Ex-Oiler, Finnish Olympian Returns Home
Finnish forward Teemu Hartikainen, 35, with KalPa, the reigning Liiga champion announced on Friday. KalPa is the club Kuopio-born Hartikainen grew up playing for, but hasn't played there since 2010.
'It feels good to be here,' said Hartikainen. 'We have been able to settle down with our family in peace, and after the summer we won't have to go out into the world anymore. After all, we've been waiting for this for the past few years, to be able to settle down at home with our family again.'
Hartikainen was chosen in the sixth round, 163rd overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Between 2010 and 2013, he split three seasons between the Oilers and the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons. In 52 NHL games, he recorded six goals, seven assists and 16 penalty minutes for the Oilers.
Hartikainen then spent nine seasons playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa. In 2018-19, he made the KHL First All-Star Team and led the playoffs in points and plus/minus. In 2020-21, he had 64 points in 53 regular-season games, which led all non-Russian players in the league.
Hartikainen spent the last three seasons in Switzerland playing for Genève-Servette, where he amassed 136 points in 161 National League regular-season and playoff games. In 2022-23, he helped the team win its first-ever national title and the following season Genève-Servette won the Champions Hockey League.
Hartikainen was one of numerous Finns on the Genève-Servette team; most of whom have since returned home. Finnish teammates of Hartikainen in Switzerland included goaltender Antti Raanta, defenseman Sami Vatanen and forwards Valtteri Filppula and Markus Granlund.
Confirmed: Sami Vatanen Returns To Hometown Club It had been
rumored since early last season and now it's official. Finnish defenseman Sami Vatanen, 33, has signed a two-year contract to play with his hometown club JYP, the Liiga club announced in a press conference on Tuesday.
Internationally, Hartikainen represented Finland at three IIHF World Championships and one Winter Olympics, winning gold in each three months apart in 2022.
Hartikainen represents the only KalPa player under contract for 2025-16 that has any NHL, Olympic or World Championship experience, but he's nonetheless confident about the club's continued success.
'The club is growing year by year and there is a way of doing things here in the long term,' he said. 'It has been great to see how many of our own young people have grown up here to become Liiga players and under their leadership we are able to win the Finnish championship. It's great to be a part of this.'
Photo © Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images
Antti Raanta Signs With Hometown Finnish Team Antti Raanta is finally going home. On Monday, Liiga club Lukko, located in Raanta's hometown of Rauma, on Finland's west coast,
announced that the 36-year-old goaltender had signed a one-year contract.
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