Riikola, 24, spent the past few weeks representing his native Finland at the 2018 World Championship, where he had two assists and was plus-4 in eight contests.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Riikola, a left-handed shot, has played the last six seasons with KalPa in Finland's top professional league. He made his debut as a 19 year old back in 2012-13. He has served as an alternate captain for his club each of the last three years.
A native of Joensuu, Finland, Riikola steadily improved his offensive numbers over his six professional seasons. This past season, he scored a career-high eight times and added 16 assists for 24 points in 59 games. One year ago, in 2016-17, Riikola set personal highs in both assists (19) and points (25) in 59 games. That same year, Riikola added seven points (1G-6A) and a plus-7 in 18 postseason contests, helping KalPa advance to Finland's championship series.
Riikola, who went undrafted in the NHL Draft, had 26 goals, 63 assists and 89 points in 283 regular-season games with KalPa. He tacked on 10 points (2G-8A) in 31 playoff games.
Riikola was teammates with Olli Maatta on the Finn's 2013 World Junior Championship squad. Riikola's older brother, Simo-Pekka Riikola, is an eight-year veteran of Finland's top professional league.
