Ilkka Pikkarainen

Ilkka Pikkarainen
Born (1981-04-19) April 19, 1981
Sonkajärvi, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
SEL team Timrå IK
NHL Draft 218th overall, 2002
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 2000–present

Ilkka Pikkarainen (born April 19, 1981 in Sonkajärvi, Finland) is a Finnish ice hockey right winger who plays for Pelicans in the Sm-liiga. Pikkarainen began his professional career in the SM-liiga (FNL) with HIFK at the end of the 2000–01 season. He played there for two full seasons and was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the seventh round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 218th overall. Pikkarainen came over to North America to play for the Albany River Rats, the Devils' American Hockey League affiliate, starting in the 2003–04 season. After playing in the AHL for three seasons, Pikkarainen returned to play with HIFK for the 2008–09 season, where he played in 54 games and scored 24 goals, leading the team.

The Devils re-signed Pikkarainen at age 28 on July 2, 2009, intending to keep him on the NHL roster.[1] After missing the Devils' first game of the 2009–10 season with the stomach flu,[2] Pikkarainen made his NHL debut on October 5 against the New York Rangers, and later scored his first NHL goal against the Montreal Canadiens on December 16, 2009. In January 2010, Pikkarainen cleared waivers to play in the KHL for CSKA Moscow after the Devils had decided that he was unable to fully adjust to the NHL style, partially due to health reasons.[3]

In May 2010, Ilkka signed with Timrå IK in Sweden.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 HIFK FNL 4 0 0 0 8 2 0 0 0 0
2001–02 HIFK FNL 54 9 9 18 111 — — — — —
2002–03 HIFK FNL 47 11 12 23 40 — — — — —
2003–04 Albany River Rats AHL 63 8 10 18 118 — — — — —
2004–05 Albany River Rats AHL 71 12 12 24 102 — — — — —
2005–06 Albany River Rats AHL 62 9 11 20 85 — — — — —
2006–07 HIFK FNL 53 17 20 37 140 5 0 1 1 2
2007–08 HIFK FNL 37 8 10 18 100 — — — — —
2008–09 HIFK FNL 54 24 13 37 149 2 0 0 0 0
2009-10 New Jersey Devils NHL 31 1 3 4 10 — — — — —
2009-10 Lowell Devils AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2009-10 HC CSKA Moscow KHL 6 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
FNL totals 249 69 64 133 540 9 0 1 1 2
AHL totals 196 29 33 62 305 — — — — —
KHL totals 6 0 2 2 0 3 0 0 0 6

References

  1. ↑ "Devils sign F Ilkka Pikkarainen". New Jersey Devils. July 2, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  2. ↑ Gulitti, Tom (October 1, 2009). "Devils delay roster cut". The Record. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  3. ↑ Chere, Rich (January 28, 2010). "Ilkka Pikkarainen's NJ Devils career likely over; assigned to CSKA Moscow". The Star Ledger. Retrieved February 6, 2010.

External links

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