Teemu Pulkkinen

Teemu Pulkkinen

Pulkkinen with Jokerit c. 2011
Born (1992-01-02) 2 January 1992
Vantaa, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Minnesota Wild
Iowa Wild (AHL)
Jokerit
Detroit Red Wings
Grand Rapids Griffins
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 111th overall, 2010
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 2009–present

Teemu Pulkkinen (born 2 January 1992) is a Finnish professional ice hockey left winger for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pulkkinen was drafted 111th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Jokerit

Pulkkinen made his first appearance for Jokerit on 5 December 2008, at the age of 16.[1] Before joining the team, he was an integral part of Jokerit's Junior-B club, scoring 36 goals and a total of 60 points in 32 games during the 2007–08 regular season. His team went on to win the Finnish championship, and Pulkkinen finished as the top scorer in the playoffs with 17 points in just six games.[2]

During the 2010–11 season, in his rookie season with Jokerit, Pulkkinen played in 55 games, recording 18 goals and 36 assists. He broke Teemu Selänne's 20-year-old single-season record for assists by a rookie, with 36.[3]

Professional

On 29 May 2012, Pulkkinen signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[4] During the 2012–13 season, he was assigned to the Red Wings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, in April 2013 following the completion of his third season with Jokerit in Finland. He scored his first North American goal in a Calder Cup playoff game on 1 May against the Houston Aeros. Pulkkinen played in 14 playoff games for the Griffins, recording three goals and two assists during the team's run to the Calder Cup.[5]

During the 2013–14 season, in his first full season with the Griffins, Pulkkinen led the team in scoring, finishing with 31 goals and 28 assists in 71 games.

On 14 March 2014, Pulkkinen made his NHL debut for Detroit in a game against the Edmonton Oilers.[6] At the time of his call-up, Pulkkinen was the Griffins' leading scorer and ranked second among all AHL rookies with 51 points in 60 games. He also led AHL rookies in goals (26), shots (175) and plus-minus rating (+20).[7]

On 8 January 2015, Pulkkinen was recalled by the Red Wings.[8] At the time of his call-up, Pulkkinen was the Griffins' leading scorer and ranked first in the AHL with 20 goals and second with 39 points in 33 games. He was also on an eight-game goal scoring streak for Grand Rapids, which tied the franchise record set by Donald MacLean during the 2005–06 season. It was the longest goal-scoring streak in the AHL since Drayson Bowman recorded a goal in eight-straight games early in the 2012–13 season.[9] On 20 January, Pulkkinen scored his first career NHL goal against Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild.[10]

On 29 January, Pulkkinen recorded his first career hat-trick, all on the power play. He became just the second player in Griffins franchise history to record three power play goals in one game, following Joe Murphy in 2001.[11]On 15 February, Pulkkinen recorded his AHL-leading 30th goal of the season, becoming the first player in franchise history to record back-to-back 30-goal seasons.[12] Pulkkinen finished the 2014–15 season recording 34 goals and 27 assists in 46 games for an AHL-best 1.33 points per game. He finished second in points recorded for the Griffins, and was the leading goal-scorer in the AHL, winning the Willie Marshall Award despite the fact that he played in at least 27 fewer games than the three next-highest goal scorers. Additionally, in 31 games played with the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL, Pulkkinen recorded five goals and three assists.[13][14]

On 6 May 2015, Pulkkinen scored his first career Calder Cup playoff hat-trick, and the seventh playoff hat-trick in Griffins history. He also became the Griffins' all-time leading post-season goal scorer, with 17 goals, surpassing Derek King and Tomáš Tatar's tally of 16 goals.[15][16] During the 2015 Calder Cup playoffs, Pulkkinen was the leading scorer for the Griffins, and led the AHL in goals, recording 14 goals and four assists in 16 games, while helping the Griffins reach the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three seasons.

On 21 July 2015, the Red Wings signed Pulkkinen to a one-year contract extension.[17]

On 13 July 2016, the Red Wings signed Pulkkinen to another one-year contract extension,[18] however on 11 October 2016, before the beginning of the 2016–17 NHL season Pulkinnen was waived by Detroit for the purpose of assignment to Grand Rapids, and was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild.[19]

International play
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
World Championships
2016 Russia
World U18 Championships
2010 Belarus
2009 United States

Pulkkinen represented Finland at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships in the United States, where he recorded 13 points in six games to finish third in tournament scoring, behind teammate Toni Rajala and Russian Vladimir Tarasenko, helping lead Finland to a bronze medal. With 28 points, Pulkkinen currently ranks second all-time in IIHF World U18 Championship scoring.[20]

In the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships, Pulkkinen recorded ten goals and five assists in six games to become the tournament's leading scorer; he was also selected as the tournament's best forward.

Pulkkinen was part of the Finnish national team for the 2012 World Junior Championships. In a game against Denmark on 30 December 2011, Pulkkinen scored four goals in the third period, part of a five-point game for him; this tied a record for most goals in a period during a World Junior game, first set by Ján Vodila of Czechoslovakia during the 1980 World Juniors.[21]

Pulkkinen represented Finland at the 2016 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded two assists in eight games and won a silver medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Jokerit SM-liiga 3 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2009–10 Jokerit SM-liiga 12 1 2 3 6 — — — — —
2010–11 Jokerit SM-liiga 55 18 36 54 32 3 0 1 1 0
2011–12 Jokerit SM-liiga 56 16 21 37 41 4 0 1 1 2
2012–13 Jokerit SM-liiga 59 14 20 34 49 6 2 3 5 22
2012–13 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 2 0 1 1 2 14 3 2 5 10
2013–14 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 71 31 28 59 34 10 5 6 11 10
2013–14 Detroit Red Wings NHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2014–15 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 46 34 27 61 30 16 14 4 18 22
2014–15 Detroit Red Wings NHL 31 5 3 8 10 — — — — —
2015–16 Detroit Red Wings NHL 36 6 6 12 14 — — — — —
NHL totals 701192026 —————
Liiga totals 1854979128134 1325724

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Finland U18 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 6 7 6 13 4
2010 Finland U18 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 6 10 5 15 10
2010 Finland WJC 5th 7 0 8 8 6
2011 Finland WJC 6th 6 3 6 9 6
2012 Finland WJC 4th 7 6 4 10 2
2016 Finland WC 2nd, silver medalist(s) 8 0 2 2 2
Junior totals 32 26 29 55 28
Senior totals 8 0 2 2 2

Awards and achievements

Award Year
IIHF World U18 Championship First Team All-Star 2010 [22]
AHL All-Rookie Team 2013–14 [23]
AHL First All-Star Team 2014–15 [24]
Willie Marshall Award 2014–15 [25]

References

  1. ↑ Vuorio, Jukka (12 June 2008). "Kokemusta ja nuoruutta areenan jäällä" (in Finnish). jatkoaika.com. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  2. ↑ Teemu Pulkkinen
  3. ↑ "Wings in Waiting: Teemu Pulkkinen". Detroit Red Wings. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Roose, Bill (29 May 2012). "Wings sign Pulkkinen to entry-level deal". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Almquist's Late Goal Gives Griffins Game 3 Win". Grand Rapids Griffins. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Roose, Bill (12 March 2014). "Pulkkinen to make debut for injured Wings". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Red Wings Firsts: Teemu Pulkkinen". Detroit Red Wings. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Red Wings recall Teemu Pulkkinen". Detroit Red Wings. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Eight Is Enoguh?". Grand Rapids Griffins. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Pulkkinen hammers first NHL goal past Dubnyk". Detroit Red Wings. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Pulkkinen Drives Iowa Wild with Hat Trick". Grand Rapids Griffins. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Grfiffins 5, Wolves 1: Teemu Pulkkinen picks up 30th goal in win". MLive. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  13. ↑ Kujawa, Kyle (24 April 2015). "Red Wings return Pulkkinen to Griffins". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Just in Time". Grand Rapids Griffins. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Pulkkinen's Hat Trick Powers Game 1 Win". Grand Rapids Griffins. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  16. ↑ Cleves, Randy (6 May 2015). "Pulkkinen tricks Rockford in Game 1". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  17. ↑ Kujawa, Kyle (21 July 2015). "Wings agree to terms with Pulkkinen". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  18. ↑ Kujawa, Kyle (July 13, 2016). "Detroit re-signs Pulkkinen for one year". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Minnesota Claims Teemu Pulkkinen off Waivers". wild.nhl.com. 2016-10-11.
  20. ↑ "QuantHockey - IIHF WJC-U18 records". Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  21. ↑ Podnieks, Andrew (30 December 2011). "Finland's rout sends U.S. down". IIHF. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  22. ↑ 2010 U18 WJC All-Star Team
  23. ↑ "2013-14 AHL All-Rookie Team announced". AHL. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Notes: Pulkkinen receives AHL honors". NHL. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "O'Neill, Pulkkinen win scoring races". AHL. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
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