Sebastian Antero Aho (born 26 July 1997) is a Finnish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

for the

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

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). Aho formerly played with

Oulun Kärpät Oulun Kärpät (Finnish language, Finnish for "Oulu Stoat, Ermines", sometimes referred to as Kärpät Oulu) is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Oulu and playing in the top-tier Finnish Liiga. Kärpät have won the Finnish champion ...

in the Finnish

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

. Aho made his professional debut with Oulun Kärpät during the 2013–14 season. Drafted 35th overall in the 2015 NHL entry draft, he made his NHL debut during the 2016–17 season with the Hurricanes.

Playing career

SM-liiga

Aho made his

debut playing with

during the 2013–14 season. In the playoffs of the 2014-2015 season, Aho scored the game-winning goal in overtime of

Game seven A game seven is the final game of a best-of-seven series. This game can occur in the postseasons for Major League Baseball (MLB) (League Championship Series and World Series), the National Basketball Association (NBA) (all rounds of the NBA p ...

of the finals and won the Finnish championship for Kärpät.

Carolina Hurricanes

Aho was rated amongst the top 20 European forward skaters eligible for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In the draft, he was selected in the second round, 35th overall, by the

. On 13 June 2016, Aho signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Carolina. On 13 October 2016, he made his NHL debut—and recorded his first point, an assist—in the opening game of the 2016–17 season. On 12 November 2016, he scored his first goal, which was followed by a second goal in a 5–1 win over the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. On 31 January 2017, Aho scored his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a game against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. Consequently, he became the youngest player in Hurricanes/ Whalers franchise history to score a hat-trick. After the Hurricanes failed to make the

2018 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2017–18 season. The playoffs began on April 11, 2018, after the regular season, and they concluded on June 7, 2018, with the Washington Capi ...

, Aho represented

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

at the

2018 IIHF World Championship The 2018 IIHF World Championship was an international ice hockey tournament hosted by the Denmark, Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning, held from 4 to 20 May 2018. The IIHF announced the winning bid on 23 May 2014 in Minsk, Belarus. South Kor ...

. During the 2018–19 season, Aho passed

Ron Francis Ronald Michael Francis Jr. (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey sports executive and former player. He currently serves as the president of hockey operations for the Seattle Kraken. He spent most of his career as either a player or ex ...

' franchise record for longest season-opening point streak by recording a point in the Hurricanes' first 12 games. As well, it tied an NHL record for recording a point per game from the start of the season. His streak ended on 3 November in a 4–3 overtime loss to the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

. On 2 January, Aho was selected to participate in the 2019 NHL All-Star Game after leading the team in goals, assists and points through 38 games. On 13 January 2019, Aho recorded his second career hat-trick in a 6–3 win over the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

. Aho led the Hurricanes in scoring (five goals, seven assists) during their first trip to the playoffs in 10 years in the 2018–19 season. On 1 July 2019, Aho signed an

offer sheet In North American professional sports, an offer sheet is a contract offered to a restricted free agent by a team other than the one for which he played during the prior season. Different leagues have different ways to handle offer sheets. NHL In t ...

with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

, becoming the first player to sign an offer sheet since

Ryan O'Reilly Ryan O'Reilly (born February 7, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has prev ...

in 2013. The contract included a lucrative bonus structure, including $21.7 million within the first 12 months of the contract. On 7 July, the Hurricanes officially matched the offer sheet, re-signing Aho to a five-year, $42.27 million contract. On 26 July 2023, the Hurricanes re-signed Aho to an eight-year, $78 million contract extension. The deal began with the 2024–25 NHL season and pays Aho an average-annual value (AAV) of $9.75 million through 2031–32.

Personal life

Aho was born in the Satakunnan keskussairaala in

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

, but his legal birthplace is

Rauma Rauma may refer to: Places * Rauma, Finland, a town and municipality in the Satakunta region of western Finland * Rauma Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway * Rauma (river), a river in the Romsdalen valley in Møre og Ro ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aho, Sebastian 1997 births Living people 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Carolina Hurricanes draft picks Carolina Hurricanes players Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Finnish ice hockey centres Ice hockey people from Rauma, Finland Oulun Kärpät players Porin Ässät (men's ice hockey) players 4 Nations Face-Off players