Ray Kaunisto (born February 7, 1987) is an American 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 ...

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. He last played with the

Brampton Beast The Brampton Beast were a professional ice hockey team based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The team originally played in the Central Hockey League for one year during the 2013–14 season prior to the league's folding before joining the ECHL f ...

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 E ...

Playing career

He played hockey at Northern Michigan University from 2006 to 2010, along with his younger brother Kory Kaunisto. On March 31, 2010, he was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Kings to a two-year entry-level contract. After two seasons with Kings affiliate, the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...

, Kaunisto became an unrestricted free agent on June 20, 2012, when the Kings did not tender him a qualifying offer. On August 21, 2013, Kaunisto signed with the AHL's

St. John's IceCaps The St. John's IceCaps were a professional ice hockey team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. They were members of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was originally aff ...

, an affiliate of the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

. Kaunisto however spent the majority of the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, in the

with lower tier affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. On August 28, 2013, he signed as a free agent to a one-year ECHL contract with the Kalamazoo Wings. During his second season with the Wings in 2014–15, and after appearing in 43 games, Kaunisto was traded to the Evansville IceMen on March 11, 2015. The following day he was moved onto the Florida Everblades to finish out the season. In the 2015–16 season, Kaunisto was without a club. On February 6, 2016, he signed with the

to play a final professional game in the ECHL before announcing his retirement from professional hockey on February 8, 2016.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1987 births Brampton Beast players Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Colorado Eagles players Florida Everblades players Ice hockey players from Michigan Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) players Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey players St. John's IceCaps players Syracuse Crunch players Utica Comets players Worcester Sharks players American men's ice hockey forwards {{US-icehockey-player-stub