Mikko Lehtonen (ice hockey, born 1994)
Mikko Lehtonen (born 16 January 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defensemen currently playing for Jokerit in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on loan from the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). After leading the KHL in points among defensemen, Lehtonen announced he would continue his career in the NHL, and would sign a one-year entry level contract with the Maple Leafs.
| Mikko Lehtonen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Lehtonen in 2017 | |||
| Born |
16 January 1994 Turku, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Toronto Maple Leafs Jokerit (KHL) TPS KooKoo HV71 Tappara | ||
| National team |
 | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
Playing career
Lehtonen made his SM-liiga debut playing with TPS during the 2011–12 season.[1] For the season 2015–2016, Lehtonen moved to the team KooKoo for a two-year contract. He made his breakthrough in the league and made all the 60 regular rounds. Lehtonen ranked Juha Leimu of Pelicans in the second round of the SM Liiga defender's goal. In the 2016–17 season he was KooKoo's second best point-keeper and the most powerful defender until the threshold of the Liiga move. In February 2017, Lehtonen spent the rest of the season for the Swedish SHL League in HV71 and he won the Swedish Championship at the end of the season.
Lehtonen moved to Tappara for the 2017–18 season agreeing to an initial two-year contract. In 2018, Lehtonen left Tappara by mutual consent and re-joined HV71 of the SHL.[2]
On 9 April 2019, Lehtonen as a free agent left HV71, returning to Finland in signing a two-year contract with KHL participant, Jokerit.[3]
Lehtonen, appeared in 60 games with Jokerit during the 2019–20 season and registered 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists), which led all KHL defencemen. He represented Jokerit at the 2020 KHL All-Star Game and was named KHL Defenceman of the Month in three consecutive months from November to January. He had a goal and three assists in six KHL playoff games prior to the cancellation of the season.
As a free agent Lehtonen gained NHL interest and on 4 May 2020, the Toronto Maple Leafs, signed Lehtonen to a one-year entry level contract for the 2020–21 season.[4] With the North American season delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on 1 August 2020, Lehtonen was returned to Jokerit on loan until the resumption of NHL training camp in November.[5]
International play
Internationally, Lehtonen has represented Finland at multiple events, include the World Championships in 2017 and 2019, winning gold at the 2019 tournament and earning recognition on the World Championship All-Star Team. He also skated for Finland at the Olympic Games in 2018 and the 2014 World Junior Championships, where he captured gold.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2010–11 | TPS | Jr. A | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | TPS | Jr. A | 39 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | TPS | SM-l | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | TPS | Jr. A | 39 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | ||
| 2012–13 | TPS | SM-l | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | TUTO Hockey | Mestis | 46 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 20 | ||
| 2014–15 | TPS | Liiga | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | TUTO Hockey | Mestis | 19 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | KooKoo | Liiga | 60 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | KooKoo | Liiga | 43 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | HV71 | SHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | Tappara | Liiga | 55 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 24 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 2018–19 | HV71 | SHL | 52 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2019–20 | Jokerit | KHL | 60 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
| Liiga totals | 220 | 30 | 49 | 79 | 72 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | ||||
| SHL totals | 61 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 30 | 25 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||||
| KHL totals | 60 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing | ||
| World Championships | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2019 Slovakia | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| 2014 Sweden | |
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Finland | U17 | 7th | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2011 | Finland | IH18 | 4th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012 | Finland | U18 | 4th | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Finland | WJC |  |
7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2017 | Finland | WC | 4th | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Finland | OG | 6th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Finland | WC | |
10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||||
| Senior totals | 21 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Mestis | ||
| Second All-Star Team | 2014 | |
| Liiga | ||
| Runner-up (Tappara) | 2018 | |
| SHL | ||
| Le Mat Trophy (HV71) | 2017 | |
References
- Eliteprospects.com – 2011–12 TPS player statistics
- Lehtinen, Lauri (20 May 2018). "Tähtipuolustaja jättää Tapparan kesken sopimuksen – palaa Ruotsiin". aamulehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- "Defenseman Lehtonen to Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- "Maple Leafs sign Mikko Lehtonen". Toronto Maple Leafs. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- "Lehtonen loaned back to Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database