Ville Ottavainen (born 12 August 2002) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect under contract to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] He was selected 99th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Kraken.
| Ville Ottavainen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Ottavainen with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2024 | |||
| Born |
August 12, 2002 Oulu, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | ||
| Weight | 216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Seattle Kraken Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) JYP Jyväskylä | ||
| NHL draft |
99th overall, 2021 Seattle Kraken | ||
| Playing career | 2020–present | ||
Playing career
editOttavainen originally played as a junior hockey with Oulun Kärpät through to the under-18 level before moving to North America to play major junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the 2019–20 season.
With the following 2020–21 season postponed and later cancelled, Ottavainen remained in Finland and played on loan from the Rangers with JYP Jyväskylä of the Liiga. He played 22 games and put up 3 points. He was moved to play for KeuPa HT in Mestis for 2 games, posting 2 points.[2] He secured a three-year contract extension on 23 March 2021.[3]
Concluding his North American junior career, and following his selection in the fourth-round 99th overall by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Ottavainen continued his tenure with JYP in the 2021–22 season.
Following completion of the 2022–23 season, having set career bests of 11 assist and 16 points through 54 regular season games, Ottavainen activated his NHL out-clause in signing a three-year, entry-level contract with his draft club, the Seattle Kraken, on 20 March 2023.[4]
International play
editOttavainen originally made his full junior debut for Team Finland at the 2022 World Junior Championships, appearing in 1 game, before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He did not feature for Finland in the replay of the tournament, expunging his statistics.
Personal life
editOttavainen's father Risto Ottavainen is a retired hockey player who last played for Kiekko-Oulu in 2003.
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2019–20 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 53 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | JYP | U20 SM | 15 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | JYP | Liiga | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | KeuPa HT | Mestis | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | JYP | Liiga | 44 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | JYP | Liiga | 54 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Coachella Valley Firebirds | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Coachella Valley Firebirds | AHL | 70 | 8 | 26 | 34 | 30 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 24 | ||
| Liiga totals | 120 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Ottavainen on Elite Prospects".
- ^ "Ville Ottavainen on hockey database".
- ^ "JYP sign contract extension with promising defenseman Ottavainen" (in Finnish). JYP Jyväskylä. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "Kraken sign Ville Ottavainen to entry-level contract". Seattle Kraken. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database