Mikko Lehtonen (ice hockey, born 1994)

Not to be confused with Mikko Lehtonen (ice hockey, born 1987).

Mikko Lehtonen
Lehtonen with ZSC Lions in 2024
Born	(1994-01-16) 16 January 1994 (age 30) Turku, Finland
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NL team Former teams	ZSC Lions TPS KooKoo HV71 Tappara Jokerit Toronto Maple Leafs Columbus Blue Jackets SKA Saint Petersburg
National team	Finland
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2011–present

Mikko Lehtonen (born 16 January 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL). He has previously played with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Lehtonen made his SM-liiga debut playing with TPS during the 2011–12 season. ^[1] For the season 2015–2016, Lehtonen moved to the team KooKoo for a two-year contract. He made his breakthrough in the league and made all 60 regular rounds. Lehtonen ranked Juha Leimu of Pelicans in the second round of the SM Liiga defender's goal. In the 2016–17 season, he was KooKoo's second-best point-keeper and the most powerful defender until the threshold of the Liiga move. In February 2017, Lehtonen spent the rest of the season for the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) in HV71, and he won the Swedish Championship at the end of the season.

Lehtonen moved to Tappara for the 2017–18 season agreeing to an initial two-year contract. In 2018, Lehtonen left Tappara by mutual consent and re-joined HV71 of the SHL. ^[2]

On 9 April 2019, Lehtonen as a free agent, left HV71, returning to Finland in signing a two-year contract with KHL participant, Jokerit. ^[3]

Lehtonen appeared in 60 games with Jokerit during the 2019–20 season and registered 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists), which led all KHL defencemen. He represented Jokerit at the 2020 KHL All-Star Game and was named KHL Defenceman of the Month for three consecutive months from November to January. He had a goal and three assists in six KHL playoff games before the season's cancellation.

As a free agent, Lehtonen gained NHL interest, and on 4 May 2020, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Lehtonen to a one-year entry-level contract for the 2020–21 season. ^[4] With the North American season delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on 1 August 2020, Lehtonen was returned to Jokerit on loan until the resumption of NHL training camp in November. ^[5] Lehtonen was released from his contract with Jokerit on 20 November 2020, having collected 17 points through 17 games. ^[6]

On 12 March 2021, Lehtonen was traded by the Maple Leafs to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Veini Vehviläinen. ^[7]

After the 2020–21 season, Lehtonen signed a one-year contract to return to Columbus. However, on 12 October 2021, it was announced that he was suspended by the team and placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout after failing to report to the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets AHL affiliate. ^[8] As a free agent from the Blue Jackets, on 17 October 2021, Lehtonen returned to the KHL in agreeing to a four-year contract with Russian based outfit, SKA Saint Petersburg. ^[9]

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lehtonen decided to participate in the 2021–22 KHL postseason, despite the exit of most Finnish players and two of the KHL's non-Russia-based teams. ^[10]

International play

Medal record
Representing   Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
	2022 Beijing
World Championships
	2019 Slovakia
	2022 Finland
World Junior Championships
	2014 Sweden

Internationally, Lehtonen has represented Finland at multiple events, including the World Championships in 2017 and 2019, winning gold at the 2019 tournament and earning recognition on the World Championship All-Star Team. He also skated for Finland at the Olympic Games in 2018 and 2022, getting gold and recognition on the Olympic All-Star Team at the 2022 games. In addition, he played at the 2014 World Junior Championships, where he captured gold.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010–11	TPS	FIN U18		18	8	15	23	14		12	0	3	3	20
2010–11	TPS	Jr. A		12	1	5	6	2		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	TPS	FIN U18		1	0	1	1	6		8	1	2	3	6
2011–12	TPS	Jr. A		39	8	19	27	24		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	TPS	SM-l		12	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	TPS	Jr. A		39	6	23	29	30		9	1	1	2	16
2012–13	TPS	SM-l		13	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	TUTO Hockey	Mestis		46	5	13	18	14		12	1	7	8	20
2014–15	TPS	Liiga		37	0	2	2	8		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	TUTO Hockey	Mestis		19	0	9	9	4		15	3	6	9	8
2015–16	KooKoo	Liiga		60	12	10	22	16		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	KooKoo	Liiga		43	6	19	25	20		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	HV71	SHL		9	0	0	0	0		16	0	4	4	4
2017–18	Tappara	Liiga		55	12	17	29	24		16	1	3	4	10
2018–19	HV71	SHL		52	5	19	24	30		9	1	4	5	6
2019–20	Jokerit	KHL		60	17	32	49	20		6	1	3	4	12
2020–21	Jokerit	KHL		17	8	9	17	6		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		9	0	3	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		17	0	3	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	SKA Saint Petersburg	KHL		15	1	7	8	2		15	1	6	7	2
2022–23	ZSC Lions	NL		52	7	23	30	24		9	2	3	5	0
2023–24	ZSC Lions	NL		51	4	26	30	10		15	0	2	2	6
Liiga totals				220	30	49	79	72		16	1	3	4	10
KHL totals				92	26	48	74	28		21	2	9	11	14
NHL totals				26	0	6	6	8		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	Finland	U17	7th		5	1	1	2	4
2011	Finland	IH18	4th		5	0	1	1	0
2012	Finland	WJC18	4th		7	0	1	1	0
2014	Finland	WJC			7	0	1	1	4
2017	Finland	WC	4th		10	2	0	2	0
2018	Finland	OG	6th		1	0	0	0	0
2019	Finland	WC			10	1	6	7	0
2022	Finland	OG			6	1	3	4	4
2022	Finland	WC			10	2	10	12	2
2023	Finland	WC	7th		8	2	3	5	0
2024	Finland	WC	8th		8	1	2	3	0
Junior totals					24	1	4	5	8
Senior totals					53	9	24	30	6

Awards and honours

Award	Year
Mestis
Second All-Star Team	2014
SHL
Le Mat Trophy champion	2017
NL
Champion (ZSC Lions)	2024	[11]
International
WC All-Star Team	2019, 2022	[12] [13]
Olympic All-Star Team	2022	[14]
WC Best Defenseman	2022	[13]

References

1. Eliteprospects.com – 2011–12 TPS player statistics
2. Lehtinen, Lauri (20 May 2018). "Tähtipuolustaja jättää Tapparan kesken sopimuksen – palaa Ruotsiin". aamulehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
3. "Defenseman Lehtonen to Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
4. "Maple Leafs sign Mikko Lehtonen". Toronto Maple Leafs. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
5. "Lehtonen loaned back to Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
6. "Maple Leafs Mikko Lehtonen terminates contract with Jokerit". Sportsnet.ca. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
7. "Blue Jackets acquire Lehtonen in trade with Leafs". ESPN.com. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
8. "Blue Jackets place defenceman Mikko Lehtonen on waivers for buyout". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
9. "Mikko Lehtonen joins SKA" (in Russian). SKA Saint Petersburg. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
10. "Suomalainen kiekkotähti sai rahakkaan tarjouksen Venäjältä – reaktio on paljonpuhuva". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 16 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
11. "The ZSC Lions win the 2023-24 championship". swisshockeynews.ch. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
12. "Stone named MVP". IIHF . Retrieved 26 May 2019.
13. "Olkinuora MVP, All-Stars named". IIHF . Retrieved 29 May 2022.
14. "Slafkovsky voted MVP". IIHF . Retrieved 20 February 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