Kevin Lankinen

Last updated

Kevin Lankinen
Kevin Lankinen.jpg
Lankinen at the 2020 AHL All-Star Game
Born (1995-04-28) 28 April 1995 (age 29)
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		 Vancouver Canucks
Jokerit
HIFK
KooKoo
Chicago Blackhawks
Nashville Predators
National teamFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present

Kevin Lankinen (born 28 April 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators.

Contents

Playing career

Liiga

Lankinen has played primarily for HIFK of the Liiga from 2014 to 2018. He also played one match for Jokerit and two for KooKoo, and 10 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 Liiga's history, lasting 134 minutes and 14 seconds. His team won 2–1 and advanced to the quarterfinals. [4]

In the summer of 2015, Lankinen participated in the 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 lowest 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 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' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, in the 2019–20 season, Lankinen made 21 appearances, earning eight 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 2019–20 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, with a recovery period of five 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—21 season record was 17–14–5.

During the 2021—22 season, Lankinen served as the backup to Marc-André Fleury. Lankinen struggled to begin the season, not recording his first win until 7 November 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 to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Nashville Predators. [16] He was brought in to serve as a backup to Juuse Saros. On 3 March 2023, the Predators signed Lankinen to a one-year, $2 million contract extension. [17] Across his two seasons in Nashville, Lankinen posted a 20–14–1 record and a .912 save percentage.

Vancouver Canucks

On 21 September 2024, Lankinen agreed to a one-year, $875,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks. [18] On 1 December, Lankinen recorded a 5–4 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings, becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to win 10 consecutive road games to begin a season. [19]

International play

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Slovakia

Lankinen represented Finland national team in the 2019 World Championship, winning gold. Throughout the tournament, he had the second-highest save percentage of 94.20% and a goals against average of 1.50. He served as the goaltender for each playoff game. [20]

Personal life

Lankinen likes to read and names Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari as his favourite book. Another favourite of his is The Dirt – an autobiography of Mötley Crüe. [21] Lankinen has opened a Facebook-based book club with Finnish publisher WSOY. [22]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGPWLT/OTMINGA SO GAA SV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
2011–12 Jokerit Jr. A 2——————1.00.950————————
2012–13JokeritJr. A23——————2.92.910————————
2013–14JokeritJr. A36————83—2.33.9174———9—2.09.931
2013–14 Jokerit Liiga 100017207.16.667————————
2014–15 Kiekko-Vantaa Mestis 10——————3.29.906————————
2014–15 HIFK Liiga2481051,3075002.29.9116324141201.74.933
2015–16 HIFKLiiga2212541,2945102.36.9063121801003.33.891
2015–16 KooKoo Liiga2002128502.34.919————————
2016–17 HIFKLiiga42131992,4438772.14.92013667683202.50.906
2017–18 HIFKLiiga1510329002041.33.94013757562501.99.934
2017–18 Ketterä Mestis2——————1.50.924————————
2018–19 Rockford IceHogs AHL 197841,1514802.50.910————————
2018–19 Indy Fuel ECHL 64203581903.18.893————————
2019–20 Rockford IceHogsAHL2181021,1906003.03.909————————
2020–21 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 37171452,17410923.01.909————————
2021–22 Chicago BlackhawksNHL3281561,81610603.50.891————————
2022–23 Nashville Predators NHL199811,0704902.75.916————————
2023–24 Nashville PredatorsNHL2411601,1915612.82.908————————
Liiga totals1054337226,073213112.10.91835171521187902.24.921
NHL totals1124543126,25132033.07.905————————

International

YearTeamEventResultGPWLTMINGASOGAASV%
2019 Finland WC Gold medal icon.svg87104811221.50.942
Senior totals87104811221.50.942

Awards and honours

AwardYearRef
Jr. A
Jorma Valtonen Award 2014
First All-Star Team2014
AHL
All-Star Game 2020

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References

  1. ↑ "The Internet Hockey Database" . Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Tilastot – #30 Lankinen, Kevin – Liiga". liiga.fi.
  3. ↑ "Michael Keränen HIFK:n haaviin" (in Finnish). 30 April 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "HIFK:n Partanen ratkaisi SM-liigan historian pisimmän ottelun". jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). 15 March 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Veini Vehviläiselle sittenkin NHL-huomiota - useita suomalaisia seurojen kesäleireille". jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). 30 June 2015. 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 HIFK:n maalille – Kevin Lankinen pitkään sivussa" (in Finnish). 4 August 2017. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "Liiga's goalie statistics 2017–2018" . Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "Paras maalivahti 2018 – voittaja löytyy tästä kolmikosta" (in Finnish). 30 April 2018. Archived from the original on 4 July 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. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "Canucks sign goalie Kevin Lankinen to one-year contract". Sportsnet. Canadian Press. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  19. ↑ Hogg, Dave (1 December 2024). "DeBrusk completes hat trick in OT, Canucks recover to defeat Red Wings". NHL.com. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  20. ↑ "Blackhawks' Kevin Lankinen: Making NHL debut". CBS Sports. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  21. ↑ Karhapää, Susanna (8 June 2019). "Maalivahti Kevin Lankisen lukuharrastus on herättänyt valtavaa kiinnostusta, ja nyt hän kertoo, mitä kirjoja suosittelee ja miksi". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  22. ↑ Koivunen, Tommi (13 August 2019). "Leijonien MM-sankari Kevin Lankinen avasi oman lukupiirin: "Haluan esimerkilläni vaikuttaa nuorten lukuintoon"". Ilta Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 February 2021.
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