Jesse Niinimäki (born August 19, 1983) is a Finnish professional ice hockey

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who is currently a free agent. He was last under contract with the

Nikko Icebucks Nikko may refer to: Places * Nikkō, Tochigi, a Japanese city and tourist destination * Nikko Botanical Garden, operated by the University of Tokyo * Nikkō National Park, in Kantō, Japan Organizations, products, and services * ''Nikkō'' ...

of the

Asia League Ice Hockey Asia League Ice Hockey ( ja, アジアリーグアイスホッケー; ko, 아시아리그 아이스하키) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and ...

having signed for the team on July 20, 2017, but ultimately never played for the team. Niinimäki was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round (15th overall) of the

2002 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...

Playing career

Niinimäki spent the 2004–05 season with the Edmonton Road Runners in the American Hockey League and Ilves, and signed with Jokerit for the 2005–06 season. After a disappointing fall season, Niinimäki was released from his contract with Jokerit in January 2006, and hired by JYP for the rest of the season. After the 2005–06 season, Niinimäki moved to Sweden and played for

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

side Luleå HF in 37 games. Niinimäki also played for the German DEL team Krefeld Pinguine. The tenure in Germany lasted for 9 games plus 2 games in the playoffs. After completion of the 2006–07 season Niinimäki returned to Luleå but was released during September 2007. Niinimäki was acquired by

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Nationalliga A team HC Davos, but in January 2008 he returned to HPK.

Personal life

He is the son of former Finnish international footballer,

Jari Niinimäki Jari Olavi Niinimäki (1 December 1957 – 10 June 2023) was a Finnish footballer who played as a forward. He made three appearances for Finland national team. Club career Niinimäki played most of his career at his hometown club FC Ilves. Th ...

.JARI NIINIMÄKI - HAN SPETSADE AIK:s ANFALL I HÖSTSPURTEN 1986
at AIK official website, retrieved 12-12-2016

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niinimaki, Jesse 1983 births Living people Amur Khabarovsk players Brynäs IF players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Road Runners players Finnish ice hockey centres HC Davos players HDD Olimpija Ljubljana players HPK players Ice hockey people from Tampere Ilves players Jokerit players JYP Jyväskylä players Krefeld Pinguine players Lahti Pelicans players Lempäälän Kisa players Luleå HF players NHL first-round draft picks SHC Fassa players Vaasan Sport players Yunost Minsk players