Photo by: C. Morgan Engel/Clarkson Creative
Championship Dream Achieved for Salminen at Denver
9/25/2026 3:20:00 PM | (1) Ice Hockey
Former DU hockey forward won a national title in 2026 with the Pioneers before signing a professional contract with the Florida Panthers before the 2026-27 NHL season
Samu Salminen just wanted to win a national championship, and he had his eyes on the trophy since he was a teenager. The Helsinki, Finland, native said he knew just where he needed to go to accomplish that.Â
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The Denver Pioneers hold the reins on the college hockey world with the most national championships, and when Salminen arrived on campus, he could only have imagined what it would be like to reach the pinnacle of the sport.Â
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"There was one expectation that we were told a lot when coming into this program," he said. "It's winning the national championship, because that's everything this program is all about."
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Salminen was named as one of the alternate captains among the three seniors on last year's roster, and at the start of the 2025-26 campaign he expressed that he wanted to come to DU "because of the incredible culture, great coaching staff, really good academic school and I just wanted to be a part of the Pio nation."
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In Denver's run to an 11th title last season, Salminen skated in all 43 contests, contributing 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points. He led the roster with the most faceoff attempts and won 54.7 percent of the 730 draws taken in 2025-26. He also finished fourth on the team last year with a plus-22 rating as a top-line forward.Â
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Before coming to DU, the Finn played two campaigns with the University of Connecticut Huskies, where he totaled 34 points (16g/18a) from 2022-2024. For both of his years as a Huskie, he led the roster in faceoff-winning percentage at .520 in his debut season and then posted a .564 mark during his sophomore year.Â
Â
Salminen always seemed destined to come to DU. When assistant coach Tavis MacMillan first visited Salminen in Finland at age 15, his fate was sealed.
Â
After some growth (and some more English lessons), he was able to fully commit to his future at the University of Denver and Magness Arena.
Â
He said he understood it was going to be a challenge with the Pioneers, but he knew what was expected of him, and he wanted to be part of it.
Â
"Every single guy who is coming into this program [is] going to have the same mentality," Salminen said in the postgame press conference after he reached the mountaintop himself with the team after the Pioneers' win on April 9 against Wisconsin in the NCAA National Championship. "It's not easy here. That's what we want. No one wants it easy here. When we do it together, [that's what] these moments are for."
Â
In his first campaign as a Pio in 2024-25, he recorded 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points and played in all 44 contests while helping Denver reach his first of back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances. He also finished with the highest plus/minus rating among all forwards on the team at plus-21 along with ranking second on the squad in faceoff-winning percentage (.555) and third in overall draw victories (325). He made his debut with the Pioneers on Oct. 5, 2024 at Alaska Anchorage and picked up his first point with a goal the next day against the Seawolves.
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Like many players, his journey began in outdoor rinks while growing up in Finland. He first learned to skate "when I was 2 years old, my dad took me with my brothers to the outdoor rink. That's how it started."
Â
Salminen has two older brothers, Sami and Saku, both played hockey, with Sami also skating four years collegiately with Northern Michigan University. Samu felt compelled to follow a similar path as his older brother to North America after hearing of his collegiate experiences.
Â
The now Denver alum noted that Magness Arena is his favorite spot in Colorado, and the building might have not been more electric than it was on March 14 when Salminen scored the overtime-winning goal against Western Michigan in the NCHC Semifinals.
Â
"I didn't really know who scored but just the joy and just seeing all the fans here in the building after the goal was something I probably never experienced and it was a huge moment," he said postgame. "I'm just happy we can play at home these games and enjoy it."
Â
Before coming to America, Salminen played in the Jokerit organization in Helsinki, which included three seasons with the under-20 squad from 2019-2022. He was named to the league's first all-star team in 2021-22 after totaling 48 points (19g/29a) in 44 games as a team captain. It may come as no surprise that Helsinki is his favorite place in the world, but he's excited to now show off his achievements from DU in his hometown, including his national championship tattoo.
Â
Internationally, he represented his country at several tournaments, including serving as team captain for Finland at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship. He recorded nine points (7g/2a) in seven games of that tournament and finished with the best overall faceoff percentage among all players (.702).Â
Â
Next up for Salminen is pro hockey, as he signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on Sept. 20 as a college free agent.
Â
He hopes to make it to the NHL one day, and if he does reach the best league in the world, maybe he'll line up in the face-off circle against his favorite player, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Â
He's another step closer to making that a reality.
Â
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The Denver Pioneers hold the reins on the college hockey world with the most national championships, and when Salminen arrived on campus, he could only have imagined what it would be like to reach the pinnacle of the sport.Â
Â
"There was one expectation that we were told a lot when coming into this program," he said. "It's winning the national championship, because that's everything this program is all about."
Â
Salminen was named as one of the alternate captains among the three seniors on last year's roster, and at the start of the 2025-26 campaign he expressed that he wanted to come to DU "because of the incredible culture, great coaching staff, really good academic school and I just wanted to be a part of the Pio nation."
Â
In Denver's run to an 11th title last season, Salminen skated in all 43 contests, contributing 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points. He led the roster with the most faceoff attempts and won 54.7 percent of the 730 draws taken in 2025-26. He also finished fourth on the team last year with a plus-22 rating as a top-line forward.Â
Â
Before coming to DU, the Finn played two campaigns with the University of Connecticut Huskies, where he totaled 34 points (16g/18a) from 2022-2024. For both of his years as a Huskie, he led the roster in faceoff-winning percentage at .520 in his debut season and then posted a .564 mark during his sophomore year.Â
Â
Salminen always seemed destined to come to DU. When assistant coach Tavis MacMillan first visited Salminen in Finland at age 15, his fate was sealed.
Â
After some growth (and some more English lessons), he was able to fully commit to his future at the University of Denver and Magness Arena.
Â
He said he understood it was going to be a challenge with the Pioneers, but he knew what was expected of him, and he wanted to be part of it.
Â
"Every single guy who is coming into this program [is] going to have the same mentality," Salminen said in the postgame press conference after he reached the mountaintop himself with the team after the Pioneers' win on April 9 against Wisconsin in the NCAA National Championship. "It's not easy here. That's what we want. No one wants it easy here. When we do it together, [that's what] these moments are for."
Â
In his first campaign as a Pio in 2024-25, he recorded 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points and played in all 44 contests while helping Denver reach his first of back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances. He also finished with the highest plus/minus rating among all forwards on the team at plus-21 along with ranking second on the squad in faceoff-winning percentage (.555) and third in overall draw victories (325). He made his debut with the Pioneers on Oct. 5, 2024 at Alaska Anchorage and picked up his first point with a goal the next day against the Seawolves.
Â
Like many players, his journey began in outdoor rinks while growing up in Finland. He first learned to skate "when I was 2 years old, my dad took me with my brothers to the outdoor rink. That's how it started."
Â
Salminen has two older brothers, Sami and Saku, both played hockey, with Sami also skating four years collegiately with Northern Michigan University. Samu felt compelled to follow a similar path as his older brother to North America after hearing of his collegiate experiences.
Â
The now Denver alum noted that Magness Arena is his favorite spot in Colorado, and the building might have not been more electric than it was on March 14 when Salminen scored the overtime-winning goal against Western Michigan in the NCHC Semifinals.
Â
"I didn't really know who scored but just the joy and just seeing all the fans here in the building after the goal was something I probably never experienced and it was a huge moment," he said postgame. "I'm just happy we can play at home these games and enjoy it."
Â
Before coming to America, Salminen played in the Jokerit organization in Helsinki, which included three seasons with the under-20 squad from 2019-2022. He was named to the league's first all-star team in 2021-22 after totaling 48 points (19g/29a) in 44 games as a team captain. It may come as no surprise that Helsinki is his favorite place in the world, but he's excited to now show off his achievements from DU in his hometown, including his national championship tattoo.
Â
Internationally, he represented his country at several tournaments, including serving as team captain for Finland at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship. He recorded nine points (7g/2a) in seven games of that tournament and finished with the best overall faceoff percentage among all players (.702).Â
Â
Next up for Salminen is pro hockey, as he signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on Sept. 20 as a college free agent.
Â
He hopes to make it to the NHL one day, and if he does reach the best league in the world, maybe he'll line up in the face-off circle against his favorite player, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Â
He's another step closer to making that a reality.
Â
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Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Hockey on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Hockey on X
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Hockey on Instagram
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