Mikko Koskinen

Summary

Mikko Koskinen (born 18 July 1988) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for HC Lugano of the National League (NL).[1] Koskinen was drafted in the second round, 31st overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. Koskinen is one of the tallest goalies ever to play in the National Hockey League (NHL), standing at 6 feet 7 inches (201cm).

Mikko Koskinen
Koskinen with the Edmonton Oilers in 2022
Born (1988-07-18) 18 July 1988 (age 35)
Vantaa, Finland
Height 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
Weight 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NL team
Former teams
HC Lugano
Espoo Blues
New York Islanders
KalPa
Sibir Novosibirsk
SKA Saint Petersburg
Edmonton Oilers
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 31st overall, 2009
New York Islanders
Playing career 2008–present

Playing career edit

 
Koskinen with KalPa in 2011
 
Koskinen with New York Islanders

Koskinen was drafted 31st overall by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft after playing for the Espoo Blues in the Finnish SM-liiga. He was the first goalie and first Finnish player selected that year. Prior to the draft, he was the second-ranked European goaltender by NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[2]

On 13 July 2009, Koskinen signed a three-year entry-level contract with the New York Islanders. In the 2009–10 season, his first in North America, Koskinen was assigned to the Islanders affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, to start the year. After only two appearances with the Sound Tigers, he suffered a torn labrum in his hip which required surgery and ruled him out for the majority of the season.[3] On 19 March 2010, after four months of rehab, Koskinen was reassigned to the secondary Islanders affiliate, the Utah Grizzlies, for the remainder of the year.[4] Undefeated in six starts, he helped the Grizzlies reach the conference semi-finals before returning to the Sound Tigers' first-round playoff series on 18 April 2010.[5]

Koskinen made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut on 8 February 2011 against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Islanders lost 5–3.[6] He earned his first career NHL win two days later in a 4–3 shootout victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

On 12 November 2011, Koskinen returned to Finland, signing with KalPa.[7]

In April 2013, Koskinen signed with the Espoo Blues.[8]

In September 2013, Koskinen left Finland to play for Sibir Novosibirsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Part way through the 2014–15 season he was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg for fellow goaltender Alexander Salák. Koskinen and his team went on to win the Gagarin Cup, the KHL championship trophy in April 2015 and 2017.

On 1 May 2018, Koskinen agreed to terms on a one year, $2.5 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL.[9][10] On 21 January 2019, the Oilers signed Koskinen to a three-year, $13.5 million extension.[11] The decision to sign Koskinen for three years based on such a short tenure was considered unusual, and many speculated that it was a cause of the dismissal of controversial Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli days later.[12][13][14]

After the end of the 2021–22 NHL season and the end of his contract with the Oilers, Koskinen signed a two-year contract with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League (NL) on 13 June 2022.[15][16]

International play edit

Medal record
Representing   Finland
Ice hockey
World Championships
  2016 Russia
  2014 Belarus

Koskinen has represented Finland in the World Championships in 2014 and 2016. In 2016, he was included in the All-Star Team and was named the best goaltender.[17]

Career statistics edit

Regular season and playoffs edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2006–07 Kiekko-Vantaa Jr. A 27 16 8 3 1567 62 3 2.37 .927
2007–08 Blues Jr. A 20 12 4 4 1176 45 2 2.30 .907 2 0 2 81 7 0 5.18
2007–08 Blues SM-l 1 1 0 0 60 0 1 0.00 1.000
2008–09 Blues Jr. A 9 9 0 0 545 15 2 1.65 .930
2008–09 Blues SM-l 33 17 9 7 1921 61 1 1.91 .932 14 6 8 856 37 0 2.59 .912
2009–10 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 2 1 1 0 123 5 0 2.45 .902 3 1 1 147 7 0 2.85 .900
2009–10 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 6 6 0 0 360 15 0 2.50 .924 4 2 1 0 172 10 3.49 .899
2010–11 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 36 12 21 1 2063 120 0 3.49 .892
2010–11 New York Islanders NHL 4 2 1 0 208 15 0 4.33 .873
2011–12 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 3 0 2 0 149 7 0 2.82 .909
2011–12 KalPa SM-l 25 13 5 4 1382 53 5 2.30 .917 6 3 2 323 12 2 2.23 .890
2012–13 KalPa SM-l 49 21 15 13 2953 101 7 2.05 .919 5 1 4 295 10 1 2.03 .936
2013–14 Blues Liiga 2 1 0 1 121 5 0 2.47 .915
2013–14 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 41 20 11 8 2361 67 3 1.70 .939 10 4 5 607 20 1 1.98 .928
2014–15 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 29 16 11 1 1564 58 3 2.22 .921
2014–15 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 21 9 8 2 1270 40 1 1.89 .927 22 16 6 1377 37 3 1.61 .936
2015–16 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 41 20 18 0 2379 96 3 2.42 .915 15 8 7 981 24 5 1.47 .949
2016–17 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 23 14 6 3 1387 48 3 2.08 .916 15 12 1 913 25 1 1.64 .938
2017–18 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 29 22 4 1 1718 45 5 1.57 .937 15 10 5 924 25 4 1.62 .935
2018–19 Edmonton Oilers NHL 55 25 21 6 2992 146 4 2.93 .906
2019–20 Edmonton Oilers NHL 38 18 13 3 2117 97 1 2.75 .917 4 1 2 209 11 0 3.16 .889
2020–21 Edmonton Oilers NHL 26 13 13 0 1438 76 0 3.17 .899
2021–22 Edmonton Oilers NHL 45 27 12 4 2629 136 1 3.10 .903 3 0 2 90 6 0 4.04 .897
Liiga totals 108 52 29 25 6,316 215 14 2.04 .928 25 10 14 1,474 59 3 2.40 .914
KHL totals 184 101 58 15 10,680 354 18 1.99 .926 77 50 24 4,801 131 14 1.64 .938
NHL totals 168 85 60 13 9,383 470 6 3.01 .906 7 1 4 299 17 0 3.42 .892

International edit

Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2014 Finland WC   1 0 1 0 58 4 0 4.12 .846
2016 Finland WC   8 7 1 0 479 9 1 1.13 .947
2018 Finland OG 6th 5 3 2 0 297 8 0 1.62 .931
Senior totals 14 10 4 0 834 21 1 1.52 .932

Awards edit

International edit

Award Year(s) awarded
Euro Hockey Tour winner 2017–18
World Championship All-Star Team 2016
World Championship Best Goaltender 2016

KHL edit

Award Year(s) awarded
Gagarin Cup champion 2014–15, 2016–17

References edit

  1. ^ "Mikko Koskinen player profile". 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. ^ "European Goaltender scouting final rankings". National Hockey League. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  3. ^ "Sound Tigers notes". TheHour.com. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  4. ^ "Islanders assign 31st overall pick Mikko Koskinen to Utah". oursportscentral.com. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Mikko Koskinen likely to start today for Bridgeport". Islandershockeyblog.com. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  6. ^ "Resurgent Leafs top Islanders and surprise starter". The Sports Network. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Garth Snow: No trades on the horizon". Newsday. 12 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Bluesille uusi ykkösvahti KalPasta - SM-liiga". 10 April 2013. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013.
  9. ^ "RELEASE: Oilers agree to terms with free agent goaltender Mikko Koskinen". NHL.com. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Oilers sign KHL G Koskinen to $2.5M deal". 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Koskinen signs three-year contract with Oilers". NHL.com. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  12. ^ Spector, Mark (22 January 2019). "Trying to make sense of Koskinen's new contract with Oilers". Sportsnet. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  13. ^ McCurdy, Bruce (4 June 2019). "Mikko Koskinen's controversial contract extension was a defining moment for himself, Cam Talbot, Peter Chiarelli and, oh yeah, the Edmonton Oilers". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  14. ^ Cuthbert, Justin (4 January 2022). "Oilers' issues extend far beyond goaltending". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  15. ^ "È Mikko Koskinen il portiere straniero del Lugano". HC Lugano (in Italian). 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Oilers' Koskinen signs two-year contract in Switzerland". Sportsnet. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Media All Stars" (PDF). IIHF. 22 May 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2017.

External links edit

  • Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database