| Sami Vatanen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 3 June 1991, Jyväskylä, Finland |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 10.4 in (1.79 m) 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team F. teams |
Dallas Stars JYP Anaheim Ducks New Jersey Devils Carolina Hurricanes |
| Ntl. team |  Finland
|
| NHL Draft | 106th overall, 2009 Anaheim Ducks |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
Sami Vatanen (born 3 June 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the fourth round, 106th overall, by the Anaheim Ducks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career[]
Vatanen was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. In the following season, he earned a spot on defending Finnish champions JYP's roster. He broke a record for most points by a rookie defenceman in both the Finnish SM-liiga regular season and playoffs.[1][2]
Vatanen made his NHL debut with Anaheim in the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, on 1 February 2013. Vatanen was also selected to the AHL First All-Star Team, as well as the AHL All-Rookie Team, despite playing in just 62 games of the 76-game season.
On 22 July 2014, Vatanen signed a new two-year, $2.525 million contract with Anaheim.[3] He recorded 12 goals and 25 assists during the 2014–15 season, his first full NHL season.
At the completion of the 2015–16 season, Vatanen amassed a new career high with 38 points in 71 games. As a restricted free agent, on 18 June 2016, he signed a new four-year contract with Anaheim.[4]
On 30 November 2017, during the 2017–18 season, Vatanen was traded (along with a conditional third-round pick in 2019 or 2020) to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Joseph Blandisi, Adam Henrique and a third-round pick in 2018.[5] He finished the season with 32 points in 72 games.
On 24 February 2020, Vatanen was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Janne Kuokkanen, Fredrik Claesson and a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick.[6] He appeared in seven postseason games for the club, recording three assists.
On 7 January 2021, Vatanen returned to the Devils on a one-year $2 million contract.[7] On 12 April, Vatanen was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Stars.[8]
International play[]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Finland
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| Winter Olympics | ||
| Bronze | 2014 Sochi | |
| IIHF World U18 Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2009 United States | |
In 2010, Vatanen represented Finland internationally at the junior level (2010 World Junior Championships held in Saskatchewan)[9] and at the senior level (2010 World Championships held in Germany).[10] At the end of the 2009–10 season, Vatanen also became the highest-drafted Finnish player in Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) history when he was selected second overall in the 2010 KHL Junior Draft by Metallurg Novokuznetsk.
At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Vatanen won a bronze medal when Finland defeated the United States 5–0.[11]
Vatanen represented Finland at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey held in Toronto in September 2016.[12]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | JYP | FIN U18 | 26 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | JYP | Jr. A | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | JYP | FIN.2 U18 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 2008–09 | JYP | Jr. A | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | D Team | Mestis | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | JYP | SM-l | 55 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 44 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | JYP | SM-l | 52 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | JYP | SM-l | 49 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 40 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 62 | 9 | 36 | 45 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 48 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 67 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 36 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 71 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 71 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 30 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 57 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 50 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 47 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2020–21 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 30 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 473 | 47 | 153 | 200 | 212 | 51 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 24 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Finland | U17 | 6th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | |
| 2008 | Finland | WJC18 | 6th | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2009 | Finland | WJC18 | 
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Finland | WJC | 5th | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Finland | WC | 6th | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2011 | Finland | WJC | 6th | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Finland | OG |
|
6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WCH | 8th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 29 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 18 | ||||
| Senior totals | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | ||||
Awards and honours[]
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Liiga | ||
| Pekka Rautakallio trophy Awarded to the best defenceman in SM-liiga |
2010–11 | [13] |
| Matti Keinonen trophy Awarded to the player with the best +/- rating |
2010–11 | [13] |
| Pekka Rautakallio trophy | 2011–12 | [13] |
| SM-Liiga championship with JYP Jyväskylä | 2011–12 | [14] |
References[]
- ↑ "Sami Vataselle SM-liigan ennätys", sm-liiga.fi, 2008-02-19. (Finnish)
- ↑ "Sami Vataselle ennätys myös playoffeissa", sm-liiga.fi, 2010-04-15. (Finnish)
- ↑ Ducks re-sign defenseman Sami Vatanen (22 July 2014).
- ↑ Ducks extend Vatanen with four-year deal. The Sports Network (2016-06-18).
- ↑ Devils acquire D Sami Vatanen and conditional third-round pick from Anaheim (2017-11-30).
- ↑ Canes Acquire Sami Vatanen From Devils.
- ↑ RELEASE: Devils Sign Sami Vatanen (7 January 2021).
- ↑ Stars claim defenseman Sami Vatanen off waivers from Devils (12 April 2021).
- ↑ Roster - Finland. The Sports Network.
- ↑ Team Roster - Finland. International Ice Hockey Federation.
- ↑ Rosen, Dan. Selanne's Two-Goal Performance Leads Finland to Bronze Medal in 5-0 Victory over the United States. National Hockey League.
- ↑ Ducks Daily - Sami Vatanen.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Sami Vatanen's SM-liiga trophies", liiga.fi. (Finnish)
- ↑ "SM-liiga playoff table 2012", liiga.fi. (Finnish)
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Sami Vatanen. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |