Mikko Matti Mäkelä (born February 28, 1965) is a Finnish former 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 ...

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

. Known as the "Flying Finn", he was drafted in the fourth round, 65th overall, by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

in the

1983 NHL Entry Draft The 1983 NHL Entry Draft was the 21st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 8, 1983. The NHL Entry Draft is the primary means by which players arrive in the National Hockey League. The St. Louis Blues did ...

. Mäkelä made his

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 ...

debut with the Islanders in the 1985–86 season. In four-plus seasons with the Islanders, Mäkelä scored 95 goals, including 37 in the 1987–88 season. The Islanders traded Mäkelä to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

during the 1989–90 season in exchange for

Hubie McDonough Hubert Boniface McDonough (born July 8, 1963) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He played in the National Hockey League between 1988 and 1993 with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, and San Jose Sharks. Playing career ...

and

Ken Baumgartner Kenneth James Baumgartner (born March 11, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League for twelve seasons. Biography Baumgartner played junior hockey for the Prince Albert Raiders of the ...

. After finishing the 1989–90 season with Los Angeles, Mäkelä was traded again before the 1990–91 season. This time, he went to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in exchange for

Mike Donnelly Michael Chene Donnelly (born October 10, 1963) is an American former ice hockey left wing. He played in the National Hockey League between 1986 and 1996 with the New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars The Dallas Sta ...

. After one season in Buffalo, Mäkelä returned to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, spending two-plus seasons playing in his native Finland and one in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Mäkelä returned to the NHL following the

1994–95 NHL lockout The 1994–95 NHL lockout was a lockout that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was a subject of dispute as the players sought collective bargaining and ...

, appearing in 11 games with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

during the shortened 1994–95 season. Mäkelä returned to Europe for the remainder of his career, playing two seasons in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

before returning to Sweden and Finland for his final two seasons. Mäkelä appeared in 423 NHL games in his career, scoring 118 goals and adding 147 assists. He also appeared in 18

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

playoff games, scoring three goals and recording eight assists. Since retiring from professional hockey, Mäkelä has moved to

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to ...

, where he and his family currently reside. Mäkelä served as the head coach for the

Lethbridge Hurricanes The Lethbridge Hurricanes are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team currently members of the Eastern Conference (Central Division) of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team is based in Lethbridge, Alberta, and play their home games at the E ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

. With the hiring, Mäkelä was the first European born and bred head coach in the history of the

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey L ...

.Makela learns as he sets precedent
/ref> Mäkelä would be relieved of his duties on January 13, 2004 and replaced by former

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

head coach Lindsay Hofford. He currently works at the Warner Hockey School, a private girls' school located in

Warner, Alberta Warner is a village in Alberta, Canada. It is surrounded by the County of Warner No. 5, approximately south of Lethbridge. Warner is a farming community. Warner is situated at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 36, about 38 km nor ...

where he serves as both Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations of the Warner Hockey School Warriors girls' hockey team of the

Junior Women's Hockey League The Junior Women's Hockey League is an ice hockey league established in 2007 by Bill Driscoll and Kush Sidhu, coaches of North American Hockey Academy and the Washington Pride, respectively, in order to provide opportunities for young females to d ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Warner Hockey School - StaffJunior Women's Hockey League - Warner School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makela, Mikko 1965 births Boston Bruins players Buffalo Sabres players Düsseldorfer EG players Finnish ice hockey left wingers Ilves players Lethbridge Hurricanes coaches Living people Los Angeles Kings players Malmö Redhawks players New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Ice hockey people from Tampere Providence Bruins players Södertälje SK players Springfield Indians players Tappara players HC TPS players Olympic bronze medalists for Finland Olympic ice hockey players of Finland Ice hockey players at the 1992 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in ice hockey Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics