Toni Rajala

Last updated
Toni Rajala
Rajala Toni Ilves 2011 1.jpg
Rajala in 2011
Born (1991-03-29) March 29, 1991 (age 32)
Parkano, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 168 lb (76 kg; 12 st 0 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
NL team
Former teams		 EHC Biel
Ilves
Oklahoma City Barons
HV71
HC Ugra
Färjestad BK
Luleå HF
National teamFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
NHL Draft 101st overall, 2009
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2008–present

Toni Rajala (born March 29, 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for EHC Biel of the National League (NL). He was drafted 101st overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Contents

Playing career

Rajala began playing junior hockey with the Ilves Tampere system in 2005–06. By 2007–08, he had worked his way up to the Junior A level of the SM-Liiga, tallying 35 points in 33 games. Rajala turned pro with Ilves Tampere in 2008–09, tallying 5 points in 21 games during his professional rookie season in the SM-Liiga.

Rajala was selected in the first round of the 2009 CHL Import Draft (14th overall) by the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL). [1] He joined the Wheat Kings for the 2009–10 WHL season.

On July 16, 2009, Rajala signed a two-way contract with the Edmonton Oilers. [2]

With the impending 2012–13 NHL lockout, The Oilers directly assigned him to the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League on September 15, 2012. [3]

On August 25, 2013, with the prospects of another season in the American minor leagues, Rajala opted to be mutually released from his contract with the Oilers and later returned to Europe to sign a one-year contract with Swedish Hockey League club, HV71 on October 15, 2013. [4]

International play

Medal record
Representing Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Beijing
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Slovakia
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Finland
IIHF World U18 Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2009 United States

Rajala debuted internationally for Finland at the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships, recording 5 points in 6 games as Finland placed sixth. The following year, he was named to Finland's under-20 team for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and managed 3 points in 6 games; Finland finished in seventh place.

Later that year, in April 2009, Rajala competed for Finland at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships in the United States. [5] He led the tournament in scoring with ten goals and nine assists and broke the previous point record held by Alexander Ovechkin. Rajala was selected as the best forward in the tournament, [6] and was named to the tournament All-Star Team, [7] helping Finland to a bronze medal. Rajala also represented Finland at the 2010 World Junior Championships, which were held in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2006–07 Ilves FIN U183018264432—————
2006–07Ilves Jr. A 10000—————
2007–08IlvesFIN U181310152518—————
2007–08IlvesJr. A331322351051348
2008–09IlvesJr. A3114173118—————
2008–09 Ilves SM-l 21235030002
2009–10 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 6026376324154378
2010–11 IlvesSM-l4491322464040
2010–11 LeKi Mestis 10000—————
2011–12 IlvesSM-l5116132924—————
2012–13 Stockton Thunder ECHL 2918203810—————
2012–13 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 461728451617412168
2013–14 HV71 SHL 371317301271454
2014–15 HC Yugra KHL 2139126—————
2014–15 Färjestad BK SHL311413271230220
2015–16 Luleå HF SHL521715328110226
2016–17 EHC Biel NLA 36168241452352
2017–18 EHC BielNL4416193581295140
2018–19 EHC BielNL5027214836125162
2019–20 EHC BielNL5023234610—————
2020–21 EHC BielNL461220322220000
2021–22 EHC BielNL512226481072354
Liiga totals1162729562894042
NL totals277116117233100381812308

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2008 Finland U17 6th565116
2008 Finland WJC18 6th63252
2009 Finland WJC 7th62134
2009 FinlandWJC18Bronze medal icon.svg6109196
2010 FinlandWJC5th61230
2011 FinlandWJC6th60442
2019 Finland WC Gold medal icon.svg101452
2022 Finland OG Gold medal icon.svg10000
2022 FinlandWCGold medal icon.svg104260
Junior totals3522234520
Senior totals2156112

Awards and honours

AwardYear
CHL
George Parsons Trophy 2010 [8]
IIHF
U18 Best Forward 2009
U18 All-Star Team2009 [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "Brandon Wheat Kings CHL Import Draft". Brandon Wheat Kings . Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  2. ↑ "Oilers ink trio: Dubnyk, Arsene, and 2009 draft pick Rajala sign deals with club". Edmonton Oilers . 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  3. ↑ "Barons get 26 from Oilers". American Hockey League . 2012-09-15. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  4. ↑ "Toni Rajala ready for HV71". HV71 (in Swedish). 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  5. ↑ Rajala starred at World Under-18 tourney
  6. ↑ "Best Players Selected By The Directorate" (PDF). IIHF . Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  7. ↑ "Media All-Stars" (PDF). IIHF . Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  8. ↑ IIHF (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. p. 326. ISBN   978-0-9867964-0-1.
  9. ↑ "IIHF All-Star Team U18". eliteprospects.com. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
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