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.

Not to be confused with Mikko Lehtonen (ice hockey, born 1987).

Mikko Lehtonen
Lehtonen in 2017
Born (1994-01-16) 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  Finland
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  Finland
World Championships
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
gollark: That is a game relevant ABR feature, yes.
gollark: I'll build in some game-relevant ABR features.
gollark: Bye!
gollark: I duplicate the 4 riches to get 8 riches muahahaha.
gollark: Only one of them.

References
  1. Eliteprospects.com – 2011–12 TPS player statistics
  2. Lehtinen, Lauri (20 May 2018). "Tähtipuolustaja jättää Tapparan kesken sopimuksen – palaa Ruotsiin". aamulehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  3. "Defenseman Lehtonen to Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  4. "Maple Leafs sign Mikko Lehtonen". Toronto Maple Leafs. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  5. "Lehtonen loaned back to Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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