Juuso Välimäki

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Juuso Välimäki
Born (1998-10-06) October 6, 1998 (age 23)
Tampere, Finland
Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 96 kg (212 lb; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Calgary Flames
Stockton Heat (AHL)
Ilves
NHL Draft 16th overall, 2017
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2018–present

Juuso Välimäki (born October 6, 1998) is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Stockton Heat in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the first-round, 16th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft

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.

He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the first-round, 16th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft before signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames on July 21, 2017.[4] As a draft prospect, Välimäki was ranked 11 of North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau[5] and ranked the 14 skater by ISS Hockey.[6]

Välimäki made his NHL debut in the 2018–19 NHL season on October 3 against the Vancouver Canucks.[7] He scored his first NHL goal on October 17, 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.[8] Välimäki suffered a high ankle sprain which limited his season.[9]

After sitting out the 2019–20 season due to a torn ACL injury, and with the following North American season delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Välimäki was loaned by the Flames to Finnish Liiga club, Ilves, to start the 2020–21 season on September 30, 2020.[10] Välimäki made a successful return from injury with Ilves, playing in a top-four role and producing at a point-per-game pace through 19 regular season contests, before returning to Calgary.

International play[]

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
IIHF World U18 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2016 United States
Silver medal – second place 2015 Switzerland

Välimäki was named to team Finland at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships, which eventually earned a silver medal after a 2–1 overtime loss against the United States. Välimäki finished the 2015 tournament with 1 assist in 7 games. The following year Välimäki was named captain and led Finland to the gold medal at 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships defeating Sweden 6–1.[11] Välimäki finished the 2016 World Championship with two assists in six games.

Välimäki was named to team Finland in the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, scoring two goals in six games as Finland finished with only one win in the tournament. In December 2017, Välimäki was named captain of Team Finland at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[12] Finland was subsequently eliminated in the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic with a final score of 4–1, and Välimäki finished the 2018 World Juniors with one goal and three assists in six games.

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 — — — — —
2020–21 Ilves Liiga 19 2 17 19 20 — — — — —
2020–21 Calgary Flames NHL 49 2 9 11 26 — — — — —
NHL totals 73 3 11 14 38 2 0 1 1 0
Liiga totals 19 2 17 19 20 — — — — —

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Finland IH18 5th 4 0 1 1 0
2015 Finland WJC18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 0 1 1 6
2015 Finland IH18 4th 5 1 0 1 4
2016 Finland WJC18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 0 2 2 0
2017 Finland WJC 9th 6 2 0 2 6
2018 Finland WJC 6th 5 1 3 4 4
Junior totals 33 4 7 11 20

Awards and honours[]

Award Year
WHL
Second All-Star Team (West) 2017, 2018

References[]

  1. ^ "Juuso Välimäki's NHL Draft Profile". National Hockey League. June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  2. ^ Salo, Tapani (November 23, 2016). "18-vuotias nokialaiskiekkoilija sai kutsun Linnaan: "Lähden ylpeänä"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved April 14, 2017. Nokialla varttunut nuorukainen pääsee juhlimaan Suomen itsenäisyyspäivää Linnan juhliin 6. joulukuuta.
  3. ^ "Americans Draft Finnish Defenseman in 2015 CHL Import Draft". amshockey.com. June 30, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "Flames sign Juuso Valimaki". Calgary Flames. July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  5. ^ "2017 NHL CS Final Draft Ranking - NA Skaters". TSN. April 11, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  6. ^ Pike, Ryan (June 21, 2017). "2017 NHL Draft Final Consensus Rankings". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  7. ^ Woodley, Kevin (October 3, 2018). "Flames at Canucks preview". NHL.com. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  8. ^ Dittrick, Ryan (October 18, 2018). "'It's Awesome. Unbelievable, Really'". NHL.com. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  9. ^ Francis, Eric (December 16, 2020). "Flames' Juuso Valimaki returning from injury with Calder aspirations". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Peterson, Torie (September 30, 2020). "Vailmaki assigned to Ilves". Calgary Flames. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Hurmerinta, Eero (April 26, 2016). "Juuso Välimäki: "Kapteenin on oltava pelillinen johtaja"". Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Retrieved April 14, 2017. Suomen joukkueen kapteenina toimi puolustaja Juuso Välimäki.
  12. ^ Gilbertson, Wes (December 25, 2017). "Flames prospect Valimaki leads as Finland's captain at world juniors". Calgary Sun. Retrieved June 6, 2018.

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Calgary Flames' first round draft pick
2017 		Succeeded by
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