Kai Kantola
| Kai Kantola | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
September 11, 1987 Raleigh, North Carolina, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| Liiga team Former teams |
Helsinki IFK Norfolk Admirals Ilves | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2010–present | ||
Kai Kantola (born September 11, 1987) is a Finnish-American professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Helsinki IFK of the Finnish Liiga.
Playing career
Kantola was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina and first played midget hockey with the East Coast Eagles. Kantola, of Finnish descent, played the U-18 level for Kiekkoreipas for a season before continuing his junior career in America with the Fargo-Moorhead Jets of the North American Hockey League. After two seasons with the Jets, Kantola committed to play collegiate hockey with Bowling Green State University.[1]
Following completion of his full four-year tenure with the Falcons, Kantola played 2 games to end the 2009-10 season with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League. As an undrafted free agent, Kantola opted to continue his career in the familiar surroundings of Finland, signing his first professional contract with Ilves of the SM-liiga on June 1, 2010.
After four seasons with Ilves, and improving his points totals in each season whilst providing a power based style, Kantola moved to Liiga rival, the Espoo Blues on a two-year contract on April 16, 2014.[2] Kantola was selected as the Best Player of September 2014 in the SM-liiga.[3]
References
- ↑ "Kai Kantola player profile". HockeysFuture.com. 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ↑ "Power forward Kai Kantola agrees to two-year contract with Espoo Blues" (in Finnish). Espoo Blues. 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
- ↑ http://liiga.fi/uutiset/2014/10/02/kai-kantola-liigan-syyskuun-pelaaja
