Urho Vaakanainen
| Urho Vaakanainen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
1 January 1999 Joensuu, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| Liiga team Former teams |
SaiPa Espoo Blues JYP Jyväskylä | ||
| NHL Draft |
18th overall, 2017 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 2015–present | ||
Urho Vaakanainen (born 1 January 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman. He currently plays with SaiPa in the Finnish Liiga.[1] He was selected 18th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Vaakanainen played as a youth in his native Finland with the Espoo Blues. He made his professional debut with the Blues in the Liiga during the 2015–16 season, contributing with 6 points in 25 games. On April 28, 2016, Vaakanainen signed a one-year deal with hometown club, JYP Jyväskylä.[2]
Vaakanainen earned a regular role within the JYP blueline in the 2016–17 season, appearing in a career high 41 games, in matching his offensive output with 6 points. He registered 3 assists in 14 post-season games before losing in 7 games in the semi-finals to KalPa.
On May 5, 2017, Vaakanainen left JYP after just one season and signed a new one-year contract with his third Liiga club, SaiPa.[3] Vaakanainen's progress was recognised as he was drafted in the first-round, 18th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins on June 23, 2017.[4]
Personal
He was born in Joensuu, Finland, but grew up in Jyväskylä, Finland. His father Harri Vaakanainen played hockey in the Finnish 2. Divisioon, which is the fourth highest level in Finland.[5]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2014–15 | Blues | Jr. A | 30 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Blues | Jr. A | 18 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | Blues | Liiga | 25 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | JYP Jyväskylä | Jr. A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | JYP Jyväskylä | Liiga | 41 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | JYP-Akatemia | Mestis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 66 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 20 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Finland | U17 | 5th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Finland | U17 | 7th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WJC18 |  |
7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Finland | IH18 | 6th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Finland | WJC18 |  |
5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Finland | WJC | 9th | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 33 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 22 | ||||
References
- ↑ "Tilastot – #13 Vaakanainen, Urho". Liiga. 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
- ↑ "JYP recruit hometown prospect Vaakanainen" (in Finnish). JYP Jyväskylä. 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "Urho Vaakanainen to SaiPa" (in Finnish). SaiPa. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
- ↑ "Bruins select Urho Vaakanainen with 18th overall pick". NESN. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
- ↑ "Harri Vaakanainen player profile". eliteprospects.com. 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Trent Frederic |
Boston Bruins first round draft pick 2017 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |