View: Previous | Next
1978
AMATEUR DRAFT
Draft Quick Facts
Traded Picks

PICKS BY ROUND
 1234
 5678
 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
13 | 14 | 15 | 16
17 | 18 | 19 | 20
21 | 22

Picks by Team
ATL | BOS | BUF  
CHI | COL | DET  
LOS | MIN | MON  
NYI | NYR | PHI  
PIT | STL | TOR
VAN | WAS


 
OTHER YEARS
1963 | 1974 | 1986 | 1997
1964 | 1975 | 1987 | 1998
1965 | 1976 | 1988 | 1999
1966 | 1977 | 1989 | 2000
1967 | 1979 | 1990 | 2001
1968 | 1980 | 1991 | 2002
1969 | 1981 | 1992 | 2003
1970 | 1982 | 1993 | 2004
1971 | 1983 | 1994 | 2005
1972 | 1984 | 1995 |
1973 | 1985 | 1996 |

 

1978 NHL DRAFT PICK
Risto Siltanen
Selected in 11th round
No. 173 overall by St. Louis Blues

Born October 31, 1958
Position: Defense
Height: 5-9   Weight: 180
BEFORE THE DRAFT
Last Team: Tampere Ilves (Finland)                    
Birthplace: Mantta, Finland
Hometown: Mantta, Finland
PRE-DRAFT STATISTICS
Year TeamLeague GPG ATP PIM
1976-77 Tampere IlvesFinland 3610 717 28
1977-78 Tampere IlvesFinland 367 815 42

PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
World Championships:
1977 (fifth place), 1978 (seventh place)
European Championships: 1977 (fourth place), 1978 (fifth place)
World Junior Championships: 1977 (fourth), 1978 (sixth)
European Junior Championships: 1976 (bronze medal), 1977 (fourth place), 1978 (gold medal)
Finland Rookie of Year: 1976-77 (Tampere Ilves)
World Junior Championships All-Star First Team: 1977, 1978
Finland All-Star First Team: 1976-77 (Tampere Ilves)
Finland World Junior Championships Captain: 1978
Tampere Ilves MVP: 1976-77
NHL CAREER
Debut: October 10, 1979 (Edmonton at Chicago)
Numbers:  8 (Edmonton); 8 (Hartford); 12 (Quebec)
Stanley Cup: Never won.  Playing Status: Retired 1997
CAREER NHL STATISTICS
YearsTeamsGPGATPPIM
1979-1987 Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec562 90265355 266
CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS
YearsTeamsGPGATPPIM
1980-1987 Edmonton, Quebec32 61218 30

NHL AWARDS AND HONORS
Hartford Budweiser Cup (Most Valuable Defenseman):
1982-83
NHL Records: Most assists in one playoff game by a defenseman (5 for Quebec at Hartford on April 14, 1987, shares record)
Quebec/Colorado Records: Most assists in one playoff game  (5 at Hartford on April 14, 1987), most points in one playoff game by a defenseman (5 at Hartford on April 14, 1987), most assists in one playoff game by a defenseman (5 at Hartford on April 14, 1987)
1979-80: Played on first Edmonton Oilers NHL team.
Miscellaneous: Told St. Louis front office that he did not want to play for Blues after regained his rights via NHL Reclaim Draft in June 1979. Threatened to return to Finland unless he was traded back to Edmonton for 1979-80 season. St. Louis met his demand. ... His first NHL game was also first in history of Edmonton Oilers NHL franchise and first in Wayne Gretzky's NHL career. ... Was first Edmonton Oilers defenseman to score a hat trick in NHL, a feat he achieved vs. Winnipeg on April 4, 1981. ... Set Edmonton record (since broken) for fastest goal from start of a period when he scored seven seconds into third period vs. Detroit on Dec. 27, 1980. ... Was first Finnish player in Hartford/Carolina franchise history. ... Missed parts of 1985-86 season with separated shoulder, an injury suffered during Hartford's Jan. 2, 1986, game vs. Quebec, and with sprained knee, an injury suffered during Hartford's Feb. 14, 1986, game vs. Winnipeg.
NON-NHL CAREER
Post-Draft Teams: Tampere Ilves (Finland); Team Finland; Edmonton (WHA); Fredericton (AHL); Bern (Switzerland); Turku TuTo (Finland); Bietigheim-Bissingen (Germany)
Canada Cup: 1981 (sixth place)
World Championships: 1983 (seventh)
European Championships: 1983 (sixth)
NON-NHL AWARDS AND HONORS
Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame:
Inducted 1998
Finland Lynces Academic Statue: 1989-90 (Tampere Ilves)
Finland All-Star First Team: 1989-89, 1989-90 (Tampere Ilves)
Tampere Ilves MVP: 1988-89 (co-winner), 1989-90 (co-winner)
Tampere Ilves Records: Most goals in one season by a defenseman (19 in 1988-89, shares record), most points in game by a defenseman (5 vs. Rauma on March 11, 1990), most assists in one game by a defenseman (4 vs. Rauma on March 11, 1990, shares record)
1978-79: Played on WHA regular-season champion (Edmonton).
Miscellaneous: Spoke no English when he arrived in Edmonton, and used teammate Hannu Kamppuri as an interpreter. ... Signed contract to leave NHL and join Bern (Switzerland) in May 1987. ... Worked in Finnish hockey schools during off-seasons of his playing days.
Personal: Nicknamed "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Littlest Hulk."
HOW HE GOT AWAY
TRADE: Siltanen did not sign with St. Louis after the draft, instead remaining in Finland and later signing with Edmonton (WHA) as a free agent in March 1979. He did not enter the NHL until the 1979 NHL-WHA merger. St. Louis regained his rights in the NHL Reclaim Draft on June 9, 1979. Two months later, St. Louis traded Siltanen and Tom Roulston to Edmonton for Joe Micheletti on August 7, 1979.

Visit the new
Hockey Draft Central

HockeyDraftCentral.com is in the middle of rebuilding. You are looking at a page that is not yet updated but is still part of the old site. Check out the new look.
New Home Page


Search this site with:
Google
SNAPSHOT '78
Total Selected: 234
Forwards: 143
Defense: 67
Goaltenders: 24
Major Junior: 127
College Players: 80
Canadian: 170
Euro-Canadian: 0
USA Citizens: 47
U.S.-Born: 47
European: 17
Reached NHL: 95
Won Stanley Cup: 16
Hall of Fame: 1
All-Star Game: 18
Year-end All-Star: 1
Olympians: 16
Picks Traded: 46
 
About This Site