Ville Husso

Ville Husso
Husso with HIFK in 2015
Born	(1995-02-06) 6 February 1995 (age 29) Helsinki, Finland
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams	Detroit Red Wings Grand Rapids Griffins  (AHL) HIFK St. Louis Blues
National team	Finland
NHL draft	94th overall, 2014 St. Louis Blues
Playing career	2013–present

Ville Husso (born 6 February 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the St. Louis Blues.

Playing career

Husso started his career in the youth setup at HIFK in his hometown of Helsinki. He made his debut with the club's men's team during the 2013–14 Liiga season. He reached the Liiga finals with HIFK in the 2015–16 season, where they fell short to Tappara. Husso excelled with a SVS% of .927 and a GAA of 1.91 that season, while receiving the Urpo Ylönen Award as the Goaltender of the Year. ^[1] He also competed in the Champions Hockey League with HIFK. ^[2]

St. Louis Blues

On 10 May 2016, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). ^[3] After attending the Blues 2016 training camp, he was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, on 29 September 2016.

Husso made his North American debut with the Wolves against the Grand Rapids Griffins on 15 October 2016 to begin the 2016–17 season. It was the first of two games he started in with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL). Through the two AHL games, he posted a save percentage of .914 and a goals against of 2.53. He was reassigned to the Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL on 26 October 2016. ^{[4] [5]} Husso thrived in net for the Mavericks, where he was fifth on the St. Louis Blues’ organizational goalie depth chart. ^[6] On 23 December 2016, Husso earned his first pro shutout with 33 saves in a 4–0 victory over the Wichita Thunder. Husso returned to the Chicago Wolves in late December 2016, where he had continued success, posting a save percentage of .925 and goals against of 2.21 through five games played for the Wolves. ^{[7] [8]}

On 20 July 2019, the Blues re-signed Husso to a one-year, two-way contract extension. ^[9]

In the pandemic shortened 2020–21 season, on 31 January 2021, Husso recorded his first win in the NHL, in a 4–1 game over the Anaheim Ducks. ^[10] On 12 May 2021, Husso recorded his first NHL shutout in a 4–0 win over the Minnesota Wild. ^[11] The 2021–22 season was a breakout for Husso, who began it as the backup goaltender to Jordan Binnington, but then saw his role expand as Binnington struggled. ^[12] By the end of the regular season he had taken over the starting position, which in turn raised questions about the future of the team's goaltending, as Binnington was signed to a lengthy and expensive contract while Husso was to become a free agent. He finished the regular season with a 25–7–6 record and a .919 save percentage. ^[13] The Blues qualified for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, entering the first round as underdogs against the Minnesota Wild, with Husso starting in net. ^[14] However, Husso did not perform well in the early games, and with the Blues down 2–1 in the series Binnington reclaimed the net and led the team on a three-game winning streak to clinch the series. ^{[15] [16]} Husso served as backup until Binnington was injured during the second round series against the Colorado Avalanche, at which point he reclaimed the net. ^[17] The Blues were defeated by the Avalanche in six games, while Husso recorded a .890 save percentage in the postseason. ^[18]

Detroit Red Wings

On 8 July 2022, Husso was traded at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a third-round draft pick. ^[19] He was immediately signed by the Red Wings to a three-year, $14.25 million contract. ^[20] He made 29 saves in his regular season debut with Detroit on October 14, 2022, earning a shutout in a 3–0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

International play

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Finland
World Junior Championships
	2014 Malmö

Husso was a member gold-winning of Team Finland at the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, serving as a back-up goalie to Juuse Saros. He made two appearances in the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	OT	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2011–12	HIFK	Jr. A		27	15	11	0	1618	65	3	2.41	.913		10	9	1	604	18	0	1.79	.933
2012–13	HIFK	Jr. A		41	24	17	0	2459	108	7	2.63	.909		5	2	3	322	12	0	2.23	.926
2013–14	HIFK	Liiga		41	19	14	5	2355	78	2	1.99	.923		2	0	2	144	3	0	1.25	.935
2013–14	HCK	Mestis		6	—	—	—	364	13	0	2.14	.937		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	HIFK	Liiga		41	16	11	10	2338	92	3	2.36	.915		3	1	2	159	6	0	2.27	.897
2015–16	HIFK	Liiga		39	25	8	6	2328	74	5	1.91	.927		15	9	6	889	23	4	1.55	.935
2016–17	Chicago Wolves	AHL		22	13	6	2	1267	50	1	2.37	.920		10	4	6	535	30	0	3.36	.898
2016–17	Missouri Mavericks	ECHL		13	4	4	3	688	37	1	3.23	.910		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	San Antonio Rampage	AHL		38	15	14	5	2130	86	4	2.42	.922		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	San Antonio Rampage	AHL		27	6	17	1	1421	87	1	3.67	.871		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	San Antonio Rampage	AHL		42	16	17	8	2438	104	4	2.56	.909		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	St. Louis Blues	NHL		17	9	6	1	918	49	1	3.21	.893		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	St. Louis Blues	NHL		40	25	7	6	2342	100	2	2.56	.919		7	2	5	410	25	1	3.67	.890
2022–23	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		56	26	22	7	3220	167	4	3.11	.896		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		19	9	5	2	1012	60	0	3.55	.892		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		1	1	0	0	60	0	1	0.00	1.000		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Liiga totals				121	60	33	21	7,021	244	10	2.09	.922		20	10	10	1192	32	4	1.61	.930
NHL totals				132	69	40	16	7,491	376	7	3.01	.902		7	2	5	410	25	1	3.67	.890

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2014	Finland	WJC			2	0	1	0	90	7	0	4.68	.854
2015	Finland	WJC	7th		3	1	2	0	183	7	1	2.29	.923
Junior totals					5	1	3	0	273	14	1	3.08	.899

Awards and honours

Award	Year
Liiga
All-Star Team	2016
Urpo Ylönen Award	2016	[1]
AHL
All-Rookie Team	2018	[21]

References

1. McGregor, Rob (10 May 2016). "Blues Agree Terms With Goaltender Ville Husso". Todays SlapShot. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
2. "Statistics | Champions Hockey League". www.championshockeyleague.net. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
3. "St. Louis Blues sign Goaltender Ville Husso". Twitter . 10 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
4. "Blue Ville Husso sent to Missouri Mavericks of ECHL". bleedinblue.com. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
5. "Husso re-assigned to Missouri". Chicago Wolves. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
6. "Blues' goalie Husso beginning to thrive in ECHL". archauthority.com. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
7. "Mavericks cruise past Thunder for shutout victory in Wichita". The Kansas City Star. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
8. "Wolves push winning streak to 6". Daily Herald. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
9. "Husso agrees to one-year, two-way deal". St. Louis Blues. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
10. "Ville Husso wins his first NHL game". Twitter . 31 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
11. @jprutherford (12 May 2021). "Huge applause @Enterprise_Cntr as Husso is named the No. 1 star. His first-career shutout comes in his 15th career start. #stlblues" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. Rutherford, Jeremy (11 February 2022). "With Jordan Binnington still struggling, it's time for the Blues to turn to Ville Husso". The Athletic . Retrieved 13 May 2022.
13. Richardson, Lyle (12 April 2022). "What will the St. Louis Blues do with Ville Husso?". The Hockey News . Retrieved 13 May 2022.
14. Luszczyszyn, Dom; Goldman, Shayna (30 April 2022). "2022 playoff preview: Blues vs. Wild". The Athletic . Retrieved 13 May 2022.
15. "Blues advance to second round for first time since 2019, defeat Wild in 6 games". The Athletic . 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
16. Rutherford, Jeremy (13 May 2022). "Ten reasons the Blues beat the Wild, starting with vintage Jordan Binnington". The Athletic . Retrieved 13 May 2022.
17. "Blues' Binnington knocked out of Avalanche series with lower-body injury". CBC Sports . 22 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
18. Gentille, Sean (28 May 2022). "NHL playoffs results daily: Darren Helm calls game over, Avs solve second round". The Athletic . Retrieved 28 May 2022.
19. "Red Wings acquire goalie Ville Husso from Blues". Detroit Red Wings. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
20. "Husso signs three-year contract with Red Wings after trade from Blues". NHL.com. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
21. "2017-18 AHL ALL-ROOKIE TEAM NAMED". theahl.com. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.

External links

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