Mikko Vainonen (born 11 April 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who was last under contract with Glasgow Clan in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).
| Mikko Vainonen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
11 April 1994 Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 222 lb (101 kg; 15 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| team Former teams |
Free Agent HIFK Milwaukee Admirals SaiPa Ässät Pori Krefeld Pinguine Vaasan Sport Orli Znojmo Dornbirn Bulldogs HC Frýdek-Místek SG Cortina Glasgow Clan | ||
| NHL draft |
118th overall, 2012 Nashville Predators | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
Early life
editMikko Vainonen was a hard working defenceman in his childhood. He played a lot of floorball with his friends in residential Helsinki.
Playing career
editHe made his professional debut playing with HIFK of the SM-liiga during the 2011–12 SM-liiga season. He was selected in the fourth-round, 118th overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators. In the following season and in pursuit of his NHL ambition, he moved to North America to play major junior after he was drafted in the 2012 CHL import draft in the 1st round, 6th overall by the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.
On 24 May 2013, he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators.[1] Vainonen split time between Nashville's farm teams the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League and the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL over the next two seasons, before being loaned to Liiga's SaiPa to finish the 2014–15 season.
At the start of the 2015–16 NHL season Vainonen and Nashville agreed to mutually terminate his contract, allowing him to seek employment elsewhere.[2] He returned to his native Finland, coming to terms with Ässät Pori of the top tier Liiga.
After parts of two seasons with German club, Krefeld Pinguine of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Vainonen returned again to the Liiga, securing a one-year deal with his fourth Finnish club, Vaasan Sport, on 29 March 2018.[3]
On June 19, 2019, Vainonen opted to continue in the EBEL agreeing to a one-year contract with the Dornbirn Bulldogs.[4]
In a COVID-19 affected 2020–21 season, Vainonen played for Orli Znojmo, HC Frýdek-Místek and Italian side SG Cortina.
In August 2021, Vainonen agreed terms with Scottish EIHL side Glasgow Clan for the 2021–22 season.[5]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | HIFK | Liiga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 55 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 42 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 57 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 73 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2013–14 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 31 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | SaiPa | Liiga | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 33 | ||
| 2015–16 | Ässät | Liiga | 39 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Ässät | Liiga | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 28 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 44 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Vaasan Sport | Liiga | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Orli Znojmo | EBEL | 28 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 2019–20 | Dornbirn Bulldogs | EBEL | 50 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Orli Znojmo | Czech 2.Liga | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HC Frýdek-Místek | Chance Liga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | SG Cortina | AlpsHL | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21 | SG Cortina | Italy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Glasgow Clan | EIHL | 44 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 92 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 103 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 33 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Finland
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2014 Malmö | |
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Finland | U17 | 7th | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| 2012 | Finland | WJC18 | 4th | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | |
| 2014 | Finland | WJC | 
|
7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 19 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 22 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Predators sign 2012 fourth-round pick Mikko Vainonen". Nashville Predators. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ Tim Wharnsby (9 October 2015). "Mikko Vainonen clears unconditional waivers". Twitter. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ "Mikko Vainonen confirmed signing for Sport" (in Finnish). Vaasan Sport. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
- ^ "Three new arrivals" (in German). Dornbirn Bulldogs. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "SIGNING: Clan snap up Vainonen | Glasgow Clan Ice Hockey Club". 11 August 2021.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
 | This biographical article relating to a Finnish ice hockey defenceman is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |