–22 season with the Crunch, Somppi as an impending restricted free agent left the Lightning after five seasons within the organization and returned to the Finnish Liiga after agreeing to a one-year contract with Lukko on 6 June 2022.

International play

Somppi represented Finland men's national under-17 ice hockey team at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and at the 2015

European Youth Olympic Festival The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth (14 to 18 years old) athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the fir ...

. He was selected to Finland men's national under-18 ice hockey team for the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the

2016 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2016 IIHF U18 World Championship was the 18th IIHF World U18 Championship. It was played from April 14 to 24, 2016 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Venues Top Division Officials The IIHF selected 12 referees and 10 linesmen to work the 2 ...

, winning a gold medal at the latter.

Personal life

His favourite ice hockey player is

Valtteri Filppula Valtteri Filppula (born 20 March 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward for Genève-Servette HC of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). Filppula won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings ...

, a Finnish former NHL forward. His older brother, Juho, is also an ice hockey player.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somppi, Otto 1998 births Living people Jokerit players Halifax Mooseheads players Syracuse Crunch players Lahti Pelicans players Lukko players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Finnish ice hockey centres Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Ice hockey people from Helsinki