Niklas Kokko (born 14 March 2004) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the second round, 58th overall, by the Kraken in the 2022 NHL entry draft.[1]
| Niklas Kokko | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Kokko with the Seattle Kraken in 2024 | |||
| Born |
14 March 2004 Oulu, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Seattle Kraken Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) Oulun Kärpät SaiPa Lahti Pelicans | ||
| NHL draft |
58th overall, 2022 Seattle Kraken | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
Playing career
editLiiga
editOulun Kärpät
editKokko played junior hockey with Oulun Kärpät's under-20 team in the SM-sarja, starting in the 2018–19 season. He was chosen as the player of the month for February of 2022.[2]
Kokko then joined Kärpät's SM-Liiga team, forming a tandem with Joel Blomqvist in the 2021–22 season. He won his first and only Liiga game of the season on 19 November 2021, away against JYP Jyväskylä, when Kokko replaced Stanislav Galimov in the Kärpät goal at 58:50.[3] He made one save in the remaining time. Kärpät won the game 10–1. Kokko's debut was also made special by the fact that 17-year-old Topias Leinonen also made his Liiga debut with JYP.[3] In December 2021, Kokko signed a three-year SM-Liiga contract with Kärpät.[4] The Seattle Kraken drafted Kokko in the second round (58th overall) in the 2022 NHL entry draft.
Hermes and SaiPa
editIn August 2022, Kärpät loaned Kokko to the Mestis team Kokkolan Hermes.[5] He played there for most of the beginning of the 2022–23 season and recorded four wins and one shutout in fourteen regular season games. Kokko also played with Kärpät for part of the early season, when both Joel Blomqvist and Leevi Meriläinen suffered injuries. In February 2023, Kärpät loaned Kokko to SaiPa, with a contract covering the rest of the season.[6] He played a total of eight regular season games with SaiPa, managing two wins. However, in the final game of the regular season, Kokko was injured when a Lahti Pelicans player bumped into him after only three minutes of play, where Kokko had only managed three saves.[7] Ten days later, Kokko returned for the rest of the season on loan to Hermes, where he played three playoff games.
Return to Kärpät
editIn May 2023, Kokko signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken.[8] However, Kokko started the 2023–24 season still on loan with Kärpät.[9] He started the season as the team's backup goaltender to Niclas Westerholm. Kokko got the first shutout of his Liiga career in his sixth game of the season on 2 November 2023, at Tampere Ilves. He made 25 saves in the game, which ended in a 4–0 victory. He played ten regular season games with Kärpät, getting two wins, until Kokko went to the IIHF World Junior Championships, for which Kärpät replaced him with Tomi Karhunen from HIFK.[10]
In January 2024, Kokko's loan agreement with Kärpät was terminated when the club signed Karhunen for the rest of the season, leaving Kokko as Kärpät's third goaltender. Later that day, it was announced that he had transferred to the Lahti Pelicans under a comprehensive loan agreement for the rest of the season.[11] He had only played 10 games with Kärpät in the first portion of the season, achieving a .906 save percentage.[12] He would take Lahti to the Finals, before losing to Tappara. On 10 May 2024, the Kraken would call him up to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds.
International play
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Finland
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World U18 Championship | ||
 |
2022 Germany | |
Kokko competed in the IIHF World U18 Championship in 2022, where he won bronze. Kokko served as Finland's main second goaltender, behind Topias Leinonen. He only played in the opening match against Switzerland, stopping 17 of 19 shots.[13]
Kokko then represented Finland in the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2023, although he served as his team's third goaltender and did not play in a single game. Kokko also played in the 2024 installment,[14] where he acted as Finland's main goaltender and played five games.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2019–20 | Oulun Kärpät | Jr. A | 25 | — | — | — | — | 44 | — | — | .932 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Oulun Kärpät | Jr. A | 22 | — | — | — | — | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Oulun Kärpät | Jr. A | 22 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 1691 | 58 | 6 | 2.06 | .925 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 359 | 18 | 0 | 3.01 | .888 | ||
| 2021–22 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Kokkolan Hermes | Mestis | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 833 | 41 | 1 | 2.95 | .901 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 208 | 8 | 0 | 2.31 | .917 | ||
| 2022–23 | SaiPa | Liiga | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 343 | 17 | 0 | 2.98 | .903 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 10 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 559 | 22 | 1 | 2.36 | .906 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Lahti Pelicans | Liiga | 13 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 763 | 19 | 4 | 1.49 | .926 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 1096 | 33 | 1 | 1.81 | .925 | ||
| Liiga totals | 33 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1,667 | 58 | 5 | 2.09 | .913 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 1,096 | 33 | 0 | 1.81 | .925 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Finland | U18 | 
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | .895 | |
| 2024 | Finland | WJC | 4th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 296 | 19 | 0 | 3.86 | .870 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 356 | 21 | 0 | 2.93 | .883 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Seattle Kraken Of The Future: Niklas Kokko - Seattle Hockey Insider". 29 July 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Mennander, Pasi. "Leijonat - Kärppien Niklas Kokko nimettiin U20 SM-sarjan helmikuun parhaaksi nuoreksi pelaajaksi". www.leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ a b "1–10! Kärpät järjesti SM-liigassa rajun teurastuksen – 17-vuotias debytantti melkoisessa mankelissa". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 18 November 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Airio, Riikka (27 December 2021). "Kärppänuorille jatkosopimuksia". Oulun Kärpät (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Airio, Riikka (17 August 2022). "Oulun Kärpät ja Kokkolan Hermes yhteistyössä". Oulun Kärpät (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Maalivahti Niklas Kokko Kärpistä loppukauden lainalle SaiPaan". saipa.fi. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Kausi päätökseen – Pelicans kiri ohi voittoon". saipa.fi. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Seattle Kraken Sign Niklas Kokko to Entry-Level Contract | Seattle Kraken". www.nhl.com. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Seattle Loans Niklas Kokko To Finnish League". Pro Hockey Rumors. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Kolminkertainen Suomen mestari hyppää Kärppiin". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Uusitupa, Ismo (16 January 2024). "Nuorten Leijonien maalivahti sai potkut". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Airio, Riikka (16 January 2024). "Kokon ja Kärppien välinen sopimus purettu". Oulun Kärpät (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "U18 Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Finland". www.hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Amoia, Daniel (5 January 2024). "2024 World Junior Championship Team Finland Final Roster". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database