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Topi Niemelä (born 25 March 2002) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga on loan as a prospect to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] Niemelä was drafted 64th overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, ranking within the top ten of European skaters.[2][3]
| Topi Niemelä | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Niemelä at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships | |||
| Born |
25 March 2002 Oulu, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team |
Toronto Maple Leafs Oulun Kärpät (Liiga) | ||
| NHL Draft |
64th overall, 2020 Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 2019–present | ||
Playing career
Following a break out year with Kärpät in 2021–22 season, Niemelä was signed to a future three-year, entry-level contract with draft club, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on 13 May 2022.[4]
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Finland | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 | 2022 Canada | |
 | 2021 Canada | |
At the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Niemelä led all defensemen in points, accumulating two goals and six assists on the way to winning the bronze medal with Team Finland.[5][6] After the end of the tournament, he was named Best Defenceman by the IIHF Directorate.[7] He joined Team Finland again for the 2022 edition of the tournament. The team reached the gold medal game this time, playing against Team Canada, and Niemelä played a pivotal role in the game's most famous moment, when his potentially game-winning shot into a wide open Canadian net was knocked out of midair by Canadian captain Mason McTavish, preventing Finnish victory. The Finns won the silver medal.[8]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2018–19 | Oulun Kärpät | Jr. A | 39 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 43 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Oulun Kärpät | Jr. A | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Oulun Kärpät | Jr. A | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 48 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Liiga totals | 106 | 11 | 32 | 43 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Finland | U17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Finland | U18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Finland | HG18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | |
| 2022 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 28 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 10 | |||
References
- "Topi Niemelä player profile". eliteprospects.com. 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- Kournianos, Steve (July 31, 2019). "NHL Draft 2020 prospect rankings: Preseason top 62 players on next year's big board". sportingnews.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- Morreale, Mike G. (June 22, 2019). "Lafreniere headlines 2020 NHL Draft prospects". NHL.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- "Maple Leafs sign Roni Hirvonen and Topi Niemela to entry-level contracts". Toronto Maple Leafs. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- "IIHF - Statistics 2021 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- "IIHF - Lundell leads Finns to bronze". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- "IIHF - Zegras named MVP". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- Alter, David (August 20, 2022). "Maple Leafs Prospect Niemela Has World Juniors Winning Goal Snatched Away by Unbelievable Defensive Play". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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