Niko Hovinen
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Niko Hovinen (born March 16, 1988 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender.
Currently playing with the Jokerit junior team, Hovinen dressed for a single regular season Jokerit game as backup to Joonas Hallikainen, after Tim Thomas abruptly left the team only a day before the start of the 2005-06 regular season. Hovinen returned to the junior team for the rest of the season. He made his first SM-liiga start on November 23, 2006, against SaiPa, again called up when three Jokerit goaltenders were injured.
A tall goaltender at 196cm, Hovinen covers the net very well and is considered a highly promising goaltender prospect.
Hovinen was ranked #10 on the International Scouting Service's list of goaltender prospects for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He was drafted in the 5th round, 132nd overall, by the Minnesota Wild.
