Antti Laaksonen

Antti Laaksonen
Date of birth	3rd October 1973
place of birth	Tammela , Finland
size	183 cm
Weight	82 kg
position	Left wing
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	1997 , 8th lap, 191st position Boston Bruins
Career stations
1990-1993	FPS Forssa
1993	HPK Hämeenlinna
1993-1997	University of Denver
1997-1998	Providence Bruins
1998-2000	Boston Bruins
2000-2004	Minnesota Wild
2005-2007	Colorado Avalanche
2007-2008	Friborg-Gottéron
2008-2010	Lukko Rauma

Antti Akseli Laaksonen (born October 3, 1973 in Tammela ) is a former Finnish ice hockey player who played for the Boston Bruins , Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League from 1990 to 2010 .

Career

Antti Laaksonen began his career as an ice hockey player at FPS Forssa , for which he was active from 1990 to 1993 in the I divisioona . The 1992/93 season he ended at HPK Hämeenlinna from the SM-liiga , with which he was runner-up. He then played for four years for the ice hockey team of the University of Denver before he was selected in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft in the eighth round as a total of 191st player by the Boston Bruins . For their farm team , the Providence Bruins , he played in the 1997/98 season in the American Hockey League as well as for the Charlotte Checkers from the East Coast Hockey League . In the following season, the attacker won the Calder Cup with Providence and made his debut in the National Hockey League for Boston .

After three years in the Boston Bruins franchise, Laaksonen left the Boston Bruins in 2000 and stood for the next four years for their league rival, the Minnesota Wild , on the ice. During the lockout in the 2004/05 NHL season , the Finn suspended ice hockey. After resumption of play in the NHL, the left shooter received a contract with the Colorado Avalanche , for which he was active until 2007. He also played in the 2006/07 season for their AHL farm team, the Albany River Rats .

After 14 years in North America, Laaksonen returned to Europe in the summer of 2007, where he was signed by Friborg-Gottéron from the Swiss National League A , which he left after just one year to play for Lukko Rauma in his homeland, Finland . where he ended his career in 2010.

International

For Finland Laaksonen took part in the U20 Junior World Championship in 1993 , as well as the World Championships in 2001 and 2004 . He was also in Finland's squad for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin .

Achievements and Awards

• 1993 Finnish runner-up with HPK Hämeenlinna
• 1996 WCHA Second All-Star Team
• 1999 Calder Cup win with the Providence Bruins

International

• 2001 silver medal at the world championship
• 2004 2nd place at the World Cup of Hockey
• 2006 silver medal at the Olympic Winter Games

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	8th	483	81	87	168	152
Playoffs	2	25th	1	5	6th	6th

Web links

• Antti Laaksonen at hockeydb.com (English)
• Antti Laaksonen at legendsofhockey.net (English)
• Antti Laaksonen at eurohockey.com
• Antti Laaksonen at eliteprospects.com (English)