Juuso Välimäki

Juuso Välimäki (born 6 October 1998) is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for 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

Juuso Välimäki
Born (1998-10-06) 6 October 1998
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		 Calgary Flames
Ilves
NHL Draft 16th overall, 2017
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2018–present

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 before signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames on 21 July 2017.[4]

Välimäki made his NHL debut on 3 October against the Vancouver Canucks.[5] He scored his first NHL goal on 17 October 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.[6]

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 30 September 2020.[7] 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
2016 United States
2015 Switzerland

Välimäki captained the gold medal-winning team at the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships.[8] In December 2017, Välimäki was named captain of Team Finland at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[9]

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 — — — — —
NHL totals 24 1 2 3 12 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 7 0 1 1 6
2015 Finland IH18 4th 5 1 0 1 4
2016 Finland WJC18 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. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  2. Salo, Tapani (23 November 2016). "18-vuotias nokialaiskiekkoilija sai kutsun Linnaan: "Lähden ylpeänä"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2017. Nokialla varttunut nuorukainen pääsee juhlimaan Suomen itsenäisyyspäivää Linnan juhliin 6. joulukuuta.
  3. "Americans Draft Finnish Defenseman in 2015 CHL Import Draft". amshockey.com. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  4. "Flames sign Juuso Valimaki". Calgary Flames. 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  5. Woodley, Kevin (3 October 2018). "Flames at Canucks preview". NHL.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  6. Dittrick, Ryan (18 October 2018). "'IT'S AWESOME. UNBELIEVABLE, REALLY'". NHL.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  7. "Vailmaki assigned to Ilves". Calgary Flames. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  8. Hurmerinta, Eero (26 April 2016). "Juuso Välimäki: "Kapteenin on oltava pelillinen johtaja"". Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2017. Suomen joukkueen kapteenina toimi puolustaja Juuso Välimäki.
  9. Gilbertson, Wes (25 December 2017). "Flames prospect Valimaki leads as Finland's captain at world juniors". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Matthew Tkachuk		 Calgary Flames' first round draft pick
2017		 Succeeded by
Jakob Pelletier
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