Kari Makkonen (born January 20, 1955) is a Finnish retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga for Ässät and in the National Hockey League for the Edmonton Oilers
| Kari Makkonen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
January 20, 1955 Harjavalta, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
SM-liiga Ässät NHL Edmonton Oilers | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL Draft |
194th overall, 1975 New York Islanders | ||
| WHA Draft |
127th overall, 1975 Indianapolis Racers 42nd overall, 1976 Phoenix Roadrunners | ||
| Playing career | 1974–1991 | ||
Playing career edit
Makkonen played his entire SM-liiga career for Pori based team Ässät, playing from 1974 until 1991. Makkonen was drafted 194th overall in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft by the New York Islanders and was also drafted 127st by the Indianapolis Racers in the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft and 42nd by the Phoenix Roadrunners in the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft, though he elected to remain in Finland. Makkonen would eventually make the move to North America in 1979, where he signed for the Edmonton Oilers for the 1979-80 NHL season. He would play just nine games for Edmonton however, scoring two goals and two assists. He also played sixteen games in the Central Hockey League for the Houston Apollos, scoring five goals and five assists. It would be Makkonen's only season in North America as he would return to Ässät the following year.
Makkonen retired from playing in 1991 and He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995.
Coaching career edit
Makkonen coached his first seasons as coach in the Finnish Lower Divisions for Seinäjoki HT and Kotkan Titaanit.
Makkonen's first SM-liiga coaching job came when he coached Ässät for a short period. Makkonen also was employed by Lukko for some time before he was employed by Tappara as an assistant coach for Jukka Rautakorpi
Makkonen was the assistant coach in Tappara for several years, winning the SM-liiga Championships in 2003 and finishing second in 2001 and 2002.
Makkonen was in 2007-09 the head coach of Mestis team Jukurit, which is a top contender in the second highest level of ice hockey in Finland.
Career statistics edit
Regular season and playoffs edit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1974–75 | Ässät | SM-s | 36 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Ässät | SM-l | 36 | 24 | 15 | 39 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1976–77 | Ässät | SM-l | 36 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Ässät | SM-l | 39 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 28 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 9 | ||
| 1978–79 | Ässät | SM-l | 36 | 36 | 18 | 54 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Houston Apollos | CHL | 16 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Ässät | SM-l | 36 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1981–82 | Ässät | SM-l | 36 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 1982–83 | Ässät | SM-l | 35 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Ässät | SM-l | 37 | 27 | 15 | 42 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 19 | ||
| 1984–85 | Ässät | SM-l | 36 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 32 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 1985–86 | Ässät | SM-l | 34 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Ässät | SM-l | 43 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Ässät | SM-l | 43 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Ässät | SM-l | 42 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Ässät | I-Div | 44 | 31 | 52 | 83 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1990–91 | Ässät | SM-l | 43 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| SM-l totals | 568 | 268 | 289 | 575 | 368 | 41 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 36 | ||||
International edit
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Finland | WJC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| 1976 | Finland | WC | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | |
| 1976 | Finland | CC | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1977 | Finland | WC | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1978 | Finland | WC | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1981 | Finland | CC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1982 | Finland | WC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1983 | Finland | WC | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| 1985 | Finland | WC | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1986 | Finland | WC | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |||
| Senior totals | 75 | 19 | 13 | 32 | 40 | |||
External links edit
- Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame bio
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
 | This biographical article relating to a Finnish ice hockey winger is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |