Rasmus Ristolainen (born 27 October 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2013 NHL entry draft.
Playing career Ristolainen made his NHL debut with the Buffalo Sabres on the opening night of the 2013–14 season, on 2 October 2013, against the Detroit Red Wings. He scored his first career NHL goal on 25 October, in a 3–1 win over the Florida Panthers. He scored his first NHL hat-trick on 10 December 2015, in a 4–3 loss against the Calgary Flames. In doing so, he became the first Sabres' defenceman to score a hat-trick since Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Housley did so in the 1987–88 season.
On 21 March 2017, Ristolainen delivered a check to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. Guentzel suffered a concussion on the play, and Ristolainen was given a three-game suspension for interference by the league.
On 23 July 2021, Ristolainen was traded by the Sabres to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Robert Hägg, a 2021 first-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick. On 10 March 2022, he signed a five-year contract extension with the Flyers.
International play
On 5 January 2014, Ristolainen scored the overtime winner in the final of the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships against previously undefeated Sweden, giving Finland the gold medal.
Ristolainen represented Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics and won a bronze medal.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2009–10TPSFIN U18243471231014 2009–10TPSFIN U2051120————— 2010–11TPSFIN U1821230135388 2010–11TPSFIN U20270121230————— 2010–11TPSSM-l10000————— 2011–12TPSFIN U2080446————— 2011–12TPSSM-l403587820000 2012–13TPSSM-l523121532————— 2012–13TPSFIN U20—————52132 2013–14Rochester AmericansAHL34614202250222 2013–14Buffalo SabresNHL342246————— 2014–15Buffalo SabresNHL788122026————— 2015–16Buffalo SabresNHL829324133————— 2016–17Buffalo SabresNHL796394558————— 2017–18Buffalo SabresNHL736354148————— 2018–19Buffalo SabresNHL785384338————— 2019–20Buffalo SabresNHL696273346————— 2020–21Buffalo SabresNHL494141836————— 2021–22Philadelphia FlyersNHL662141638————— 2022–23Philadelphia FlyersNHL743172032————— 2023–24Philadelphia FlyersNHL311348————— 2024–25Philadelphia FlyersNHL634151914————— 2025–26Philadelphia FlyersNHL4411314161014520Liiga totals 936172311020000NHL totals 820572613183991014520
International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2010 Finland U17 10th 5 0 2 2 4 2011 Finland U17 7th 5 1 0 1 4 2011 Finland IH18 4th 5 1 2 3 10 2012 Finland WJC 4th 7 0 3 3 0 2012 Finland WJC18 4th 7 2 1 3 10 2013 Finland WJC 7th 6 2 4 6 20 2014 Finland WJC 5 3 0 3 8 2016 Finland WCH 8th 3 0 0 0 0 2026 Finland OG 6 0 3 3 2Junior totals 40 9 12 21 56Senior totals 9 0 3 3 2
References
External links
Rasmus Ristolainen at Milano Cortina 2026