Esa Pirnes
Esa Pirnes (born April 1, 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey centre. He began and concluded his 21 year career playing for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga. Pirnes was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 6th round (174th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
| Esa Pirnes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
April 1, 1977 Oulu, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Oulun Kärpät Espoo Blues Tappara Los Angeles Kings Lukko Färjestads BK Atlant Moscow Oblast Jokerit EV Zug AIK IF | ||
| National team |
 | ||
| NHL Draft |
174th overall, 2003 Los Angeles Kings | ||
| Playing career | 1995–2016 | ||
Playing career
Pirnes started his career with Kärpät in the Finnish second league in 1995 and played with them until 1999, when he signed with SM-Liiga club Blues. He stayed with the Blues for two seasons before he moved to rivals Tappara in 2001. In 2003, he was drafted by the Kings after four good seasons in SM-Liiga. Pirnes went over the Atlantic to play in the NHL. But he did not have the same success in NHL as he had in Finland. Despite playing 57 games with LA he only scored 11 points. Before the season was over he also played a few games with the Kings's farm team, Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. He was named to team Finland in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey roster, but did not play a game.[1] But he did not stay in the NHL, instead he went back home to Finland and signed with Lukko for the 2004/05 season.
After one year in Lukko he moved back to his former club, Blues. But after the season he signed with his fifth club in five years, Swedish club Färjestads BK, for the 2006/07 season. In Färjestad he was re-united with his former teammate from Lukko, Janne Niskala. In the Season 2008/2009 Pirnes signed to play for Atlant Moscow Oblast and left the club on May 6, 2009 the club to sign with Jokerit.[2]
In May 2012, Pirnes signed with AIK of the Swedish Elitserien (SEL).[3]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | Oulun Kärpät | Mestis | 20 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Oulun Kärpät | Mestis | 36 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | ||
| 1997–98 | Oulun Kärpät | Mestis | 32 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Oulun Kärpät | Mestis | 47 | 26 | 26 | 52 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | Espoo Blues | SM-l | 51 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01 | Espoo Blues | SM-l | 54 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Tappara | SM-l | 49 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Tappara | SM-l | 56 | 23 | 14 | 37 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 57 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Manchester Monarchs | AHL | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Lukko | SM-l | 47 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Espoo Blues | SM-l | 44 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Färjestads BK | SEL | 43 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 28 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Färjestads BK | SEL | 52 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 74 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 2008–09 | Atlant Moscow Oblast | KHL | 51 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Jokerit | SM-l | 58 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Jokerit | SM-l | 39 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 57 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | EV Zug | NLA | 29 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | ||
| 2012–13 | AIK IF | SEL | 45 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | AIK IF | SHL | 43 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2014–15 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 46 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 30 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 45 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| Liiga totals | 500 | 129 | 178 | 307 | 299 | 97 | 25 | 34 | 59 | 32 | ||||
| NHL totals | 57 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| SHL totals | 183 | 52 | 83 | 135 | 168 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 20 | ||||
| KHL totals | 51 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2006 Latvia | |
| 2008 Canada | |
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Finland | WJC | 5th | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | Finland | WC | 5th | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Finland | WC | 6th | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2006 | Finland | WC |  |
8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2008 | Finland | WC | |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Senior totals | 25 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | ||||
References
- "Esa Pirnes player profile". National Hockey League. May 7, 2004. Retrieved May 6, 2006.
- "Pirnes agrees to contract with Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. May 6, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
- "Esa Pirnes ansluter och Robert Rosén lämnar" (in Swedish). AIK. May 21, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kari Lehtonen |
Winner of the Jari Kurri trophy 2002–03 |
Succeeded by Niklas Bäckström |
| Preceded by Jani Rita |
Winner of the Raimo Kilpiö trophy 2005–06 |
Succeeded by Tommi Paakkolanvaara |