Matias Sointu (born February 10, 1990) 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 h ...
forward. He is currently playing with
Cracovia Krakow in the
Polska Hokej Liga
The Polska Hokej Liga is the premier ice hockey league in Poland. Previously, it was known as the I Liga or Ekstraklasa from 1926 to 1999, and the Polska Liga Hokejowa from 1999 to 2013. In 2013, it was reorganized as a limited liability company ...
. Sointu was selected by the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
in the 7th round (182nd overall) of the
2008 NHL Entry Draft
The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...
.
Sointu made his
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 lea ...
debut playing with
Ilves
Ilves (; Finnish for "Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena.
The colors of Ilves, green, yellow, and black, were taken from what was then the coat of arms of the cit ...
during the
2010–11 SM-liiga season
The 2010–11 SM-liiga season was the 36th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975. The title was won by HIFK who defeated Espoo Blues in the finals. The title was 7th in team history.
...
.
In the
2018–19 season, just his second year outside of Finland, Sointu played in the
HockeyAllsvenskan
HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system (after the SHL). Since the 2009–10 season, the league consists of fourteen team ...
with
IK Oskarshamn
IK Oskarshamn is an ice hockey club from Oskarshamn in Sweden. The team plays in the top-tier league, SHL, after succeeding through the 2019 SHL qualifiers and thus earning promotion to the SHL. The 2019–20 season will be the team's first s ...
. He posted 9 points in 29 games before elevating his play with 7 points in 11 games in the post-season to help Oskarshamn gain promotion to the top tier SHL. He left the club at the conclusion of his contract as a free agent.
In August 2019, Sointu signed a short-term deal with UK
EIHL side
Cardiff Devils as injury cover for
Joey Martin. After playing nine league games, he was released in November.
He later spent time with Austrian side
Dornbirner EC
Dornbirn Bulldogs is a professional ice hockey team in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, Austria, who formerly played in the Austrian Hockey League (IceHL), the first level of ice hockey in Austria, since 2012. until 2022. The club was founded in 1992 and ...
, before returning to Finland to join
Kiekko-Vantaa
Kiekko-Vantaa is an ice hockey team from Vantaa, Finland, playing in the Mestis league. It plays its home games in Trio Areena. Kiekko-Vantaa has been in Mestis since the league started in 2000 and have been in the finals twice, losing both times ...
.
Sointu then returned to Austria in December 2020 to sign for Austrian
IceHL side
Graz 99ers
The Moser Medical Graz 99ers are an Austrian professional ice hockey team from Graz, Styria. The club was founded in 1999 after the previous club, EHC Graz, folded prior to the 1998–99 season due to financial difficulties. The Graz99ers started ...
.
On February 25, 2021, Sointu joined
HC La Chaux-de-Fonds of the
Swiss League
The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, t ...
as a replacement for injured Tim Coffman for the remainder of the season.
In October 2021, Sointu returned to the UK
EIHL to sign for the
Sheffield Steelers
The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...
, joining as the roster replacement for
Travis Oleksuk
Travis Oleksuk (born February 3, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with Starbulls Rosenheim in the German Oberliga. Oleksuk most recently iced with EC VSV in the Austrian IceHL. Prior to that, Oleksuk ...
.
In August 2022, Sointu joined fellow Sheffield players
Vojtěch Polák and Rok Stojanovic in moving to Polish club
Cracovia Krakow.
References
External links
*
1990 births
Living people
Bolzano HC players
Ilves players
IK Oskarshamn players
Lempäälän Kisa players
Ottawa 67's players
Sudbury Wolves players
HC TPS players
Cardiff Devils players
Dornbirn Bulldogs players
Kiekko-Vantaa players
Graz 99ers players
HC La Chaux-de-Fonds players
Sheffield Steelers players
Cracovia (ice hockey) players
Finnish ice hockey forwards
Ice hockey people from Tampere
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Austria
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Italy
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Wales
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in England
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Poland
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Hungary
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