Miika Wiikman (born October 17, 1984) is a Swedish-born

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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

. He is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

having last played for Anglet Hormadi Élite of the

Ligue Magnus The Ligue Magnus, currently known as Synerglace Ligue Magnus for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's division of the French ice hockey pyramid, established in 1906. The league operated under a variety of names before taking that of its champio ...

Playing career

Wiikman started his junior career in Sweden with

HV71 HV71 (), often referred to as just HV, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Jönköping, playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The team played in the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League ...

before moving to

HPK Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK) is a professional ice hockey team in the Liiga, the top men's ice hockey league in Finland. Their home ice is the Ritari-areena in Hämeenlinna. HPK was established in 1929. The parent club of the team is HPK Edu ...

in Finland, with whom he won the

SM-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 ...

championship in 2006 and was a recipient of the Jari Kurri trophy as the Playoff MVP. He signed an AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack on June 4, 2007. Miika started the 2007–08 season splitting playing time with

Al Montoya Álvaro Montoya (born February 13, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played for parts of nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Flori ...

. After the latter's trade to the Phoenix Coyotes organization, Wiikman became Hartford's primary goaltender, finishing the season with a 21-8-3 record, during which he was awarded Player of the Week on January 27, 2008. On April 24, 2008, he signed an

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

entry-level contract with the Rangers. He opened the 2009–10 season again with Hartford before he was reassigned to the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. On March 3, 2010, Wiikman was traded by the Rangers to the Phoenix Coyotes for Anders Eriksson. He was then assigned to AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

for the remainder of the season. On April 26, 2010, Wiikman returned to the Finland's SM-liiga, signing a one-year contract with Lukko for the 2010-11 season. On the June 21, 2015, Wiikman continued his journeyman career in moving to England, to play for the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite ice hockey league. Wiikman departed Nottingham in April 2017, following two years with the team. In September 2017, Wiikman signed with

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

new-boys

Milton Keynes Lightning The Milton Keynes Lightning are an ice hockey team founded in 2002 in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The Lightning currently play in Britain's second-tier professional league, the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL), since the 2019–20 season. ...

as short-term injury cover following an injury to their number one netminder in pre-season. In August 2018, Wiikman signed for fellow EIHL side

Coventry Blaze Coventry Blaze are an ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the ''Solihull Barons'' and ren ...

after it was confirmed that incumbent netminder Kevin Nastiuk was not returning to the club. Wiikman, a dual citizen, has played on the Finnish national team and the Swedish national junior team.

Career statistics

Awards

*2002-03

J20 SuperElit J20 Nationell is a junior ice hockey league composed of 20 teams in Sweden. Previously known as the J20 SuperElit, it is the highest-level junior ice hockey league in Sweden. The teams are divided in two groups, or divisions, ''Norra'' (North) ...

SM-silver Medal *2003-04 Finland2 (

Mestis Mestis (from fi, Mestaruussarja, meaning 'Championship series') is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division' ...

) Rookie of the Year *2005-06 Jari Kurri trophy - awarded to the best player in the

playoffs. *2005-06

Champion

References

External links

* 1984 births Living people Anglet Hormadi Élite players HC '05 Banská Bystrica players Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010) players Coventry Blaze players Finnish ice hockey goaltenders Hartford Wolf Pack players HDD Olimpija Ljubljana players HPK players Ilves players Jokerit players Kiekko-Vantaa players Kokkolan Hermes players Lukko players Milton Keynes Lightning players Nottingham Panthers players Oulun Kärpät players People from Mariestad Municipality SaiPa players San Antonio Rampage players Swedish ice hockey goaltenders TuTo players Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County {{Finland-icehockey-goaltender-stub