Juuso Välimäki (born October 6, 1998) is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Arizona Coyotes 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
Juuso Välimäki | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() Välimäki in 2018 | |||
Born |
(1998-10-06) October 6, 1998 (age 24) Tampere, Finland | ||
Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Weight | 96 kg (212 lb; 15 st 2 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shoots | Left | ||
NHL team Former teams |
Arizona Coyotes Calgary Flames Ilves | ||
NHL Draft |
16th overall, 2017 Calgary Flames | ||
Playing career | 2018–present |
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.
Prior to the 2022–23 season, after being unable to make the Flames opening night roster, Välimäki was placed on waivers before he was claimed the following day by the Arizona Coyotes, on 9 October 2022.[11]
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing ![]() | ||
Ice hockey | ||
IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
![]() | 2016 United States | |
![]() | 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.
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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2021–22 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2021–22 | Stockton Heat | AHL | 35 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | ||
NHL totals | 82 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 48 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
Liiga totals | 19 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Finland | IH18 | 5th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
2015 | Finland | U18 | ![]() |
7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
2015 | Finland | IH18 | 4th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
2016 | Finland | U18 | ![]() |
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 |
Award | Year | |
---|---|---|
WHL | ||
Second All-Star Team (West) | 2017, 2018 |
Nokialla varttunut nuorukainen pääsee juhlimaan Suomen itsenäisyyspäivää Linnan juhliin 6. joulukuuta.
Suomen joukkueen kapteenina toimi puolustaja Juuso Välimäki.
Awards and achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Calgary Flames' first round draft pick 2017 |
Succeeded by |