Mikko Viitanen
Date of birth | February 18, 1982 |
place of birth | Nurmijärvi , Finland |
size | 191 cm |
Weight | 100 kg |
position | defender |
Shot hand | Left |
Draft | |
NHL Entry Draft |
2001 , 5th lap, 149th position Colorado Avalanche |
Career stations | |
until 1999 | HPK Hämeenlinna |
1999-2000 | Chicago Freeze |
2000-2001 | Ahmat Hyvinkää |
2001-2003 | Espoo Blues |
2003-2005 |
Hershey Bears Reading Royals |
2005-2006 | Lowell Lock Monsters |
2006-2008 | Lukko Rauma |
2008-2015 | JYP Jyväskylä |
2015-2016 | Ässät Pori |
Mikko Viitanen (born February 18, 1982 in Nurmijärvi ) is a former Finnish ice hockey player who was active at JYP Jyväskylä , Ässät Pori , Lukko Rauma and the Espoo Blues in the SM-liiga .
Career
Mikko Viitanen began his career as an ice hockey player in the youth department of HPK Hämeenlinna , where he was active until 1999. The defender then spent a year with the Chicago Freeze in the North American Junior League North American Hockey League . In the 2000/01 season he made his professional ice hockey debut for Ahmat Hyvinkää from the Mestis , the second Finnish division. There he was able to convince, whereupon he was selected in the NHL Entry Draft 2001 in the fifth round as a total of 149th player by the Colorado Avalanche , for which he however never played. Instead he was under contract from 2001 to 2003 with the Espoo Blues from the SM-liiga . During this period, however, he only completed four games in the SM-liiga, while he continued to be mainly used in the second-rate Mestis, in which he played for Mikkelin Jukurit and TuusKi .
From 2003 to 2005 Viitanen played parallel for the Hershey Bears from the American Hockey League and the Reading Royals from the ECHL . The 2005/06 season also, however, he spent in the AHL, this time with the Lowell Lock Monsters . After his return from North America, the left-shooter was able to gain a foothold in the SM-liiga and played there for two and a half years for Lukko Rauma before moving to JYP Jyväskylä within the league during the 2008/09 season. With JYP he won the Finnish championship title straight away in 2009 . He was able to repeat this success with his team in the 2011/12 season .
International
For Finland Viitanen took part in the U20 World Junior Championship in 2002 , where he won the bronze medal with his team. In the senior sector he was in his country's squad for the Euro Hockey Tour in 2007 .
Achievements and Awards
- 2002 bronze medal at the U20 World Junior Championship
- 2009 Finnish champion with JYP Jyväskylä
- 2012 Finnish champion with JYP Jyväskylä
SM liiga statistics
Seasons | Games | Gates | Assists | Points | Penalty minutes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main round | 8th | 261 | 14th | 35 | 49 | 233 |
Playoffs | 5 | 53 | 7th | 7th | 14th | 57 |
(Status: end of the 2011/12 season)
Web links
- Mikko Viitanen at eliteprospects.com (English)
- Mikko Viitanen at eurohockey.com
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Viitanen, Mikko |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish ice hockey player |
DATE OF BIRTH | February 18, 1982 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Nurmijärvi , Finland |