# Tapio Sammalkangas

Tapio Sammalkangas (born March 16, 1980) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. Sammalkangas played 671 games in the Finnish Elite League scoring 94 points and 803 penalty minutes. He won the Finnish Championship with the Porin Ässät in 2013 and Tappara in 2017. He was known as a defensive defenceman.

## Early life

Tapio Sammalkangas was born in Tampere, Finland on 16 March 1980. His father, Timo, played ice hockey as a junior with Ilves and in Sweden's lower divisions.

## Career
### Junior

Tapio Sammalkangas started ice hockey in the Tampereen Ilves as a four-year old. He played as a forward until the age of ten. Sammalkangas won the U18 bronze medal with Ilves in 1997 and U20 silver in 1999.

### Professional (1998–2017)

Sammalkangas made his professional debut with Ilves in the 1998 SM-liiga playoffs. He played three games with no points. Ilves lost the Kanada-malja finals to IFK Helsingfors. The 1999–2000 season was his actual rookie season in the SM-liiga. He played 47 regular season games with Ilves, scoring three points and 56 penalty minutes.
Sammalkangas joined the Porin Ässät for the 2006–07 season. He won the Kanada-malja championship with the club in 2013 and served as alternate captain from 2011 to 2015. He played the 2016–17 season with Tappara and won the championship. He retired after the season. In total, Sammalkangas played eleven seasons with the Porin Ässät.

## Career statistics

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1997–98 | Ilves U20 | Jr. A SM-liiga | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997–98 | Ilves | Liiga | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Ilves U20 | Jr. A SM-liiga | 30 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 64 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 1999–00 | Ilves U20 | Jr. A SM-liiga | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Ilves | Liiga | 47 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 56 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | Ilves U20 | Jr. A SM-liiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | Ilves | Liiga | 54 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2001–02 | Ässät | Liiga | 52 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | Ilves | Liiga | 51 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003–04 | Fresno Falcons | ECHL | 70 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004–05 | AaB Ishockey | Denmark | 29 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 46 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 31 |
| 2005–06 | AaB Ishockey | Denmark | 36 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 65 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 50 |
| 2006–07 | Ässät | Liiga | 49 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Ässät | Liiga | 49 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008–09 | Ässät | Liiga | 55 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 116 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | Ässät | Liiga | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | LeKi | Mestis | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2010–11 | Ässät | Liiga | 48 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 77 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2011–12 | Ässät | Liiga | 55 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 71 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| 2012–13 | Ässät | Liiga | 56 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 38 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2013–14 | Ässät | Liiga | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | Ässät | Liiga | 38 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 63 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2015–16 | Ässät | Liiga | 42 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Tappara | Liiga | 27 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liiga totals | Liiga totals | Liiga totals | 671 | 30 | 64 | 94 | 803 | 56 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 59 |