When Antti Suomela signed with the San Jose Sharks last summer, General Manager Doug Wilson stated that there were “a number of teams” who were interested in signing Suomela. While that number swayed in other reports, Suomela’s agent, Markus Lehto, had the best idea of the actual number, telling The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz that “half the league” wanted Suomela’s signature.
Despite the nearly league-wide interest in him, the 25-year-old Finland native decided to sign with the Sharks in the end, and got off to a hot start to his first NHL season. In his first six games in teal, he already had two assists, and scored a beauty of a first NHL goal against the Carolina Hurricanes.