Kristian Vesalainen

Kristian Vesalainen
Vesalainen with the Winnipeg Jets in 2022
Born	(1999-06-01) 1 June 1999 (age 25) Helsinki, Finland
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shoots	Left
Liiga team Former teams	HIFK Frölunda HC HPK Oulun Kärpät Winnipeg Jets Jokerit Malmö Redhawks
NHL draft	24th overall, 2017 Winnipeg Jets
Playing career	2015–present

Kristian Vesalainen (born 1 June 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for HIFK of the Finnish Liiga. Vesalainen was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, 24th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Vesalainen originally played as a youth in his native Finland, appearing up to the Junior A level with HIFK before opting to continue his development in Sweden with Frölunda HC on 27 August 2015. Vesalainen made his professional debut at the senior level with Frölunda in the Swedish Hockey League during the 2015–16 season. ^[1] After an initial loan period to return to Finland during the 2016–17 season with HPK of the Liiga, Vesalainen made his move permanent in agreeing to a one-year deal with HPK on 28 April 2017. ^[2] In his first year of eligibility, Vesalainen was selected in the first round, 24th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft on 23 June 2017. ^[3]

In the 2017–18 season, despite his age Vesalainen impressively secured a top-line role with HPK. With the club out of playoff contention and while leading the HPK in scoring with 19 goals and 39 points, Vesalainen was loaned for the remainder of the season to league leaders Oulun Kärpät on 21 February 2018. ^[4] Kärpät would eventually win the Liiga championship, with Vesalainen scoring 8 points in 18 playoff games. On 26 August 2018, Vesalainen signed a three-year, $4.476 million entry-level contract with the Jets, ^[5] which included an out clause that would permit him to play in Europe during the 2018–19 season if he did not make the team's roster during the training camp. ^[6]

Vesalainen made his NHL debut on 4 October 2018 in a 5–1 win over the St. Louis Blues. He played 8:12 minutes of ice time and earned one assist. ^[7] On 22 November, the Jets assigned Vesalainen to Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). ^{[8] [9]}

On 21 October 2020, Vesalainen returned to HPK on loan from the Winnipeg Jets, until the commencement of the delayed North American 2020–21 season. ^[10] In the following 2021–22 season, Vesalainen scored his first NHL goal against the Nashville Predators on 23 October 2021. ^[11] He appeared in a career best 53 regular season games with the Jets, totalling just 3 points, before he was re-assigned to close out the season with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL.

As an impending restricted free agent with the Jets, Vesalainen chose to return to Europe by signing a one-year contract with Swedish club, Malmö Redhawks of the SHL, on 23 May 2022. ^[12] He opted to return to his home country in November that same year. ^[13]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2014–15	HIFK	Jr. A		17	1	1	2	0		1	0	0	0	0
2015–16	Frölunda HC	J20		37	15	19	34	0		1	0	1	1	0
2015–16	Frölunda HC	SHL		19	1	1	2	0		5	0	0	0	2
2016–17	Frölunda HC	J20		10	4	0	4	14		5	2	1	3	0
2016–17	Frölunda HC	SHL		26	1	5	6	2		1	0	0	0	0
2016–17	HPK	Liiga		9	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	HPK	Liiga		44	19	20	39	6		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Oulun Kärpät	Liiga		5	3	1	4	0		18	4	4	8	14
2018–19	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		5	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Manitoba Moose	AHL		22	4	9	13	10		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Jokerit	KHL		31	6	11	17	0		6	1	0	1	4
2019–20	Manitoba Moose	AHL		60	12	18	30	10		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	HPK	Liiga		10	4	4	8	4		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Manitoba Moose	AHL		6	1	4	5	0		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		12	0	1	1	0		4	0	0	0	0
2021–22	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		53	2	1	3	6		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Manitoba Moose	AHL		17	3	3	6	6		2	0	0	0	0
2022–23	Malmö Redhawks	SHL		15	1	2	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	HIFK	Liiga		40	16	21	37	8		12	2	3	5	6
2023–24	HIFK	Liiga		58	14	23	37	10		7	1	1	2	0
SHL totals				60	3	8	11	2		6	0	0	0	2
Liiga totals				166	57	69	126	28		37	7	8	15	20
NHL totals				70	2	3	5	6		4	0	0	0	0

International

Medal record
Representing   Finland
Ice hockey
IIHF World U18 Championship
	2016 United States
	2017 Slovakia

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2014	Finland	U17	4th		6	3	2	5	4
2015	Finland	IH18	4th		5	0	0	0	0
2015	Finland	U17	5th		5	4	4	8	4
2016	Finland	U18			7	2	4	6	6
2017	Finland	U18			7	6	7	13	8
2017	Finland	WJC	9th		6	1	1	2	0
2018	Finland	WJC	6th		5	2	4	6	2
Junior totals					41	18	22	40	24

References

1. "Kristian Vesalainen player profile". Swedish Hockey League (in Swedish). 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
2. "HPK announce nine new agreements". HPK (in Finnish). 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
3. "Highly coveted Vesalainen drafted with 24th overall pick". Winnipeg Jets. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
4. "HPK's Palve and Vesalainen continue their seasons elsewhere". HPK (in Finnish). 21 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
5. "Jets sign Kristian Vesalainen to three-year contract". NHL.com. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
6. Wiebe, Ken (26 August 2018). "Vesalainen inks deal with Jets". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
7. Korac, Louie (5 October 2018). "Jets, Hellebuyck handle Blues, Allen". NHL.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
8. "Jets reassign Kristian Vesalainen from Manitoba to Jokerit". NHL.com. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
9. Beneteau, Josh (22 November 2018). "Jets assign forward Kristian Vesalainen to Jokerit of KHL". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
10. "HPK enters into agreement with Kristian Vesalainen" (in Finnish). HPK. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
11. "Nashville Predators - Winnipeg Jets - October 23rd, 2021". NHL.com. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
12. "Finnish NHL forward signs with Malmö Redhawks" (in Swedish). Malmö Redhawks. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
13. "Kristian Vesalainen lämnar Malmö • åker hem till Finland". Expressen. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.

External links

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

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Logan Stanley	Winnipeg Jets first round draft pick 2017	Succeeded by Ville Heinola