Mikko Lehtonen (ice hockey player, 1978)

Mikko Lehtonen
Date of birth	June 12, 1978
place of birth	Kiiminki , Finland
size	184 cm
Weight	95 kg
position	defender
number	# 26
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	2001 , 9th lap, 271st position Nashville Predators
Career stations
1998-2006	Kärpät Oulu
2006-2007	Nashville Predators Milwaukee Admirals
2007	Rochester Americans
2007-2008	Kärpät Oulu
2008-2009	Timrå IK
2009-2010	Frölunda HC
2010-2014	Kärpät Oulu

Mikko Lehtonen (born June 12, 1978 in Kiiminki ) is a Finnish ice hockey player who was most recently under contract with Kärpät Oulu in the Finnish Liiga .

Career

Mikko Lehtonen began his career as a hockey player in the junior division of Kärpät Oulu , for whose professional team he made his debut in the I-divisioona , the second Finnish division, in the 1998/99 season . In two games he remained without point and penalty. In the following season he succeeded with the team as a second division champion of promotion to the SM-liiga . In the 2003/04 and 2004/05 seasons, the defender won the Finnish championship title with Kärpät after he had already become runner-up with the team in the 2002/03 season . For the 2006/07 season , the Finn signed a contract with the Nashville Predators , who had selected him in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft in the ninth round as a total of 271st player. For the Predators he scored one goal and two assists in 15 games in the National Hockey League . At the same time, he played 35 games for their farm team Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League , where he contributed twelve scorer points, including four goals, in 35 games. On February 27, 2007 he was transferred to the Buffalo Sabers in exchange for a four-round vote for the 2007 NHL Entry Draft , but then played exclusively for their AHL farm team Rochester Americans .

For the 2007/08 season Lehtonen returned to his hometown club Kärpät Oulu, with whom he again won the Finnish championship. He was also able to convince personally and was elected to the league's all-star team. For the 2008/09 season , the long-time national player moved to Timrå IK in the Swedish Elitserien . There he was immediately appointed assistant captain and scored 15 goals and 17 assists in a total of 48 games. For the following season the Finn was committed by Timrås league rivals Frölunda HC , in which, however, he could not prevail. After three goals and an assist in just nine games, he returned to Kärpät Oulu in the SM-liiga in January 2010. From the 2010/11 season he was also assistant captain at Kärpät.

International

For Finland , Lehtonen took part in the 2006 and 2009 World Championships . He was also in his country's squad for the Euro Hockey Tour in 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2009 . At the 2006 World Cup, he won the bronze medal with his team.

Achievements and Awards

2000 Promotion to the SM-liiga with Kärpät Oulu 2003 Finnish runner-up with Kärpät Oulu 2004 Finnish champion with Kärpät Oulu

2005 Finnish champion with Kärpät Oulu 2008 Finnish champion with Kärpät Oulu 2008 SM-liiga All-Star Team

International

• 2006 bronze medal at the world championship

statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
NHL Regular Season	1	15th	1	2	3	8th
NHL playoffs	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elitserien main round	2	50	18th	16	34	68
Elitserien Playoffs	1	7th	0	2	2	0
SM liiga main round	9	415	64	106	170	372
SM liiga playoffs	9	89	16	23	39	86

(Status: end of the 2010/11 season)

Web links

• Mikko Lehtonen at legendsofhockey.net (English)
• Mikko Lehtonen at eliteprospects.com (English)