Iiro Pakarinen (born 25 August 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for HIFK of the Finnish Liiga. Pakarinen previously played in Liiga with KalPa and has also played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Jokerit, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Barys Nur-Sultan, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers.

Iiro Pakarinen
Pakarinen in February 2015
Born (1991-08-25) 25 August 1991 (age 33)
Suonenjoki, Finland
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
Liiga team
Former teams
HIFK
KalPa
Edmonton Oilers
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Barys Nur-Sultan
Jokerit
National team  Finland
NHL draft 184th overall, 2011
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2009–present

Playing career

edit

Pakarinen played in his native Finland from his youth level with the professional Liiga club, KalPa. As a skilled, versatile forward, Pakarinen was drafted 184th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers. Unable to agree to terms with the Panthers, Pakarinen continued his development in the Finnish Liiga with KalPa.[1] On 3 May 2012, he joined HIFK as a free agent on a two-year contract.[2]

Upon completion of his second season with HIFK in 2013–14 and scoring a career-high 20 goals and 30 points, Pakarinen signed his first NHL contract as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers on a two-year entry-level deal on 16 June 2014.[3] On 1 December 2017, he was placed on waivers by the Oilers,[4] and was then sent to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, on 2 December.[5]

On 2 July 2018, Pakarinen left the Oilers and the NHL as a free agent, signing a one-year contract with Russian club, Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.[6] In the 2018–19 season, Pakarinen made as positive impact with Metallurg, producing 19 goals and 26 points in 60 games.

On 2 May 2019, having concluded his contract with Metallurg, Pakarinen continued in the KHL, signing a one-year deal with Kazakh-based, Barys Nur-Sultan.[7] In the following 2019–20 season, Pakarinen suffered an injury-hit year, featuring in just 22 games and registering 10 points. He collected 1 goal in 5 post-season games before the playoffs were canceled due to COVID-19.

On 11 May 2020, Pakarinen opted to return to Finland and remain in the KHL, signing a three-year contract with Jokerit.[8]

Career statistics

edit

Regular season and playoffs

edit
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 KalPa FIN U18 20 14 14 28 59 2 0 0 0 4
2007–08 KalPa FIN U20 1 0 0 0 0
2008–09 KalPa FIN U18 Q 2 2 0 2 2
2008–09 KalPa FIN U20 37 11 10 21 44 5 1 0 1 2
2009–10 KalPa FIN U20 11 8 4 12 10
2009–10 KalPa SM-l 38 3 5 8 37 12 3 0 3 8
2010–11 KalPa FIN U20 4 3 2 5 6
2010–11 KalPa SM-l 46 7 3 10 34 7 1 0 1 37
2011–12 KalPa SM-l 54 10 3 13 47 7 2 2 4 0
2012–13 HIFK SM-l 33 5 7 12 6 6 3 0 3 4
2013–14 HIFK Liiga 60 20 10 30 32 2 0 0 0 2
2014–15 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 39 17 11 28 20
2014–15 Edmonton Oilers NHL 17 1 2 3 2
2015–16 Bakersfield Condors AHL 4 1 2 3 4
2015–16 Edmonton Oilers NHL 63 5 8 13 8
2016–17 Bakersfield Condors AHL 5 0 1 1 4
2016–17 Edmonton Oilers NHL 14 2 2 4 2 1 0 0 0 0
2017–18 Edmonton Oilers NHL 40 2 1 3 6
2017–18 Bakersfield Condors AHL 18 9 4 13 2
2018–19 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 60 19 7 26 6 6 0 1 1 2
2019–20 Barys Nur–Sultan KHL 22 4 6 10 2 5 1 0 1 2
2020–21 Jokerit KHL 32 9 6 15 24 4 0 1 1 4
2021–22 Jokerit KHL 46 10 10 20 10
2021–22 HIFK Liiga 11 4 0 4 4 7 0 3 3 0
2022–23 HIFK Liiga 58 19 17 36 47 12 7 1 8 2
2023–24 HIFK Liiga 59 18 12 30 10 7 1 3 4 6
Liiga totals 359 86 57 143 217 60 17 9 26 59
NHL totals 134 10 13 23 18 1 0 0 0 0
KHL totals 160 42 29 71 42 15 1 2 3 8

International

edit
Medal record
Representing   Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
  2022 Beijing
World Championships
  2014 Minsk
  2021 Latvia
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Finland WJC18   6 1 1 2 2
2010 Finland WJC 5th 6 1 1 2 2
2011 Finland WJC 6th 6 1 2 3 2
2014 Finland WC   10 3 0 3 2
2021 Finland WC   10 4 1 5 14
2022 Finland OG   6 3 0 3 2
2024 Finland WC 8th 8 0 2 2 0
Junior totals 18 3 4 7 6
Senior totals 34 10 3 13 18

References

edit
  1. ^ "2010-11 Scoring for KalPa Kuopio (SM-liiga)". hockeydb.com. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Pakarinen agrees to transfer to HIFK" (in Finnish). HIFK. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  3. ^ "Oilers agree to terms with Iiro Pakarinen". Edmonton Oilers. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  4. ^ "RELEASE: Oilers Claim Nathan Walker; Place Pakarinen on Waivers". NHL.com. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  5. ^ "BakersfieldCondors.com | PAKARINEN ASSIGNED TO BAKERSFIELD". www.bakersfieldcondors.com. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Iiro Pakarinen in Metallurg". Metallurg Magnitogorsk (in Russian). 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  7. ^ "KHL player movement tracker". Kontinental Hockey League (in Russian). 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Pakarinen brings additional strength to attack" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
edit