Juuso Välimäki
Juuso Välimäki (born 6 October 1998) is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Flames in the first-round, 16th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Juuso Välimäki | |||
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Born |
Tampere, Finland | 6 October 1998||
Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Weight | 96 kg (212 lb; 15 st 2 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shoots | Left | ||
NHL team | Calgary Flames | ||
NHL Draft |
16th overall, 2017 Calgary Flames | ||
Playing career | 2018–present |
Playing career
Välimäki was born in Tampere, Finland, but grew up in Nokia, Finland.[1] Välimäki received an invitation to the Finnish Independence Day Reception in 2016.[2]
Välimäki was selected 14th overall by the Tri-City Americans in the 2015 CHL Import draft.[3] He played three seasons with the Americans before signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames on 21 July 2017.[4]
Välimäki made his NHL debut on 3 October against the Vancouver Canucks.[5] He scored his first NHL goal on 17 October 2018, the third Flames goal in a 5–2 victory over the Boston Bruins; Välimäki scored the goal on Tuukka Rask, who had lost control of the puck after initially catching a piece of Välimäki's shot.[6]
International play
Medal record | ||
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Representing ![]() | ||
Ice hockey | ||
IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
![]() | 2016 United States | |
![]() | 2015 Switzerland |
Välimäki captained the gold medal-winning team at the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships.[7] In December 2017, Välimäki was named captain of Team Finland at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[8]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
2014–15 | Ilves | Jr. A | 44 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
2015–16 | Tri-City Americans | WHL | 56 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2016–17 | Tri-City Americans | WHL | 60 | 19 | 42 | 61 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
2017–18 | Tri-City Americans | WHL | 43 | 14 | 31 | 45 | 34 | 12 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 4 | ||
2018–19 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
2018–19 | Stockton Heat | AHL | 20 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Awards and honours
Award | Year | |
---|---|---|
WHL | ||
Second All-Star Team (West) | 2017, 2018 |
References
- "Juuso Välimäki's NHL Draft Profile". National Hockey League. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
- Salo, Tapani (23 November 2016). "18-vuotias nokialaiskiekkoilija sai kutsun Linnaan: "Lähden ylpeänä"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2017.
Nokialla varttunut nuorukainen pääsee juhlimaan Suomen itsenäisyyspäivää Linnan juhliin 6. joulukuuta.
- "Americans Draft Finnish Defenseman in 2015 CHL Import Draft". amshockey.com. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- "Flames sign Juuso Valimaki". Calgary Flames. 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- Woodley, Kevin (3 October 2018). "Flames at Canucks preview". NHL.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- Dittrick, Ryan (18 October 2018). "'IT'S AWESOME. UNBELIEVABLE, REALLY'". NHL.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- Hurmerinta, Eero (26 April 2016). "Juuso Välimäki: "Kapteenin on oltava pelillinen johtaja"". Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2017.
Suomen joukkueen kapteenina toimi puolustaja Juuso Välimäki.
- Gilbertson, Wes (25 December 2017). "Flames prospect Valimaki leads as Finland's captain at world juniors". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by Matthew Tkachuk |
Calgary Flames' first round draft pick 2017 |
Succeeded by Jakob Pelletier |