At the end of November the Nashville Predators recalled four players to their roster during a tough injury stretch. Kevin Fiala and Petter Granberg have been in the mix before but seeing the names Frédérick Gaudreau and Mike Liambas as part of that day’s call-ups from the Milwaukee Admirals was a pleasant surprise. Gaudreau’s story and emergence has been rather well documented. As for the journey that Liambas had to take before reaching the NHL? It’s a long story.

Liambas is a native of Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. In his junior playing career he suited up for the Erie Otters in the OHL. Originally, Liambas was a defenseman but the main characteristic of his play from the word “GO” has always been his physicality. There are very few players in hockey with the fearlessness and determination that Liambas brings on the ice with every shift and his willingness to drop the gloves for his teammates, regardless of being a smaller skater on the ice than some heavyweights he will duke it out with, only serves to remind people in broad daylight of the heart he has.

What is unfortunate is that for many, still to this day, Liambas is known for a single moment in his junior playing career. In 2009, on Halloween, Liambas’ Otters were matched up against the Kitchener Rangers. The play itself was incredibly simple and happens, or can happen, numerous times in a given hockey game. The Otters chipped a puck deep from the neutral zone, went for a change, but left Liambas out to press deep against the puck carrier. The man tasked with puck retrieval on the dump-in was Rangers defenseman Ben Fanelli. What happened next would impact both of their lives.

After getting a quick stop behind the net by the goaltender, Liambas saw Fanelli gathering up the puck and cycling back around the net with his head down. The natural instinct would be to follow through with a check, which Liambas did, and the two came together with astonishing force. Fanelli saw Liambas at the last second, started to rotate out of the incoming check, but he was always getting leveled from the check. Fanelli was hit so hard by Liambas that his helmet came off prior to his head catching the metal stanchion separating the glass panels and then crashing to the ice. He would remain motionless as the medical staff rushed to the ice. He required to be stretchered off the ice and would later be diagnosed with a skull fracture and concussion. Fanelli would return to complete his junior playing career in Kitchener but the hit would effectively be the end of his hockey playing caeer.

That incident came at the beginning of Liambas’ fourth junior playing season in the OHL. He would be suspended for the rest of the season as well as that year’s playoffs as a result of the boarding penalty against Fanelli. The hit was the end of Liambas’ junior playing career. What came next was the true test of whether or not he would ever be able to make a career out of playing the game as a professional hockey player.

Liambas’ first step from that moment involved going back to the IHL with the Bloomington PrairieThunder. He had played briefly with the outfit in the previous season in 2008-09. By the end of that 2009-10 season he had logged more games in the IHL (25) than he did in the OHL his final two junior playing seasons (9).

His next step came at the University of British Columbia playing in the CIS. At the end of the 2010-11 season he would officially join the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL to become a professional hockey player. His time with the Cyclones would last through to the 2012-13 season which saw a spell with the Orlando SolarBears. Where he would go next is where this journey really starts to go onwards and upwards.

At the end of the 2012-13 season a scrappy young Liambas showed up on a PTO Contract with the Admirals. His AHL debut came eight days prior to his twenty-fourth birthday in Milwaukee against the Houston Aeros. I suppose you can say for Admirals fans it was love at first fight. The 5-10 Liambas paired up to fight 6-3 forward Ryley Grantham. Liambas from his first ever AHL experience showed Milwaukee his greatest attribute: it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog. Liambas is as fearless as they come.

From that moment since Liambas has been a staple in the AHL. The very first full-season he had as a member of the Admirals came in 2013-14 and saw him break Jordin Tootoo‘s Admirals record for penalty minutes accumulated in a single season. He fought twenty-five times that season.

Yet, looking past fighting majors, Liambas has fought his way from that fateful night in 2009 to get to where he is today. His evolution as a player through the tutelage of Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Admirals assistant coach Stan Drulia has been one of the most fun developments I’ve had the chance to watch in my time around the organization. It isn’t just about fighting. The days of the out-and-out enforcer aren’t there anymore. You need to play. And, make no mistake about it, the day the Liambas was officially given the call by the Predators organization it came as a result of having established himself as a well rounded player.

Liambas’ game has matured with time on and especially off the ice. He displays great leadership qualities and players in Nashville such as Anthony Bitetto and Colton Sissons would be quick to credit him for his guidance along their individual journeys as well.. That recall wasn’t a reward for service time by the Predators or a simple pat on the back. He earned it.

Cheers to Mike Liambas on taking the time out after practice last week to chat at such length. Tomorrow Admirals Roundtable will be covering the Milwaukee Admirals road game against the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center. On Wednesday we will be hoping to get you the next installment of Fifteen which features Derek Army.

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

When most people think of Miikka Salomäki they think of a Finnish wrecking ball on skates. I can’t really refute that. Salomäki was second to only Shea Weber on the Nashville Predators last season in hits. The Finn is a relentless force on the ice. Yet, while he spends time back in Milwaukee on long-term injury loan, I am reminded of what I think of Salomäki. He has come a long way off the ice.

What most people get to see with hockey players is their on-ice work. In fact, where I assume the majority of those reading and listening to this will come from is the Nashville fan base who get to see a more finished product. Lost in that is the developmental process that has come along the way in either the AHL, ECHL, or even professional leagues. Not only that, but in a player such as Salomäki’s case, the adaptation of more than just a smaller rink in the North American pro game – but North America on a day-to-day basis.

When I first met Salomäki he was 21-years old and about to embark on his first professional playing season outside of his native Finland. His tenure with Kärpät, a Finnish organization which brought in the likes of Pekka Rinne, did him well enough to be selected in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Predators. His first season away from home was the 2013-14 campaign. Unlike his Scandinavian teammates from Sweden the language barrier was a very real test for Salomäki. It was something that once prompted this gem from his Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason in our first ever edition of Chatterbox.

“When he turns purple when you say “Good Morning” to him it’s probably an indication that he’s shy. Off the ice he is shy. There is a bit of a language barrier. Not tremendous. He understands. He speaks, but he is a shy guy. But he pulls a sweater over his head and he’s a different man. He just goes out and he plays the same way every single night. And he’ll mature, obviously, and get to know how to conduct himself off the ice and be more comfortable. But, on the ice? No issues.” ~Dean Evason

That debut season for Salomäki was always going to be a stiff test as he was introduced to a new style of hockey and a new style of living. Fortunately, the language barrier that could have trouble him was lessened by having a contingent from home with the likes of Joonas Järvinen and Joonas Rask on the roster. There are always niche groups within a locker room as it is such a diverse game and having that ability to communicate in your native language can offer homely comforts that make a long and grinding season in the AHL or ECHL as a first-year player can go a long way.

If you view those three Finnish players from the Admirals that 2013014 season you also got to view the ups-and-downs of how the translation from the European to North American game can go. Järvinen appeared to find a groove that season but perhaps didn’t have the all-around abilities or skating prowess that the Predators would have wanted in their ranks. Rask, who has great skating ability, just wasn’t able to wire all of his tools together as effectively as he may have been able to as the smaller ice surface meant getting closed down quicker and grinded up along the boards. As for Salomäki? A smaller surface area in which to play perhaps only enhances his style of hockey.

Salomäki, from as early as that first season with the Admirals, earned a reputation as being a “Bull in a China Shop” from Evason. He never switches off ever, every shift he brings it, and every shift is met with high level effort, grit, and tenacity. A smaller rink only means that Salomäki has less distance to go from hit-to-hit or switching from defense to offense. In his first season in North America he was the Admirals leading scorer with 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists) from 75 games of work which saw him tied for fifth overall in the AHL’s rookie scoring race.

The next season Salomäki might not have been on the scoring rush that he had prior but his all-around play was taking flight. He was incredibly sound defensively and was doing such consistent work that he earned his first career NHL recall. On 1/8/15 he would make his NHL debut with the Predators in front of a packed Bridgestone Arena. He would score on a breakaway against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars for his first career NHL goal and also contribute a game best seven hits. It was the perfect debut showcasing Salomäki’s résumé on the NHL stage.

Unfortunately, right after his NHL debut he would end up being sidelined for the rest of the 2014-15 season due to shoulder surgery to take care repeated dislocation. The next season he would be with the Admirals on opening night but Salomäki’s main calling was to be in the NHL. He played 61 games for the Predators in the 2015-16 season, scored 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists), and amass 164 hits. Weber collected five more hits than Salomäki on the season but Weber had also played far more games. At 2.7 hits per game Salomäki wasn’t just atop the Predators in that respect but near the top ten of a powerhouse Central Division.

The word unfortunate turned up again this season for Salomäki. In fact, it has come up far too often. In the second game of the Predators season he broke his hand blocking a shot. He was sidelined until 12/2/16 when he made his return to game action on conditioning assignment with the Admirals. He participated in one period of play and never returned to the game. The reason for that was he suffered a significant leg injury while delivering a check. One that some thought could have held him out for the rest of this season. Thankfully, that isn’t the case and he is close to returning to where he belongs – on NHL ice.

Seeing Salomäki, whether it was in Nashville two weeks ago or here in Milwaukee this past week, reminds me of the journey he has been on off the ice. The man who would turn purple if you said “Good Morning” to him is far more comfortable in his own skin now in this country and when it comes to the English language. When he first arrived? I wanted interviews with him to be short and sweet because I relate to the social anxiety factor and just how unsettling it must be communicating in a different language with a microphone in front of you. Today? He is the goofball prankster that he very much is. Sure, it isn’t easy communicating in a different language -but- he does it now with a big laugh.

A massive thanks to Miikka Salomäki for providing the time to do such a lengthy interview and -Happy Birthday- as he turns 25-years old today. In the next two installments of Fifteen we will hear from Mike Liambas as well as Derek Army. Those will likely be released at the start of next week on Monday and Wednesday respectively.

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.