Kaapo Kähkönen (born 16 August 1996) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kähkönen was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
| Kaapo Kähkönen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Kähkönen with the Iowa Wild in 2019 | |||
| Born |
16 August 1996 Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Colorado Avalanche Espoo Blues Lukko Minnesota Wild San Jose Sharks New Jersey Devils | ||
| NHL draft |
109th overall, 2014 Minnesota Wild | ||
| Playing career | 2015–present | ||
Playing career
editKähkönen played as a youth in his homeland within the Espoo Blues organization. He made his professional debut on loan to TUTO Hockey of the Mestis in the 2014–15 season before returning to make his Liiga debut with the Blues during the following 2015–16 Liiga season.
On 13 April 2016, Kähkönen left the Blues in order to be exposed to more playing time. He agreed to a two-year contract with Lukko.[1]
In the 2017–18 season, Kähkönen produced career best markers in leading the Liiga in games played, minutes and shutouts.
Upon completion of his two-year pact with Lukko, Kähkönen agreed to a two-year, entry-level contract with his draft club, the Minnesota Wild, on 17 May 2018.[2] In his second year in North America, during the 2019–20 season, Kähkönen was recalled by Minnesota from AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, on 20 November 2019.[3] After serving as backup for two games, he became just the fourth Minnesota Wild goaltender to be given a start for his NHL debut against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on 26 November 2019. He made 32 saves, recording his first career victory in a 3–2 win over the Devils.[4] Kähkönen officially conceded his first goal against to Devils' rookie Jesper Boqvist, despite the NHL later admitting error from an incorrect ruling in a coach's challenge review from the Wild.[5]
In the 2020–21 season, Kähkönen became a full-time NHL player, serving as the backup to Cam Talbot. Between 18 February and 16 March 2021, he won nine consecutive games while being a starter, putting up a .947 save percentage and getting two shutouts during the winning streak.[6]
During the 2021–22 season, on 21 March 2022, Kähkönen was dealt at the NHL trade deadline to the San Jose Sharks, in exchange for defenceman Jacob Middleton and a fifth-round draft selection.[7] As a restricted free agent in the following off-season, Kähkönen was re-signed to a two-year, $5.5 million contract extension with the Sharks on 18 July 2022.[8]
On 8 March 2024, Kähkönen was traded by the Sharks to the New Jersey Devils for Vítek Vaněček and a 2025 seventh-round pick.[9] After backstopping the lowly Sharks, he finished the campaign with an improved .923 save percentage and a 2.51 Goals Against Average in six appearances in New Jersey.
On 1 July 2024, Kähkönen signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets. [10] After attending Winnipeg's training camp and pre-season, Kähkönen lost out on the backup job to fellow netminder Eric Comrie and was subsequently placed on waivers by the Jets at the commencement of the 2024–25 season. On 11 October 2024, Kähkönen was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Avalanche.[11] After a lengthy immigration process, in order to regain match fitness, Kähkönen was assigned on a conditioning assignment to AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, on 24 October 2024.[12] He featured in a pair of games with the Eagles, posting a .919 save percentage before returning to the Avalanche on 29 October 2024.[13]
International play
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
Representing  Finland
| ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2016 Helsinki | |
| World U18 Championships | ||
 |
2013 Sochi | |
Kähkönen represented The Finnish men's national under 20 ice hockey team at the 2015 and 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where the team won gold.
In the 2015 tournament, he was the team's third goalie, behind Juuse Saros and Ville Husso, and did not receive any playing time.
In 2016, Kähkönen started the tournament as the second goalie option behind Veini Vehviläinen, but ended up playing more as the tournament progressed. Ultimately it was Kähkönen who led the team to its 4th gold medal, after being substituted for Vehviläinen against Canada in the quarterfinal game in the second period.
Kähkönen then made 21 saves in a 2–1 win against Sweden in the semifinals [14] before helping his team beat Russia 4–3 in the gold medal game in overtime making 22 saves.[15]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2012–13 | Espoo Blues | Jr. A | 28 | — | — | — | 1676 | 68 | 4 | 2.43 | .917 | 12 | — | — | 628 | 28 | 2 | 2.68 | .901 | ||
| 2013–14 | Espoo Blues | Jr. A | 38 | — | — | — | 2279 | 91 | 3 | 2.39 | .911 | 10 | — | — | 599 | 21 | 0 | 2.10 | .915 | ||
| 2014–15 | TuTo | Mestis | 47 | — | — | — | — | 92 | — | 2.11 | .925 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | 1.95 | .934 | ||
| 2015–16 | Espoo Blues | Liiga | 27 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 1581 | 71 | 1 | 2.69 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | TuTo | Mestis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 6 | — | — | — | 18 | — | 3.03 | .885 | ||
| 2016–17 | Lukko | Liiga | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 2020 | 87 | 2 | 2.58 | .921 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Lukko | Liiga | 56 | 20 | 23 | 12 | 3275 | 120 | 6 | 2.20 | .920 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 126 | 5 | 0 | 2.38 | .921 | ||
| 2018–19 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 39 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 2373 | 110 | 6 | 2.78 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 34 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 2058 | 71 | 7 | 2.07 | .927 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 305 | 15 | 0 | 2.96 | .913 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 1414 | 68 | 2 | 2.88 | .902 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 25 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1381 | 66 | 0 | 2.87 | .910 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 11 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 566 | 27 | 0 | 2.86 | .916 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 37 | 9 | 20 | 7 | 2107 | 135 | 1 | 3.85 | .883 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 31 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 1651 | 105 | 0 | 3.81 | .895 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 263 | 11 | 1 | 2.51 | .923 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 117 | 38 | 50 | 27 | 6,876 | 278 | 9 | 2.43 | .918 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 126 | 5 | 0 | 2.38 | .921 | ||||
| NHL totals | 139 | 49 | 67 | 15 | 7,686 | 427 | 4 | 3.33 | .899 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Finland | U17 | 7th | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4.48 | .858 | |
| 2013 | Finland | IH18 | 5th | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 174 | 10 | 0 | 3.45 | .881 | |
| 2014 | Finland | U18 | 6th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 269 | 15 | 0 | 3.37 | .886 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WJC | 
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 214 | 9 | 0 | 2.52 | .909 | |
| Junior totals | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Mestis | ||
| Best Goaltender | 2015 | |
| First All-Star Team | 2015 | |
| Rookie of the Year | 2015 | |
| AHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2019 | |
| First All-Star Team | 2020 | [16] |
| Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award | 2020 | [17] |
References
edit- ^ "Kaapo Kahkonen for Lukko" (in Finnish). Lukko. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ "Wild signs Kahkonen to two-year, entry-level deal". Minnesota Wild. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Wild announces roster moves". Iowa Wild. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Kahkonen wins NHL debut as Wild edge Devils". The Sports Network. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ "NHL admits error in coach's challenge decision on Devils goal". scoutingtherefs.com. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ "Kaapo Kahkonen Has a Track Record Of Being Streaky". Zone Coverage. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Sharks Acquire Kaapo Kahkonen from Minnesota". National Hockey League. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "Sharks re-sign Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen". San Jose Sharks. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ "Devils Acquire Kahkonen from San Jose". NHL.com. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Jets sign goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen to a one-year contract". Winnipeg Jets. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Avalanche claim Kahkonen off waivers". Colorado Avalanche. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ "Avalanche loan Kaapo Kahkonen to the AHL for a conditioning assignment". coloradohockeynow.com. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ "Eagles sign Wise to PTO, Kakkonen returns to Avalanche". Colorado Eagles. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "IIHF – SWE – FIN 04.01.2016 – 2016 IIHF ICE HOCKEY U20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – Game Centre Play by play". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "IIHF – RUS – FIN 05.01.2016 – 2016 IIHF ICE HOCKEY U20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – Game Centre Play by play". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "2019–20 AHL First, Second All-Star Team announced". American Hockey League. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ "Kahkonen named AHL Goaltender of the Year". iowawild.com. Iowa Wild. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
External links
edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database