Raimo Helminen

Last updated
Raimo Helminen
Helminen Raimo Vintage Jersey.jpg
Born (1964-03-11) 11 March 1964 (age 60)
Tampere, FIN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Ilves
New York Rangers
Minnesota North Stars
New York Islanders
Malmö IF Redhawks
National teamFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
NHL draft 35th overall, 1984
New York Rangers
Playing career 19822008
Website http://www.raipe.fi

Raimo Ilmari Helminen (born 11 March 1964 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is often called "Raipe" or "Maestro" by his fans. He is the world record holder for most international games played by a hockey player, as well as for tied for being the hockey player in the most Olympic Games, [1] [2] and his 26 seasons as a professional is one of the longest careers in professional hockey history. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2012.

Contents

In the 2022-23 season he is serving as the assistant coach of Ilves. Helminen is credited with invention of the saucer pass.

Personal life

He has a wife, Leena, and two children, Anssi and Nelli.

Professional career

Early years

Helminen has himself said that he developed most of his skills when he was young and spent all his free time playing in outdoor ice rinks in Koivistonkylä, Tampere. [3] Before he focused on ice hockey he had also played football.

Helminen started his career in his native town, playing for one of oldest teams in the country, Ilves. After two gold medals in junior leagues, Helminen got to play for Ilves in the SM-liiga, Finland's top ice hockey league, in 1982. His first international success came in 1984 when Finland won silver in the U20 World Championship tournament in Sweden. Helminen broke the record for most points scored in an under-20 tournament and was selected for the All-Star team. This attracted the attention of people scouting new talent for the professional teams in the National Hockey League in North America. That spring Helminen also took part in his first Olympic Games in Sarajevo.

NHL

The following season he was one of the best players for Ilves, being the second highest scorer for his team and third overall in the league. As the centre of the first line, he led Ilves to a league championship victory for the first time in the league's history.

The New York Rangers drafted him in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft as their second pick (2nd round, number 35), and Helminen headed for the NHL in the fall of 1985. He finished his rookie season with an outstanding 40 points in 66 games. The next fall, however, the new team management sold most of their young players and Helminen ended up with the Minnesota North Stars.

Difficulties and success

The next season proved more difficult, and Helminen ended up playing a lot in the minor leagues. In the fall of 1987 he returned to home soil to play for Ilves again. He proved to be a success and secured a place in the national team for the 1988 Winter Olympics. There he helped his country win their first Olympic medal (silver) in ice hockey.

His performance included 10 points in seven games and assisting two goals in Finland's surprise 3–1 victory over gold medal hopefuls Canada. The tournament left NHL scouts wondering why this player was not playing in North America. Eventually Helminen got another chance to play in the NHL, this time for the New York Islanders.

Back problems and Sweden

In the spring of 1988 Helminen started having back problems that would hinder his career for the next couple of years. Because of this injury his 1988–89 season for the Islanders was a disappointment—although he played spectacularly for New York's AHL Springfield Indians farm team for a month—and he left the Islanders for Malmö IF in Sweden.

Helminen's play in Malmö IF was at times very good and he earned the respect of the fans. However, his back would not heal properly until the summer of 1992 after Malmö had won the Swedish Elitserien, the top ice hockey league in the country. After being Elitserien's first ever foreign scoring winner in 1993, Helminen helped Malmö IF win another championship in 1994.

Late career

In 1996 Helminen returned again to his home town to play for Ilves and quickly became a fan favorite again. In 1998 Ilves won silver medals in the SM-liiga and Helminen was voted the best player of the season. He was also selected for the league's All-Star team in three consecutive years having remained one of the top scorers. Helminen also made the SM-liiga record for most penalty minutes in one game with (55PIM), when he first spat towards the referee and after that tried to assault him, first with his stick and then with his fists, verbally abusing the referee all the while. In 2014 Markus Palmroth broke the record with 59 PIM. [4] Helminen served as the captain of Ilves from 1999 until the end of his career in 2008, although he was temporarily stripped of his captaincy during the 2006–07 season after being thrown out during a game (he was reinstated after one game). At 44 years of age, Helminen was the oldest active player during the SM-liiga 2007–08 season.

Helminen officially retired after the 2007–08 SM-liiga season ended for Ilves, when they were defeated by Kärpät in the quarter-finals of the SM-liiga playoffs.

International play

Helminen retired.jpg
Helminen in the chair after his last international match
Medal record
Representing Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1988 Calgary
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1994 Lillehammer
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1998 Nagano
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Sweden
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1994 Italy
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1998 Switzerland
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1999 Norway
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2001 Germany
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2000 Russia
World Junior Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1984 Sweden

Helminen played in a few international tournaments throughout the 1980s and was on the silver winning team of the 1988 Winter Olympics. This was almost the last international glory Helminen was ever to get as then current National team head coach Pentti Matikainen decided that Helminen's time in the national team was over. After Matikainen was fired and the new head coach, Swede Curt "Curre" Lindström took over in 1994 Helminen was re-instated to the national team. In the 1990s Finland began gaining consistent success in international ice hockey. This included World Championship medals 1994 (silver) and 1995 (gold) and Olympic medals in 1994 (bronze) and 1998 (bronze). Helminen remained a favourite pick in the national team consistently through the decade and played an important role in the national team's successes. Helminen participated in 11 World Championships tournaments between 1985 and 2002. Helminen holds a world record of most international games. Helminen played a total of 331 times for Finland and scored 52 goals and assisted 155, totaling 207 points.

Helminen playing his last international game for Finland. Helminen's last game.jpg
Helminen playing his last international game for Finland.

His number originally was 14, but he had to change it to 41 when Ilves retired 14 in honour of Lasse Oksanen, a former player of the team. Helminen continued to wear 14 when he played for Team Finland. At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, Ilves announced that Helminen's number 41 would also be retired.

The 2002 World Championship Tournament was Helminen's last World Championship tournament callup since Helminen was dropped as the last player from the 2003 World Championship squad by Hannu Aravirta

In February 2008, Helminen returned to the national team for one game, his farewell match. Finland faced the Czech Republic in the LG Hockey Tournament, which is part of the European Hockey Tour. Although the tournament is held in Sweden, the match was played in Tampere, which is Helminen's hometown. Helminen recorded an assist on a goal scored by Tuomas Pihlman four seconds before the end of the game. Finland won the game 6–1.

In 1998, Helminen and Dieter Hegen (Germany) became the third and fourth ice hockey players to compete at five Olympics, after Udo Kießling (Germany) and Petter Thoresen (Norway). Helminen's appearance at the 2002 Olympics made him the first ice hockey player to compete at six Olympics, with compatriot Teemu Selänne becoming the second in 2014.

Coaching career

Helminen has been assistant coach of Ilves since late parts of the 2009–10 season, when Juha Pajuoja got the job as the head coach. Pajuoja was sacked in late October in 2011 and replaced by Seppo Hiitelä.

He was also assistant coach of the Finnish U20 team in the 2010 and 2011 World Championship, before being promoted to head coach for the 2012 tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

   Regular season   Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1981–82 Ilves FIN U20302831592244260
1982–83IlvesFIN U2013720272031562
1982–83 Ilves SM-l 31235060002
1983–84 IlvesSM-l371713301420002
1984–85 IlvesSM-l3621365720924610
1985–86 New York Rangers NHL 661030401020000
1986–87 New York RangersNHL212462
1986–87 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 60220
1986–87 Minnesota North Stars NHL60110
1987–88 IlvesSM-l3120234342411210
1988–89 New York Islanders NHL24111124
1988–89 Springfield Indians AHL16611170
1989–90 Malmö IF SWE.2 292630561632132
1990–91 Malmö IF SEL 331218301420114
1991–92 Malmö IFSEL409182724101344
1992–93 Malmö IFSEL40933425961018
1993–94 Malmö IFSEL3820345426111788
1994–95 Malmö IFSEL351019295573364
1995–96 Malmö IFSEL408192753513412
1996–97 IlvesSM-l491139505481562
1997–98 IlvesSM-l4612364842935810
1998–99 IlvesSM-l531238504440332
1999–2000 IlvesSM-l517384568310112
2000–01 IlvesSM-l56937462891672
2001–02 IlvesSM-l56734411230000
2002–03 IlvesSM-l5310213177
2003–04 IlvesSM-l56934434671342
2004–05 IlvesSM-l53721284570112
2005–06 IlvesSM-l46718253441120
2006–07 IlvesSM-l435121747700012
2007–08 IlvesSM-l53516215393252
SM-l totals7511614205816269114314570
NHL totals1171346591620000
SEL totals22668141209231417172440

International

YearTeamEvent GPGAPtsPIM
1982 Finland EJC 50332
1983 Finland WJC 70550
1984 FinlandWJC71113244
1984 Finland OLY 60222
1985 Finland WC 104592
1987 Finland CC 50330
1988 FinlandOLY728104
1990 FinlandWC40000
1992 FinlandOLY81230
1994 FinlandOLY81568
1994 FinlandWC81560
1995 FinlandWC81782
1996 FinlandWC60440
1996 Finland WCH 30110
1997 FinlandWC80660
1998 FinlandOLY62022
1998 FinlandWC1029110
1999 FinlandWC101342
2000 FinlandWC92240
2001 FinlandWC91560
2002 FinlandOLY40110
2002 FinlandWC90222
Junior totals191121326
Senior totals13818708824

Coaching history

Head coach

Asst. coach

Awards

Achievements

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilves</span> Ice hockey team in Tampere

Ilves is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Rafalski</span> American ice hockey player (born 1973)

Brian Christopher Rafalski is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings, in the SM-liiga for HPK and HIFK, in the Elitserien for Brynäs IF, and in the ECHL for the Florida Everblades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olli Jokinen</span> Finnish ice hockey player (born 1978)

Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut. He has also played for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues. He began his professional career with KalPa and then HIFK of the Finnish SM-liiga. Additionally, he played for EHC Kloten of Switzerland's National League A and Södertälje SK of Sweden's Elitserien. He previously held the franchise records for most goals, assists, and points for the Florida Panthers.

Petri Kalevi Skriko is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player, best remembered for his seasons starring in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980s. He is currently the Head Coach of the Estonia men's national ice hockey team having previously been a scout for the Florida Panthers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannes Hyvönen</span> Finnish ice hockey player (born 1975)

Hannes Ossian Hyvönen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He played 42 games in the National Hockey League with the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets between 2002 and 2003, though most of his career, which lasted from 1994 to 2009, was spent in European leagues. Internationally Hyvönen played for the Finnish national team at the 2008 and 2009 World Championships, winning a bronze in 2008. Hyvönen now works as a coach for Porin Ässät of the Liiga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ville Peltonen</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Ville Sakari Peltonen is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey forward. Peltonen was drafted by the San Jose Sharks as their third round pick, 58th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. During his professional career, he has played 382 NHL games for Sharks, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers. Internationally, he represented the Finland men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marko Kiprusoff</span> Ice hockey player

Marko Kristian Kiprusoff is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently an assistant junior coach in Finnish hockey club TPS.

Jarmo Pentti Kalevi Myllys is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars as their ninth-round pick, #172 overall, in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the goalkeeping coach for Austrian hockey team EC KAC of the EBEL. His jersey number, #35, was retired in Luleå in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fredrik Norrena</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Fredrik Jan Elis Norrena is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 100 games in the National Hockey League with the Columbus Blue Jackets between 2006 and 2008. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1992 to 2014, was mainly spent in Europe, where he mainly played in the Finnish SM-liiga and Swedish Elitserien. Internationally Norrena played for the Finnish national team at five World Championships, winning one silver and one bronze medal, and the 2006 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jani Hurme</span> Finnish ice hockey player (born 1975)

Jani Petteri Hurme is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 76 games in the National Hockey League with the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers between 2000 and 2003. He also played several seasons in the Finnish SM-liiga during his career, which lasted from 1993 to 2011. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the third round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft with the 58th overall pick. Internationally Hurme played for the Finnish national team at the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2003 World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannu Aravirta</span> Finnish ice hockey player and coach

Hannu Aravirta is a Finnish ice hockey player and an ice hockey coach for the Finnish national men's team, SM-liiga and Elitserien.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikko Luoma</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Mikko Luoma is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman, who played 3 games in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers. He most notably played in the Liiga and Elitserien.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markus Ketterer</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Markus Jari Ketterer is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga and also the Swedish Elitserien as a goaltender. He played for Jokerit, TPS as Färjestads BK, the latter of which won the Swedish national championship during the season of 1996–1997. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janne Ojanen</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Janne Juhani Ojanen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player who is the all-time leading scorer in Finland's SM-liiga with 799 points. He spent the majority of his career playing for SM-liiga team Tappara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vesa Viitakoski</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Vesa Ilmari Viitakoski is a former professional ice hockey player.

Robert Burakovsky is a Swedish professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach for the Malmö team in Sweden's U16 Elit league. Before turning to coaching, Burakovsky played 17 seasons of professional hockey, including 23 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators during the 1993–94 NHL season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erkki Laine</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Erkki Juhani Laine was a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. A two time Olympian, he won a silver medal with the Finnish national team at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. He is the Lahti Pelicans franchise top all-time career point earner and goal scorer.

Dominik Mašín is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with Ilves of the Liiga. He formerly played as a prospect to the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Anttoni Honka is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays with the JYP Jyväskylä in the SM-liiga as a prospect to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Honka was selected by the Hurricanes in the 3rd round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenni Hämeenaho</span> Finnish ice hockey player (born 2004)

Lenni Hämeenaho is a Finnish professional ice hockey right wing who currently plays for Porin Ässät of the Finnish Liiga. He was selected in the 2nd round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, 58th overall by the New Jersey Devils.

References

  1. Klein, Jeff Z. (November 22, 2008). "Hockey Night in Europe: Helminen's No. 41 Raised to the Rafters".
  2. "Eurohockey.com - 404 error page". www.eurohockey.com.
  3. Vesa Laitinen: Raipe: vaatimattomuuden lyhyt oppimäärä, 2004 ISBN   951-96715-7-9 (in Finnish)
  4. fi:SM-liigan jäähyennätys
  5. Parviainen, Vesa (16 February 2021). "Raimo Helmisen tulikuuma TPS on kovassa paikassa: Sitä ei ole kukaan kokenut Suomen jääkiekkohistoriassa". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  6. Podnieks, Andrew (20 May 2012). "IIHF class of 2012 honoured". International Ice Hockey Federation . Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
Preceded by Winner of the Kultainen kypärä trophy
1997–98
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Lasse Oksanen trophy
1997–98
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the President's trophy
2000–01
Succeeded by
Preceded by Captain of Ilves
1999–2008
Succeeded by