Eetu Mäkiniemi

Eetu Mäkiniemi (born 19 April 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 104th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Eetu Mäkiniemi
Born (1999-04-19) 19 April 1999
Vantaa, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 San Jose Sharks
San Jose Barracuda (AHL)
Ilves
NHL Draft 104th overall, 2017
Carolina Hurricanes
Playing career 2018–present

Playing career

Europe

As a youth, Mäkiniemi played minor hockey for Kiekko-Vantaa before playing junior hockey for Jokerit. He represented Jokerit U20 in 2016–17 and 2017–18 for the Junior Club World Cup (JCWC).[1]

Mäkiniemi was transferred to Kiekko-Vantaa for the 2018–19 Mestis season, however, he was out for part of the season with a hip injury.[2]

In April 2019, Ilves signed Mäkiniemi to a two-year contract with a one-year extension option.[3] On 28 December 2019, he made his Liiga debut in a 2–1 win against KooKoo.[4] On 28 November 2020, he recorded his first Liiga shutout against KalPa with 24 shots saved.[5]

North America

On 1 May 2021, the Carolina Hurricanes signed Mäkiniemi to a two-year, entry-level contract.[6] Mäkiniemi in his first 14 appearances for the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, posted a sparking 11–2–1 mark with a .922 save percentage and two shutouts, and he yielded two goals or less nine times, including a 41-save performance at Milwaukee on 22 October 2021, to earn a 3–2 win in his AHL debut.

On 13 July 2022, Mäkiniemi, Steven Lorentz and a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft were traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Brent Burns and Lane Pederson.[7] He made his NHL debut on 7 December 2022, in a 6–5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks.[8] In June 2023, he signed re-signed with the Sharks on a one-year contract.[9]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2016–17 Jokerit Jr. A 26 — — — — — — 2.68 .914 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Jokerit Jr. A 35 — — — — — — 3.03 .916 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Jokerit Jr. A 1 — — — — — — 9.00 .735 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Kiekko-Vantaa Mestis 13 4 7 2 773 38 1 2.92 .905 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Koovee Mestis 26 14 4 8 1592 80 1 3.01 .908 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Ilves Liiga 7 2 0 4 352 9 0 1.53 .936 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Ilves Liiga 34 13 14 7 2039 88 2 2.59 .907 5 1 4 298 15 0 3.02 .915
2021–22 Chicago Wolves AHL 14 11 2 1 843 29 2 2.06 .922 — — — — — — — —
2022–23 San Jose Barracuda AHL 22 8 10 3 1,214 60 2 2.96 .900 — — — — — — — —
2022–23 San Jose Sharks NHL 2 1 1 0 85 3 0 2.13 .906 — — — — — — — —
Liiga totals 41 15 14 11 2391 97 2 2.43 .911 5 1 4 298 15 0 3.02 .915
NHL totals 2 1 1 0 85 3 0 2.13 .906 — — — — — — — —

Awards and honors
Award Year
Mestis
Best Goaltender 2019–20
Second All-Star Team 2019–20

References
  1. "Eetu Mäkiniemi at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. "Ilveksen nuorella torjujalla huima startti uralle – taustalla kova nousu: "En uskonut, että homma lähtee käyntiin näin hyvin"". iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. "Kolppanen, Maalahti ja lupaavia nuoria Ilvekseen − Rautiainenkin jää Tampereelle". Jatkoaika.com – Kaikki jääkiekosta (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  4. Gynther, Mikko (28 December 2019). "Ilveksen maalilla debytoinut nuori lupaus häikäisi heti ja otti Dostalista mallia – Takana on vaikea viime kausi: "Olen tosi ylpeä itsestäni"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  5. "Game logs | #38 Mäkiniemi, Eetu | Liiga". old.liiga.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  6. "Canes Sign Kochetkov and Makiniemi". National Hockey League. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  7. "Burns traded to Hurricanes by Sharks". National Hockey League. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  8. "Pettersson's overtime winner powers Canucks past Sharks". The Sports Network. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  9. "Sharks Sign Goaltender Eetu Makiniemi". NHL.com. San Jose Sharks. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.