Ilari Filppula

Ilari Filppula
Born	(1981-11-05) 5 November 1981 (age 43) Vantaa, Finland
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Liiga team Former teams	TPS Jokerit JYP Jyväskylä Grand Rapids Griffins CSKA Moscow HC Lugano Modo Hockey Malmö Redhawks
National team	Finland
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2001–2020

Ilari Antti Sakari Filppula (born 5 November 1981) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the TPS in the Finnish Liiga. He is the older brother of Valtteri Filppula.

Playing career

Ilari Filppula in Finnish national team

Filppula started his pro career in Kiekko-Vantaa, in the Finnish lower leagues, and after two years with JYP, he spent a season with Jokerit, and then returned to JYP with a two-year contract. In 2008, he signed a 2-year contract with TPS. Filppula won the Jari Kurri trophy in 2010.

On 15 June 2010, Filppula signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings. ^[1] The Red Wings assigned Filppula to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, during training camp. ^[2] In his first season in North America, Filppula participated in the AHL All-Star game and finished the season first on the Grand Rapids Griffins in assists and points. ^{[3] [4]}

Despite leading the Griffins with 64 points, Filppula was not given an opportunity in the NHL with the Red Wings, and on 19 May 2011, he returned to Finland with Jokerit, signing a four-year deal. ^[5] In 2013 he signed a one-year contract with HC CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League.

After the 2013–14 season, Filppula left the KHL to sign a two-year contract with Swiss club, HC Lugano of the National League A on 8 April. 2014. ^[6] In the final year of his contract in Lugano, Filppula moved in a mid-season transfer to the SHL, signing for the remainder of the 2015–16 campaign with Modo Hockey.

Unable to help Modo retain their SHL status, Filppula left the club in the off-season, signing a one-year deal to remain in the top-flight league with the Malmö Redhawks on 9 April 2016. ^[7] He returned to TPS in Finnish Liiga for season 2017-18. ^[8]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996–97	Kiekko–Vantaa	FIN U16		32	17	18	35	14		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Kiekko–Vantaa	FIN.2 U20		1	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Kiekko–Vantaa	FIN.2 U18		—	—	—	—	—		21	10	17	27	12
1998–99	Kiekko–Vantaa	FIN.2 U20		19	7	5	12	4		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Kiekko–Vantaa	FIN.2 U20		14	8	25	33	10		14	9	14	23	29
1999–2000	Kiekko–Vantaa	FIN.3		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Jokerit	FIN U20		38	18	40	58	16		2	1	0	1	0
2001–02	Kiekko–Vantaa	Mestis		44	13	22	35	20		5	4	2	6	2
2002–03	Jokerit	SM-l		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Kiekko–Vantaa	Mestis		41	13	22	35	20		5	4	2	6	2
2003–04	JYP	SM-l		47	3	6	9	12		1	0	0	0	0
2004–05	JYP	SM-l		55	8	10	18	10		3	1	0	1	0
2005–06	Jokerit	SM-l		56	9	16	25	14		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	JYP	SM-l		54	16	26	42	42		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	JYP	SM-l		56	7	15	22	20		6	0	1	1	0
2008–09	TPS	SM-l		48	6	17	23	47		8	0	3	3	6
2009–10	TPS	SM-l		58	12	37	49	24		15	2	12	14	8
2010–11	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		76	20	44	64	24		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Jokerit	SM-l		44	10	21	31	10		10	4	4	8	2
2012–13	Jokerit	SM-l		53	19	35	54	36		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	CSKA Moscow	KHL		51	8	16	24	16		4	0	0	0	2
2014–15	HC Lugano	NLA		37	12	21	33	10		5	1	4	5	0
2015–16	HC Lugano	NLA		27	7	11	18	14		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Modo Hockey	SHL		15	1	7	8	4		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Malmö Redhawks	SHL		48	13	20	33	43		13	1	10	11	4
2017–18	TPS	Liiga		35	5	32	37	26		11	1	9	10	4
2018–19	TPS	Liiga		44	12	23	35	28		4	1	1	2	2
2019–20	TPS	Liiga		58	7	33	40	34		—	—	—	—	—
Liiga totals				609	114	271	385	297		64	10	33	43	22

References

1. Roose, Bill (16 June 2010). "Wings sign Filppula's older brother". NHL.com.
2. Ansar Khan (September 2010). "Red Wings release enforcer Aaron Downey, send eight others to Grand Rapids" . Retrieved 13 April 2011.
3. Steve Vedder (January 2011). "Griffins' Ilari Filppula scores goal, records assist in AHL all-star game" . Retrieved 13 April 2011.
4. Michael Zuidema (April 2011). "Consistency of Jamie Tardif highlight of Griffins' season; Gustav Nyquist's future looks bright" . Retrieved 13 April 2011.
5. "Filppula and Hahl the latest confirmations" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
6. "Lugano agree to terms with Filppula" (in German). HC Lugano. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
7. "Redhawks strengthens attack with Filppula". Malmö Redhawks (in Swedish). 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
8. "Ilari Filppula returns to TPS Turku" (in Finnish). Liiga. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2017.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database