Hannu Virta
Date of birth | March 22, 1963 |
place of birth | Turku , Finland |
size | 181 cm |
Weight | 92 kg |
position | defender |
Shot hand | Left |
Draft | |
NHL Entry Draft |
1981 , 2nd round, 38th position Buffalo Sabers |
Career stations | |
until 1981 | TPS Turku |
1981-1986 | Buffalo Sabers |
1986-1994 | TPS Turku |
1994-1996 | Grasshopper Club Zurich |
1996-1997 | TPS Turku |
1997-1998 | ZSC Lions |
Coaching stations | |
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1998-2003 | TPS Turku (Ass.) |
2003-2005 | Espoo Blues |
2005-2007 | TPS Turku (Ass.) |
2007-2009 | TPS Turku |
2009 | HC Lugano |
2009-2017 | Jokerite (Ass.) |
2017-2018 | Salawat Julajew Ufa (Ass.) |
Hannu Markus Virta (born March 22, 1963 in Turku ) is a former Finnish ice hockey player and coach who played for the Buffalo Sabers in the National Hockey League and TPS Turku in the SM-liiga during his active time from 1980 to 1998 Has. Most recently he was assistant coach at Salawat Yulayev Ufa in the Continental Hockey League .
Career
Hannu Virta began his career as a hockey player in 1980 in his hometown with TPS Turku , for which he had already played in his youth. In his rookie year , the defender scored 17 points, including five goals, in 36 games in the 1981/82 season, and was runner-up with Turku. For his achievements he received the award as the best new professional in the SM-liiga . He had previously been selected in the NHL Entry Draft in 1981 in the second round as a total of 38th player by the Buffalo Sabers , who ordered him to North America during the current season, where he played three regular season games and four playoff games for the Sabers was active in the National Hockey League . The Finn played regularly in Buffalo for the next four years before returning to Turku in 1986.
With TPS he became Finnish champion in four of the following eight years - 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1993 - . In addition, he and his team reached second place in the European Cup in 1990 , which he won three years later with TPS in the final against Russian representatives HK Dynamo Moscow . During his first station in other European countries, Virta was under contract with the GCK Lions in the Swiss National League B from 1994 to 1996 , before playing again for Turku in the 1996/97 season, with whom he became runner-up. After only one year Virta moved again to Switzerland, where he ended his active career in 1998 with the ZSC Lions from the National League A.
As a trainer
Following his playing career, Virta took over as head coach for the Espoo Blues in the 2003/04 season . He also worked as an assistant coach for the Finnish national ice hockey team for five years . In the 2007/08 season he was behind the gang as a coach at his ex-club TPS Turku. He then received on January 12, 2009 a contract as head coach at HC Lugano in the Swiss National League A, in which he was also active as a player.
Between 2009 and 2017 Virta was an assistant trainer at Jokerit , then one year in the same position at Salawat Julajew Ufa .
International
For Finland Virta took part in the U20 World Junior Championships in 1982 , as well as the A-World Championships in 1987 , 1989 , 1991 , 1994 , 1995 , 1996 and 1997 . He also played for Finland at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer .
Achievements and Awards
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International
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NHL statistics
Seasons | Games | Gates | Assists | Points | Penalty minutes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | 5 | 245 | 25th | 101 | 126 | 66 |
Playoffs | 3 | 17th | 1 | 3 | 4th | 6th |
Individual evidence
- ↑ nzz.ch, Lugano hires Hannu Virta as a coach
Web links
- Hannu Virta at legendsofhockey.net (English)
- Hannu Virta at eliteprospects.com (English)
- Hannu Virta in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Virta, Hannu |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Virta, Hannu Markus |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish ice hockey player and coach |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 22, 1963 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Turku , Finland |