Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (born 9 March 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing on loan for TPS of the Liiga as a prospect to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Born (1999-03-09) 9 March 1999
Espoo, Finland
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Buffalo Sabres
TPS (Liiga)
HPK
NHL Draft 54th overall, 2017
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2017–present

Playing career

Luukkonen has formerly played for HPK of the Liiga and for LeKi of Mestis. After playing for HPK's U20 team, he was drafted by the Sabres, 54th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

On 15 June 2018, Luukkonen agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres.[2] Luukkonen was selected third overall by the Sudbury Wolves in the 2018 CHL Import Draft.[3]

In the 2018–19 season, his first in North America playing major junior hockey, Luukkonen set the Sudbury Wolves franchise record for most wins in a regular season[4] and led the OHL in wins, save percentage, and shutouts.[5]

On 12 April 2019, Luukkonen signed an amateur tryout contract with the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.[6] On 14 April 2019, Luukkonen made his professional hockey debut with Rochester, earning a victory in a 4–2 win over the Belleville Senators.[7] Following the conclusion of the 2018–19 season, Luukkonen underwent successful hip surgery.[8]

On 18 August 2020, Luukkonen agreed to return to the Finnish Liiga on loan from the Sabres with TPS for an initial period of 4-6 weeks due to the delayed 2020–21 North American season.[9]

International play
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
2019 Canada
World U18 Championships
2016 USA
2017 Slovakia

Luukkonen played for Finland in the U18 and U20 World Junior Championships. He won a gold medal at the U18 World Juniors in 2016, stepping in as starter when Leevi Laakso got sick[10] and the silver medal in 2017. He won the gold again at the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in a 3–2 victory over Team USA and was named the media's pick for best goaltender of the tournament.[11]

Personal

Luukkonen was born in Espoo, but he and his family moved to Hyvinkää when he was five years old. As a child, Luukkonen played soccer, floorball, and flute.[12] His older brother, Nuutti Luukonen, also played hockey at the junior level.[13]

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%
2015–16 HPK Jr. A 15 — — — — — — 1.98 .924 8 — — — — — 1.94 .920
2016–17 HPK Jr. A 35 — — — — — — 1.78 .917 9 — — — — — 2.01 .915
2017–18 HPK Jr. A 2 — — — — — — 2.50 .924 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 LeKi Mestis 24 — — — — 70 — 2.92 .908 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 HPK Liiga 1 0 1 0 34 2 0 3.55 .750 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Sudbury Wolves OHL 53 38 11 2 3078 128 6 2.50 .920 8 4 3 514 28 0 3.27 .906
2018–19 Rochester Americans AHL 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .941 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 23 12 7 3 1338 50 3 2.24 .912 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Rochester Americans AHL 10 3 4 3 610 32 0 3.15 .874 — — — — — — — —
AHL totals 11 4 4 3 670 34 0 3.04 .882 — — — — — — — —

International
Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2015 Finland U17 5th 1 0 1 0 60 3 0 3.00 .903
2016 Finland WJC18 3 3 0 0 180 6 0 2.00 .917
2016 Finland IH18 6th 2 0 2 0 118 9 0 4.58 .850
2017 Finland WJC18 6 5 1 0 373 18 0 2.90 .899
2018 Finland WJC 6th 5 2 2 1 307 16 0 3.13 .879
2019 Finland WJC 6 4 2 0 367 11 0 1.80 .932
Junior totals 23 14 8 1 1405 63 0 2.69 —

Awards & Achievements

References
  1. "Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen drafted by Sabres". eliteprospects.com. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  2. "Sabres ink Luukkonen to entry-level contract". Buffalo Sabres. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  3. "Ukko Pekka Luukkonen commits to Sudbury Wolves". The Sudbury Star. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  4. "Luukkonen sets franchise record in Wolves defeat of the Generals". Sudbury.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  5. @mikecommito (16 March 2019). "Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen picked up his 37th win last night and now leads OHL in wins, save percentage, and shutouts" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. "Sabres prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen joining Amerks". The Buffalo News. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  7. "Game Recap". www.amerks.com. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  8. "LUUKKONEN UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL HIP SURGERY". www.amerks.com. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  9. "Goalkeeper Luukkonen adds to TPS strength" (in Finnish). HC TPS. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  10. Aykroyd, Lucas (25 April 2016). "Finns golden in Grand Forks". Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  11. Merk, Martin. "Poehling MVP". Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  12. Lempinen, Marko (26 April 2016). "Pikkuleijonien mestarimaalivahdin Ukko-Pekka Luukkosen isä: "Tämä oli uskomaton tarina"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  13. "Nuutti Luukkonen". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  14. "2018-19 OHL All-Star Teams – Ontario Hockey League". Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  15. "Wolves' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen voted Red Tilson Trophy winner as OHL's Most Outstanding Player of the Year – Ontario Hockey League". Retrieved 3 June 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.