Over the weekend, a report from Mayor’s Manor suggested that the Kings were on the verge of signing defenseman Otto Salin to an entry-level deal. That deal is indeed now done, with the team announcing that they’ve signed Salin to a three-year contract that begins next season. While not confirmed by the team, it’s expected that he’ll join AHL Ontario on a tryout deal, allowing him to play with the Reign down the stretch.
The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Los Angeles back in 2022, going 148th overall in a season riddled by some injuries. To that point, Salin had primarily played in Finland’s junior level but he has played exclusively in the pros since then.
Salin spent most of his post-draft year with HIFK at the top Liiga level while getting into a handful of Mestis games (minor league level) as well. He split time between the two levels last season as well while only managing six assists in 29 games with HIFK.
This season, his fortunes changed for the better. Salin notched eight goals and 20 assists in 56 games during the regular season with TPS while averaging 17:32 per game. He added two goals and two assists in five postseason contests in over 23 minutes per night of playing time before being eliminated by SaiPa, a decent way to cap off his season. That was good enough to earn an NHL contract while likely getting his feet wet in the minors in the days to come as well.