Kasper Björkqvist (born 10 July 1997) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

winger who is currently playing for the

Oulun Kärpät Oulun Kärpät (Finnish for "Oulu Ermines", sometimes referred to as Kärpät Oulu) is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Oulu and playing in the top-tier Finnish Liiga. Kärpät have won the Finnish championship title eight times ...

in the

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. He was selected by the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

in the second round, 61st overall, of the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

Playing career

Björkqvist played as a youth with hometown club, the

Espoo Blues The Espoo Blues were an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga. They played in Espoo, Finland, at the Espoo Metro Areena. The club went bankrupt at the end of the 2015–16 Liiga season. History The club was established in February 1984 as Kiekko-Espoo ...

, and after collecting MVP honors as a prolific scorer in the

Nuorten SM-liiga The U20 SM-sarja ('Under-20 Finnish Championship Series') is the premier junior men’s ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja ('Junior A Finnish Championship Series') during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten ...

he was selected in the second-round, 61st overall, of the

by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Moving to North America, Björkqvist continued his development by committing to a collegiate career with

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

of the

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

. He was signed to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins following his junior season with the Friars on 15 May 2019. In his first professional season in 2019–20, Björkqvist was assigned by Pittsburgh to AHL affiliate, the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

, appearing in just 6 games before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury. In the pandemic delayed season, Björkqvist opted to remain in Finland to continue his development in joining

club,

KooKoo ''KooKoo'' is the debut solo album by American singer Debbie Harry, released on July 27, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, the album was recorded whilst Harry took a break from her band Blondie. It ...

, on loan from the Penguins on 24 August 2020. He enjoyed a productive stint in the Liiga, leading all rookies in league scoring with 26 points through 44 regular season games to earn rookie of the year honors. He returned to the AHL following KooKoo playoff defeat, posting 1 goal through 5 regular season games. As a restricted free agent with the Penguins, Björkqvist was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract on 25 July 2021. In the following season, having started the campaign in the AHL, Björkqvist was recalled by Pittsburgh and made his NHL debut, scoring his first NHL goal, in a 8-5 victory over the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

on 2 January 2022. As an impending restricted free agent with the Penguins, Björkqvist opted to return to his homeland, agreeing to a two-year contract with Kärpät of the Liiga on 28 June 2022.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1997 births Living people Finnish ice hockey forwards KooKoo players Ice hockey people from Espoo Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Providence Friars men's ice hockey players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players {{Finland-icehockey-winger-stub