Jesse Niinimäki

Jesse Niinimäki (born August 19, 1983 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish ice hockey forward playing for Ilves Tampere.

Niinimäki played four seasons for Ilves in the Finnish SM-liiga, and was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 15th overall. He spent the 2004–05 season with the Edmonton Road Runners and Ilves, and signed with Jokerit for the 2005–06 season. After a disappointing fall season, Niinimäki was released from his contract with Jokerit in January 2006, and hired by JYP for the rest of the season. After the 2005–06 season, Niinimäki moved to Sweden and played for Elitserien side Luleå HF in 37 games. Niinimäki also played for the German DEL team Krefeld Pinguine. The tenure in Germany lasted for 9 games plus 2 games in the playoffs. After completion of the 2006–07 season Niinimäki returned to Luleå but was released during September 2007. Niinimäki was acquired by Swiss Nationalliga A team HC Davos, but in January 2008 he returned to HPK.

He went back to Ilves Tampere in the 2008-09 season and has been there since.