Juuso Riksman

Juuso Riksman
Born	(1977-04-01) April 1, 1977 Helsinki, Finland
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
SM-liiga team	Espoo Blues
Playing career	–present

Juuso Riksman (born April 1, 1977 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender.

Riksman played junior hockey in Espoon Palloseura and in the HIFK organization, but started his pro career with Hermes of Kokkola, then in the 1st division. After a visit to Kiruna in the Swedish 1st division, Riksman returned to HIFK. When Tom Draper was hired as HIFK's starting goaltender, Riksman signed with MoDo Hockey in Sweden, and after two seasons in Sweden, a year in Italy with Alleghe HC and one season with Ilves, he led Ässät to a silver medal in 2006 and won the Urpo Ylönen trophy as the league's best goaltender. Subsequently Riksman was signed by Jokerit to a two-year contract.

Suspension

In June 2007, the St. Louis Blues of the NHL signed Riksman to a contract. He was later sent to the Blues' AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. Riksman appeared in his first and only professional game in North America on November 10 against the Rockford IceHogs, allowing two goals in only eight minutes of play. He was then pulled and replaced by Marek Schwarz.

After Peoria's loss to San Antonio on November 17, Riksman announced that he had quit the team and was returning to Finland, leading to a suspension by Rivermen general manager Kevin McDonald. Since the announcement, Riksman signed first with Färjestad in Swedish Elite League, then Jaroslavl in the Russian Super League before returning to Finland, and Jokerit, Helsinki.

Awards

• SM-liiga silver medal with Ässät in 2006
• Urpo Ylönen trophy for best goaltender in the SM-liiga in 2006 and 2009
• SM-liiga silver medal with Jokerit in 2007
• Kultainen kypärä -award for best player in the SM-liiga, 2009
• SM-liiga gold medal with HIFK in 2011

External links

• Hockeydb.com
• Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish)
• St. Louis Blues press release