Juho Olkinuora
Olkinuora with SaiPa in 2016
Born (1990-11-04) 4 November 1990
Helsinki, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NL team
Former teams		 Genève-Servette HC
SaiPa
JYP Jyväskylä
Lahti Pelicans
Admiral Vladivostok
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Brynäs IF
National team  Finland
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2010–present

Juho "Jussi" Olkinuora[1] (born 4 November 1990) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for Genève-Servette HC of the National League (NL).

Playing career

Undrafted, Olkinuora played junior hockey in North America before attending the University of Denver to play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. He was signed after his sophomore season with the Pioneers by the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 8 April 2013.

After a career season in his lone year with the Lahti Pelicans of the Liiga in the 2018–19 season, Olkinuora left Finland to sign a one-year contract with Russian club, Admiral Vladivostok of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), on 15 May 2019.[2] In the following 2019–20 season, Olkinuora was leaned on as Admirals starting goaltender, posting a .929 save percentage in 31 games.

On 17 June 2020, with Admiral Vladivostok going on a season hiatus, Olkinuora was signed as a free agent on a two-year contract with fellow KHL club, Metallurg Magnitogorsk.[3]

In March 2022, Olkinuora left Metallurg Magnitogorsk during playoffs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4][5][6]

As a free agent, Olkinuora was signed to a one-year contract with Swiss club, EHC Biel of the National League (NL), on 9 May 2022.[7] On 15 June, Olkinuora left Biel after using his NHL-out clause at the deadline, agreeing to a one-year, two-way league minimum contract with the Detroit Red Wings for the 2022–23 season.[8]

Olkinuora was re-assigned by the Red Wings following training camp to AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. In sharing starting duties with the Griffins, Olkinuora collected 6 wins through 15 appearances, before he was placed on unconditional waivers by the Red Wings in order to mutually terminate the remainder of his contract on 31 January 2023.[9] On 3 February 2023, Olkinuora returned to Europe and signed his first contract in Sweden, joining cellar-dwelling Brynäs IF of the SHL for the remainder of the season.[10]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2022 Beijing
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2019 Slovakia
Gold medal – first place2022 Finland
Silver medal – second place2021 Latvia

Olkinuora represented Finland at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, appearing in relief in 1 game as Finland captured the gold medal at the tournament.[11]

At the 2022 World Championships, Olkinuora, as the starting goaltender backstopped Finland to the Gold Medal over Team Canada. He was selected as the tournament's best goalkeeper with eight wins in 8 games on 29 May 2022.[12]

Career statistics

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2021 Finland WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 5 1 0 431 10 1 1.39 .942
2022 Finland WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 8 0 0 486 9 4 1.11 .948
Senior totals 15 13 1 0 917 19 5 1.25 .945

Awards and honours

Award Year
International
World Championship All-Star Team 2021, 2022
World Championship Best Goaltender 2022 [12]
World Championship Most Valuable Player 2022

References

  1. ↑ Chambers, Mike (7 February 2013). "DU goaltender Juho Olkinuora one very popular Pioneer". The Denver Post. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Welcome aboard Juho Olkinuora" (in Russian). Admiral Vladivostok. 15 May 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "Juho Olkinuora signed by Metallurg" (in Russian). Metallurg Magnitogorsk. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "Venäläismedia: Suomalaiset KHL-pelaajat lähtevät joukolla Venäjältä". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  5. ↑ Schram, Carol. "NHL Suspends Dealings With KHL As Russia's Ukraine Invasion Impacts Hockey World". Forbes.
  6. ↑ "Snapshots: KHL Departures, AHL Signings, NHL Trade Market". Pro Hockey Rumors.
  7. ↑ "EHC Biel sign Finnish National Goaltender Juho Olkinuora" (in German). EHC Biel. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "Juho Olkinoura wechselt in die NHL" [Juho Olkinuora moves to the NHL] (in German). EHC Biel. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "Detroit Red Wings place Juho Olkinuora on unconditional waivers for contract termination". The Sports Network. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Olympic and WC gold medalist ready for Brynäs IF" (in Swedish). Brynäs IF. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "Miesten MM-kisat käyntiin perjantaina - Suomen MM-joukkue valittu". leijonat.fi. 5 May 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Olkinuora MVP, All-Stars named". www.iihf.com. 29 May 2022.
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