Red Wings sign draft choice Vili Saarijarvi, who is expected to play for Flint Firebirds
By @MichaelCaples –
TRAVERSE CITY – One of Detroit’s 2015 draft picks might be playing a lot closer to home than everybody thought.
The Red Wings officially announced that they have signed third-round pick Vili Saarijarvi to a three-year, entry-level contract, and Jiri Fischer said there’s a good chance the Finland native will be staying in North America for the foreseeable future.
Saarijarvi, who has signed a contract with Oulun Kärpät in Finland, was drafted by the OHL’s Flint Firebirds last week in the CHL Import Draft at No. 9 overall.
Fischer said “that’s where it’s going” when asked if Saarijarvi would be playing for Flint this fall.
“Everything obviously can change at any time, but him signing the [Red Wings] contract, now we can be a little more hands-on with his development, too,” Fischer said. “He’s got a contract in Oolu, essentially it’s going to be his decision where he wants to play next year. Now there’s another option by obviously being a very high CHL Import Draft pick for Flint.”
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Saarijarvi, who played with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL last season, said he has spoken with Flint GM Terry Christensen, but nothing is finalized just yet. He did say, however, that he would enjoy being an hour away from Red Wings headquarters.
“It’s very nice,” Saarijarvi said. “It’s very, very nice. I can come watch some games, they can come watch me, we can keep in touch. It’s about an hour away, so it’s very nice.”
Fischer said he and the Wings are thrilled to have Saarijarvi in their organization.
“I think he’s a great player,” the Wings’ director of player development said. “We got him in the third round; obviously every NHL team leaving the draft is very excited about their players and usually, each particular team had their players ranked higher than they ended up taking them. He’s a prime example of that. We didn’t have a second-round pick, got to pick him in the third, there was a decision to make between several players – we picked him. He’s got a tone of speed, ton of skill. He’s grown up watching Sami Vatanen, who has been a great prospect and now he’s playing extremely well over in Anaheim. He compares himself to him a little bit, and let’s hope it happens”
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