Urho Vaakanainen

Urho Vaakanainen
Vaakanainen with the Boston Bruins in 2017
Born	(1999-01-01) 1 January 1999 (age 25) Joensuu, Finland
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Anaheim Ducks Espoo Blues JYP Jyväskylä SaiPa Boston Bruins
NHL draft	18th overall, 2017 Boston Bruins
Playing career	2015–present

Urho Vaakanainen (born 1 January 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 18th overall by the Bruins in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Vaakanainen played as a youth in his native Finland with the Espoo Blues. He made his professional debut with the Espoo Blues in the Liiga during the 2015–16 season, contributing with 6 points in 25 games. On 28 April 2016, Vaakanainen signed a one-year deal with hometown club, JYP Jyväskylä. ^[1]

Vaakanainen earned a regular role within the JYP Jyväskylä blueline in the 2016–17 season, appearing in a career high 41 games, in matching his offensive output with 6 points. He registered 3 assists in 14 post-season games before losing in 7 games in the semi-finals to KalPa. ^[2] On 5 May 2017, Vaakanainen left JYP Jyväskylä after just one season and signed a one-year contract with his third Liiga club, SaiPa. ^[3] Vaakanainen's progress was recognised as he was drafted in the first-round, 18th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. ^[4]

On 13 June 2018, Vaakanainen signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Bruins. ^[5] On 20 October, Vaakanainen was called up for the first time from the AHL's Providence Bruins farm team ^[6] and he made his NHL debut that night in a 2–1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. ^[7]

On 19 March 2022, Vaakanainen was involved in a trade by the Bruins that sent him along with John Moore and multiple draft selections to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Hampus Lindholm and Kodie Curran. ^[8] He played the season out on the Ducks blueline, registering 2 assists through 14 games.

On 23 July 2022, Vaakanainen as a restricted free agent was re-signed by the Ducks to a two-year, $1.7 million contract extension. ^[9] During pre-season for the 2022–23 season, Vaakanainen was hospitalised after he crashed into the end boards against the San Jose Sharks on September 30, 2022. ^[10] Missing the first 22 games of the season, Vaakanainen returned to the Ducks after a one-game conditioning stint with AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. He made just 23 appearances with the Ducks, posting 2 assists, before suffering a season ending injury on January 28, 2023. He was later announced to have had surgery on a torn labrum in his hip on March 4, 2023, with an expected recovery time of 6 months. ^[11]

International play

Medal record
Representing   Finland
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	2019 Canada
IIHF U18 Championships
	2016 United States
	2017 Slovakia

Vaakanainen represented the Finnish under-18 national team in the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships with whom he won gold medals and then finished in second place in 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships. He then played for the Finnish under-20 national team in 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where they finished ninth and sixth respectively. Vaakanainen would finally win gold in the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, his third time in the tournament as Team Finland was victorious against Team USA in the gold medal round. ^[12]

Personal life

Vaakanainen was born in Joensuu. His father Harri Vaakanainen played ice hockey in the Finnish 2. Divisioona, which is the fourth highest level in Finland. ^[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	Espoo Blues	Jr. A		30	4	8	12	34		9	2	0	2	0
2015–16	Espoo Blues	Jr. A		18	2	11	13	8		2	0	0	0	2
2015–16	Espoo Blues	Liiga		25	1	5	6	8		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	JYP Jyväskylä	Jr. A		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	JYP Jyväskylä	Liiga		41	2	4	6	12		14	0	3	3	2
2016–17	JYP-Akatemia	Mestis		3	0	1	1	29		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	SaiPa	Liiga		43	4	7	11	24		9	0	1	1	0
2018–19	Providence Bruins	AHL		30	4	10	14	10		4	0	0	0	2
2018–19	Boston Bruins	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Providence Bruins	AHL		54	5	9	14	18		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Boston Bruins	NHL		5	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	SaiPa	Liiga		2	1	0	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Boston Bruins	NHL		9	0	2	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Providence Bruins	AHL		11	1	2	3	6		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Providence Bruins	AHL		23	1	7	8	20		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Boston Bruins	NHL		15	0	4	4	4		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		14	0	2	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	San Diego Gulls	AHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		23	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		68	1	13	14	26		—	—	—	—	—
Liiga totals				111	8	16	24	46		23	0	4	4	2
NHL totals				136	1	23	24	38		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2014	Finland	U17	4th		6	0	1	1	2
2015	Finland	U17	5th		5	0	0	0	6
2016	Finland	U18			7	1	2	3	6
2016	Finland	IH18	6th		4	0	1	1	2
2017	Finland	U18			5	3	3	6	2
2017	Finland	WJC	9th		6	1	0	1	4
2018	Finland	WJC	6th		5	0	1	1	2
2019	Finland	WJC			7	0	4	4	6
Junior totals					45	5	12	17	30

References

1. "JYP recruit hometown prospect Vaakanainen" (in Finnish). JYP Jyväskylä. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
2. "Tilastot – #13 Vaakanainen, Urho". Liiga. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
3. "Urho Vaakanainen to SaiPa" (in Finnish). SaiPa. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
4. "Bruins select Urho Vaakanainen with 18th overall pick". NESN. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
5. "Bruins Sign Urho Vaakanainen To 3-Year Entry-Level Contract". NHL.com. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
6. "Bruins Recall Urho Vaakanainen on an Emergency Basis". nhl.com/bruins. Boston Bruins. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018. Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, October 20, that the team has recalled Urho Vaakanainen from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on an emergency basis.
7. Russo, Eric (21 November 2018). "Vaakanainen Debuts in Bruins OT Loss to Vancouver". NHL.com. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
8. "Report: Bruins land top-four defenseman in trade with Ducks". nbcsports.com. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
9. "Ducks sign Vaakanainen to two-year contract extension". Anaheim Ducks. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
10. "Vaakanainen released from hospital". National Hockey League. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
11. "Vaakanainen of Ducks out for season after hip surgery". National Hockey League. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
12. Boston Bruins [@NHLBruins] (5 January 2019). "Congrats to #NHLBruins prospect @UVaakanainen on capturing the gold medal with Finland at the 2019 #WorldJuniors!" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 January 2019– via Twitter.
13. "Harri Vaakanainen player profile". eliteprospects.com. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.

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 Trent Frederic	Boston Bruins first round draft pick 2017	Succeeded by John Beecher