Juuso Välimäki


Juuso Välimäki is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. He was selected by the Flames in the first-round, 16th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Välimäki was born in Tampere, Finland, but grew up in Nokia, Finland. Välimäki received an invitation to the Finnish Independence Day Reception in 2016.
Välimäki was selected 14th overall by the Tri-City Americans in the 2015 CHL Import draft. He played three seasons with the Americans before signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames on 21 July 2017.
Välimäki made his NHL debut on 3 October against the Vancouver Canucks. He scored his first NHL goal on 17 October 2018, the third Flames goal in a 5–2 victory over the Boston Bruins; Välimäki scored the goal on Tuukka Rask, who had lost control of the puck after initially catching a piece of Välimäki's shot.

International play

Välimäki captained the gold medal-winning team at the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships. In December 2017, Välimäki was named captain of Team Finland at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours