Robin Salo was a sleeper pick for some in the 2017 NHL Draft, given that he compared favorably in certain aspects of his game to the third overall pick from the same draft, Miro Heiskanen. Both were playing in SM-Liiga, Finland’s professional league, and looked like strong players despite largely playing with men, rather than in a junior hockey setting.
However, unlike Heiskanen, Salo took a major step back this season. After a season where he had a goal and 15 assists in 54 games in his draft year, he managed only 5 assists in 43 games this year and was sent down to Finland’s non-elite league, where he had 0 points in 2 games.