Kevin Lankinen

Kevin Lankinen
Lankinen at the 2020 AHL All-Star Game
Born	(1995-04-28) 28 April 1995 (age 28) Helsinki, Finland
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
NHL team Former teams	Nashville Predators Jokerit HIFK KooKoo Chicago Blackhawks
National team	Finland
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2014–present

Kevin Lankinen (born 28 April 1995), nicknamed "Lanks" or "Lanki", is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Liiga

Lankinen has played primarily for HIFK of the SM-liiga, from 2014 to 2018. He also played one match for Jokerit and two for KooKoo, and ten for Kiekko-Vantaa of Mestis. ^{[1] [2]}

In 2014, Lankinen signed a three-year contract with HIFK. ^[3] In the 2015 playoffs, he participated in the longest game in SM-liiga's history, lasting 134 minutes and 14 seconds. His team won 2–1 and advanced to the quarterfinals. ^[4]

Summer 2015 Lankinen participated to New York Islanders Development camp ^[5]

During the 2015–16 season, Lankinen played alongside Ville Husso, playing 22 games in the regular season, as well as three in the playoffs as his team won silver medals. ^[6] During the 2016–17 season, Lankinen was a secondary goaltender alongside the more experienced Niklas Bäckström, but due to Bäckström's injuries, he became the primary goaltender and played in 42 games, seven of which were shutouts, the most in the league that season. ^[7]

During the 2017–18 season, Lankinen was injured and unable to play for a large portion of the season. ^[8] However, he made a successful comeback by playing 15 games in the regular season with four shutouts and a save percentage of 94.58 percent. His goals against average (GAA) was 1.33, the highest in the league that season. During the playoffs, he played as the primary goaltender for 13 games with a save percentage of 93.56 percent, ^[9] helping his team win bronze medals. He was in the running for the Urpo Ylönen trophy, which is awarded to the best goaltender of the season, alongside Veini Vehviläinen from Oulun Kärpät and Dominik Hrachovina from Tappara, ^[10] but the award went to Vehviläinen.

Chicago Blackhawks

On 21 May 2018, Lankinen (who had not been selected in NHL Entry Draft) signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). ^[11]

In his second season with the Blackhawks affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs in the 2019–20 season, Lankinen made 21 appearances, earning 8 wins and represented the IceHogs as the teams' lone representative at the 2020 AHL All-Star Game. On 5 March 2020, Lankinen was ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, with a recovery period of 5 months. ^[12]

On 19 January 2021, Lankinen made his NHL debut, losing 5–4 in overtime to the Florida Panthers. ^[13] On 22 January, Lankinen earned his first NHL win in a 4–1 win against the Detroit Red Wings. ^[14] His first NHL shutout came on 17 February, in the Blackhawks' 2–0 win over the Detroit Red Wings. ^[15] His 2020-2021 season record was 17-14-5.

During the 2021-2022 season Lankinen served as the backup to Marc-André Fleury. Lankinen struggled to begin the season, not recording his first win until November 7, 2021, in a game against the Nashville Predators. After Fleury was traded to the Minnesota Wild, Lankinen became the starter, leading the team to a 5-9-3 record following the trade. He ended the season with a 8-15-6 record and a 3.50 goals against average.

Nashville Predators

As a free agent from the Blackhawks, on 14 July 2022, Lankinen was signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Nashville Predators. ^[16] On 3 March 2023, the Predators signed Lankinen to a one-year, $2 million contract extension. ^[17]

International play

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Finland
World Championships
	2019 Slovakia

In 2019, Lankinen represented Finland in the Ice Hockey World Championships, winning gold. Throughout the tournament, he had the second highest save percentage (after Andrei Vasilevskiy) of 94.20% and a goals against average of 1.50. He served as the goaltender for each playoff game. ^[18]

Personal life

Lankinen likes to read and names "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari as his favorite book. One other favorite of his is "The Dirt" – an autobiography of Mötley Crüe. ^[19] Lankinen has opened a Facebook-based book club with Finnish publisher WSOY. ^[20]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	OT	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2011–12	Jokerit	Jr. A		2	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.00	.950		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Jokerit	Jr. A		23	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.92	.910		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Jokerit	Jr. A		36	—	—	—	—	83	—	2.33	.917		4	—	—	—	9	—	2.09	.931
2013–14	Jokerit	Liiga		1	0	0	0	17	2	0	7.16	.667		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Kiekko-Vantaa	Mestis		10	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.29	.906		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	HIFK	Liiga		24	8	10	5	1307	50	0	2.29	.911		6	3	2	414	12	0	1.74	.933
2015–16	HIFK	Liiga		22	12	5	4	1294	51	0	2.36	.906		3	1	2	180	10	0	3.33	.891
2015–16	KooKoo	Liiga		2	0	0	2	128	5	0	2.34	.919		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	HIFK	Liiga		42	13	19	9	2443	87	7	2.14	.920		13	6	6	768	32	0	2.50	.906
2017–18	HIFK	Liiga		15	10	3	2	900	20	4	1.33	.940		13	7	5	756	25	0	1.99	.934
2017–18	Ketterä	Mestis		2	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.50	.924		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Rockford IceHogs	AHL		19	7	8	4	1151	48	0	2.50	.910		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Indy Fuel	ECHL		6	4	2	0	358	19	0	3.18	.893		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Rockford IceHogs	AHL		21	8	10	2	1190	60	0	3.03	.909		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		37	17	14	5	2174	109	2	3.01	.909		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		32	8	15	6	1816	106	0	3.50	.891		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	Nashville Predators	NHL		19	9	8	1	1070	49	0	2.75	.916		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Liiga totals				105	43	37	22	6,073	213	11	2.10	.918		35	17	15	2118	79	0	2.24	.921
NHL totals				88	34	37	12	5,060	264	2	3.13	.904		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	W	L	OT	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2019	Finland	WC			8	7	1	0	481	12	2	1.50	.942
Senior totals					8	7	1	0	481	12	2	1.50	.942

Awards and honours

Award	Year
Jr. A
Jorma Valtonen Award	2014
First All-Star Team	2014
AHL
All-Star Game	2020
International
WC Best GAA (1.50)	2019

References

1. "The Internet Hockey Database" . Retrieved 22 May 2018.
2. "Tilastot – #30 Lankinen, Kevin – Liiga". liiga.fi.
3. "Michael Keränen into HIFK (in Finnish)". 30 April 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
4. "HIFK's Partanen ended the longest game in SM-Liiga's history (in Finnish)". 15 March 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
5. [e-mail] (30 June 2015). "Veini Vehviläiselle sittenkin NHL-huomiota - useita suomalaisia seurojen kesäleireille". 65 Jatkoaika r.y. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
6. "Liiga's goalie statistics 2015–2016" . Retrieved 22 May 2018.
7. "Liiga's goalie statistics 2016–2017" . Retrieved 22 May 2018.
8. "Atte Engren to tend HIFK's goal – Kevin Lankinen unable to play for a long time (in Finnish)". 4 August 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
9. "Liiga's goalie statistics 2017–2018" . Retrieved 22 May 2018.
10. "Best goalie 2018 – the winner is one of these three (in Finnish)". 30 April 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
11. "RELEASE: Blackhawks agree to terms with four players". NHL.com. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
12. "Blackhawks goalie prospect Kevin Lankinen undergoes season-ending shoulder surgery". NBC Sports. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
13. Pope, Ben (19 January 2021). "Blackhawks' overtime loss spoils strong performance from young players". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
14. "Kane helps Blackhawks beat Red Wings 4-1 for 1st win". AP News. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
15. "Rookies Lankinen, Kurashev lead Blackhawks past Red Wings". TSN. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
16. "Predators sign Kevin Lankinen to a one-year contract". Nashville Predators. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
17. "Predators Sign Kevin Lankinen to One-Year, $2 Million Contract". Nashville Predators . Retrieved 3 March 2023.
18. "Blackhawks' Kevin Lankinen: Making NHL debut". CBS Sports. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
19. Karhapää, Susanna (8 June 2019). "Maalivahti Kevin Lankisen lukuharrastus on herättänyt valtavaa kiinnostusta, ja nyt hän kertoo, mitä kirjoja suosittelee ja miksi". Helsingin Sanomat (Finnish newspaper). Retrieved 18 February 2021.
20. Koivunen, Tommi (13 August 2019). "Leijonien MM-sankari Kevin Lankinen avasi oman lukupiirin: "Haluan esimerkilläni vaikuttaa nuorten lukuintoon"". Ilta Sanomat (Finnish newspaper). Retrieved 18 February 2021.

External links

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