Aatu Räty
Aatu Räty is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. He was selected 52nd overall in the 2021 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders.
Playing career
Räty made his Liiga debut at age 16 and scored his first professional goal in the same game. Räty was considered a top prospect in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The presumptive first overall pick before the start of the season, Räty fell in draft rankings after what scouts viewed as a difficult season playing for Oulun Kärpät, scoring just six points in 35 games.On 14 August 2021, the New York Islanders announced that they had signed Räty to a three-year, entry-level contract. Räty was assigned to the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League on 19 April 2022, after his team's, Jukurit, 2021–22 Liiga season ended with elimination in the playoffs.
In the 2022–23 season, Räty was initially re-assigned to continue his tenure in the AHL with Bridgeport before he was recalled on 23 December 2022, and made his NHL debut for the New York Islanders, scoring his first career NHL goal against the Florida Panthers in a 5–1 win.
Following 12 games with the Islanders, posting 2 goals, Räty was traded with Anthony Beauvillier and a conditional first-round pick in 2023 to the Vancouver Canucks on 30 January 2023, as part of a multi-player deal that sent Bo Horvat to the Islanders.
Räty would leave game 2 of the Abbotsford Canucks 2025 Western Conference Final against the Texas Stars due to injury, en route to the team's first Calder Cup victory.