Mikko Lehtonen (ice hockey, born 1994)
Mikko Lehtonen | |||
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![]() Lehtonen with Finland in 2017 | |||
Born |
Turku, Finland | 16 January 1994||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
Weight | 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shoots | Left | ||
KHL team Former teams |
SKA Saint Petersburg TPS KooKoo HV71 Tappara Jokerit Toronto Maple Leafs Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
National team |
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NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
Playing career | 2011–present |
Mikko Lehtonen (born 16 January 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with SKA Saint Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has previously played with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League (NHL).
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] Lehtonen was released from his contract with Jokerit on 20 November 2020, having collected 17 points through 17 games.[6]
On 12 March 2021, Lehtonen was traded by the Maple Leafs to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Veini Vehvilainen.[7]
After the 2020–21 season, Lehtonen signed a one-year contract to return to Columbus. However, on 12 October 2021, it was announced that he was suspended by the team and placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout after failing to report to the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets AHL affiliate.[8] As a free agent from the Blue Jackets, on 17 October 2021, Lehtonen returned to the KHL in agreeing to a four-year contract with Russian based outfit, SKA Saint Petersburg.[9]
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 | |||||||||||||
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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 | ||
2020–21 | Jokerit | KHL | 17 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2020–21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2020–21 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
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 | 77 | 25 | 41 | 66 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||||
NHL totals | 26 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 8 | — | — | ��� | — | — |
Medal record | ||
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Ice hockey | ||
Representing ![]() | ||
World Championships | ||
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2019 Slovakia | |
World Junior Championships | ||
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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.
- ^ "Maple Leafs Mikko Lehtonen terminates contract with Jokerit". Sportsnet.ca. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Blue Jackets acquire Lehtonen in trade with Leafs". ESPN.com. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ "Blue Jackets place defenceman Mikko Lehtonen on waivers for buyout". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Mikko Lehtonen joins SKA" (in Russian). SKA Saint Petersburg. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1994 births
- Living people
- Columbus Blue Jackets players
- Finnish ice hockey defencemen
- Jokerit players
- KooKoo players
- HV71 players
- Finnish expatriate ice hockey people
- Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
- Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Olympic ice hockey players of Finland
- SKA Saint Petersburg players
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- HC TPS players
- Sportspeople from Turku
- TuTo players
- Undrafted National Hockey League players