Juuso Välimäki

Juuso Välimäki (born 6 October 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft

Juuso Välimäki
Välimäki in 2018
Born (1998-10-06) 6 October 1998
Tampere, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Arizona Coyotes
Calgary Flames
Ilves
NHL Draft 16th overall, 2017
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2018–present

Playing career

Välimäki was born in Tampere, Finland, but grew up in Nokia, Finland.[1] Välimäki received an invitation to the Finnish Independence Day Reception in 2016.[2]

Välimäki was selected 14th overall by the Tri-City Americans in the 2015 CHL Import draft.[3] He played three seasons with the Americans.

He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft before signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames on 21 July 2017.[4] As a draft prospect, Välimäki was ranked 11th of North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau,t[5] and ranked the 14th skater by ISS Hockey.[6]

Välimäki made his NHL debut in the 2018–19 season on 3 October 2018, against the Vancouver Canucks.[7] He scored his first NHL goal on 17 October, the third Flames goal in a 5–2 victory over the Boston Bruins; Välimäki scored the goal on Tuukka Rask, who had lost control of the puck after initially catching a piece of Välimäki's shot.[8] Välimäki suffered a high ankle sprain which limited his season.[9]

After sitting out the 2019–20 season due to a torn ACL injury, and with the following North American season delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Välimäki was loaned by the Flames to Finnish Liiga club, Ilves, to start the 2020–21 season on 30 September 2020.[10] Välimäki made a successful return from injury with Ilves, playing in a top-four role and producing at a point-per-game pace through 19 regular season contests, before returning to Calgary.

Prior to the 2022–23 season, after being unable to make the Flames opening night roster, Välimäki was placed on waivers before he was claimed the following day, on 9 October 2022, by the Arizona Coyotes.[11] Establishing a regular role within the Coyotes on the blueline, Välimäki was signed to a one-year, $1 million contract extension at the mid-point of the season on 24 January 2023.[12]

International play
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
IIHF World U18 Championship
Gold medal – first place2016 United States
Silver medal – second place2015 Switzerland

Välimäki was named to team Finland at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships, which eventually earned a silver medal after a 2–1 overtime loss against the United States. Välimäki finished the 2015 tournament with 1 assist in 7 games. The following year Välimäki was named captain and led Finland to the gold medal at 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships defeating Sweden 6–1.[13] Välimäki finished the 2016 World Championship with two assists in six games.

Välimäki was named to team Finland in the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, scoring two goals in six games as Finland finished with only one win in the tournament. In December 2017, Välimäki was named captain of Team Finland at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[14] Finland was subsequently eliminated in the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic with a final score of 4–1, and Välimäki finished the 2018 World Juniors with one goal and three assists in six games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Ilves Jr. A 44 5 15 20 20 10 1 3 4 6
2015–16 Tri-City Americans WHL 56 7 25 32 24 — — — — —
2016–17 Tri-City Americans WHL 60 19 42 61 34 4 0 1 1 8
2017–18 Tri-City Americans WHL 43 14 31 45 34 12 4 13 17 4
2018–19 Calgary Flames NHL 24 1 2 3 12 2 0 1 1 0
2018–19 Stockton Heat AHL 20 4 10 14 18 — — — — —
2020–21 Ilves Liiga 19 2 17 19 20 — — — — —
2020–21 Calgary Flames NHL 49 2 9 11 26 — — — — —
2021–22 Calgary Flames NHL 9 0 2 2 10 — — — — —
2021–22 Stockton Heat AHL 35 2 16 18 26 10 0 2 2 14
2022–23 Arizona Coyotes NHL 78 4 30 34 59 — — — — —
NHL totals 160 7 43 50 107 2 0 1 1 0
Liiga totals 19 2 17 19 20 — — — — —

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Finland IH18 5th 4 0 1 1 0
2015 Finland U18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 0 1 1 6
2015 Finland IH18 4th 5 1 0 1 4
2016 Finland U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 0 2 2 0
2017 Finland WJC 9th 6 2 0 2 6
2018 Finland WJC 6th 5 1 3 4 4
Junior totals 33 4 7 11 20

Awards and honours
Award Year
WHL
Second All-Star Team (West) 2017, 2018

References
  1. "Juuso Välimäki's NHL Draft Profile". National Hockey League. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  2. Salo, Tapani (23 November 2016). "18-vuotias nokialaiskiekkoilija sai kutsun Linnaan: "Lähden ylpeänä"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2017. Nokialla varttunut nuorukainen pääsee juhlimaan Suomen itsenäisyyspäivää Linnan juhliin 6. joulukuuta.
  3. "Americans Draft Finnish Defenseman in 2015 CHL Import Draft". amshockey.com. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  4. "Flames sign Juuso Valimaki". Calgary Flames. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. "2017 NHL CS Final Draft Ranking - NA Skaters". TSN. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  6. Pike, Ryan (21 June 2017). "2017 NHL Draft Final Consensus Rankings". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. Woodley, Kevin (3 October 2018). "Flames at Canucks preview". NHL.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  8. Dittrick, Ryan (18 October 2018). "'It's Awesome. Unbelievable, Really'". NHL.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  9. Francis, Eric (16 December 2020). "Flames' Juuso Valimaki returning from injury with Calder aspirations". Sportsnet. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  10. Peterson, Torie (30 September 2020). "Vailmaki assigned to Ilves". Calgary Flames. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  11. "Coyotes claim defenseman Juuso Valimako off waivers". Arizona Coyotes. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  12. "Coyotes sign defenseman Juuso Valimaki to one-year extension". 24 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  13. Hurmerinta, Eero (26 April 2016). "Juuso Välimäki: "Kapteenin on oltava pelillinen johtaja"". Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 14 April 2017. Suomen joukkueen kapteenina toimi puolustaja Juuso Välimäki.
  14. Gilbertson, Wes (25 December 2017). "Flames prospect Valimaki leads as Finland's captain at world juniors". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
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