Peetro Seppälä (born August 17, 2000) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman for Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Peetro Seppälä
Seppälä with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022
Born (2000-08-17) August 17, 2000 (age 24)
Kuusankoski, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Defenseman
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams
Örebro HK
KooKoo
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2017–present

Playing career

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Seppälä played junior hockey with KooKoo of the SM-sarja. In the 2015–16 season, he was the captain of the club's C-youth team. In August 2016, at only 15-years-old, Seppälä signed a two-year contract with KooKoo,[1] although he played most of the 2016–17 season in the club's A-youth and strengthened B-youth teams.

In the 2017–18 season, Seppälä made his debut in KooKoo's Liiga team. At the age of 17, Seppälä made his league debut on December 13, 2017, away against Tappara. In the same month, Seppälä then signed a two-year contract extension with KooKoo.[2] During the season, he played six regular season matches in the Liiga without scoring points. Seppälä played most of his season in KooKoo's A-youth.

In his actual Liiga rookie season in 2018–19, Seppälä managed 5 points in 31 regular season games. He scored the first goal of his Liiga career on January 4, 2019, away at Tampere Ilves. For about half of the season, Seppälä still played in KooKoo's A-youth team. During the 2019–20 season, he established his place in the Liiga, where he got 12 points in 41 games. In November 2019, he was sidelined for about a month due to an injury. In February 2020, Seppälä signed another two-year contract extension with KooKoo.[3] In October of the 2020–21 season, Seppälä was sidelined for about a month after JYP Jyväskylä's Samuel Helenius tackled him in the head. During the 2021–22 season, he made his breakthrough in the Liiga as he was KooKoo's best defenseman, with 29 points.

In May 2022, Seppälä signed a two-year contract with Ilves.[4] Only five days later, he signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken.[5] At the end of the Kraken's training camp, Seppälä was sent to the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL).

International play

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Medal record
Representing   Finland
Ice hockey
World U18 Championship
  2018 Russia

Seppälä played in the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he won the gold medal with Finland. He also played in the 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016–17 KooKoo Jr. A 30 3 3 6 10
2017–18 KooKoo Jr. A 47 2 3 15 57 3 0 3 3 14
2017–18 KooKoo Liiga 6 0 0 0 0
2018–19 KooKoo Jr. A 30 4 15 19 34
2018–19 KooKoo Liiga 31 2 3 5 14
2019–20 KooKoo Jr. A 2 0 2 2 0
2019–20 KooKoo Liiga 41 2 10 12 24
2020–21 KooKoo Liiga 39 3 5 8 26 2 0 0 0 4
2021–22 KooKoo Liiga 57 8 21 29 30 15 0 8 8 4
2022–23 Coachella Valley Firebirds AHL 70 1 11 12 51
2023–24 Coachella Valley Firebirds AHL 49 1 10 11 14
Liiga totals 174 15 39 54 94 17 0 8 8 8

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Finland U18   5 1 0 1 2
2020 Finland WJC 4th 7 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 12 1 0 1 6

References

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  1. ^ "Eklund jatkaa KooKoon puolustuksessa - "Voi olla vielä nähtyäkin parempi"". Jatkoaika.com - Kaikki jääkiekosta (in Finnish). August 1, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  2. ^ Miettinen, Miska (December 23, 2017). "Mieluinen joululahja: Pudotuspelipaikasta vääntävä KooKoo rustasi hurjan läjän sopimuksia!". SuomiKiekko (in Finnish). Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "KooKoo solmi ison tukun jatkosopimuksia − kapteeni Bonsaksen ja kohupuolustaja Berger jatkavat Kouvolassa". Jatkoaika.com - Kaikki jääkiekosta (in Finnish). February 25, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "Ilves announced the signing of seven new players". Tampereen Ilves (in Finnish). May 3, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  5. ^ "Kraken sign Finnish defenseman Peetro Seppala to entry-level contract". The Seattle Times. May 7, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
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