Nutivaara, 21, was the 189th overall selection in last summer’s NHL Draft held at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. He registered six goals and 16 assists for 22 points with 14 penalty minutes and a +10 plus/minus rating in 50 games with Kärpät in Finland’s top professional league, Liiga, during the 2015-16 regular season. He ranked second among club defensemen in goals (tied), assists and points (tied), while adding 1-4-5 and was +5 in seven postseason contests.
The Oulu, Finland native made his Liiga debut with Kärpät in 2014-15, collecting 0-2-2 with four penalty minutes and was +7 in 35 regular season games and helped the club capture the Liiga Championship with 1-5-6 in 16 playoff contests.