Sami Vatanen (born 3 June 1991) is a Finnish 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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for

Genève-Servette HC The Genève-Servette HC (also called Servette or GSHC) is a professional ice hockey club based in Geneva, Switzerland and competing in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. The team plays their home games at the ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL). He was drafted in the fourth round, 106th overall, by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

at the

2009 NHL Entry Draft The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th Entry Draft. It was held on June 26–27, 2009, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Draft was part of the Montreal Canadiens' centennial celebrations. National Hockey League teams took turns select ...

Playing career

Vatanen was drafted by the

in the fourth round of the

. The following season, he earned a spot on defending Finnish champions JYP's roster. He broke a record for most points by a rookie defenceman in the Finnish

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 ...

regular season and playoffs. Vatanen made his NHL debut with Anaheim in the

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

-shortened 2012–13 season, on 1 February 2013. Vatanen was also selected to the AHL First All-Star Team and the AHL All-Rookie Team, despite playing in just 62 games of the 76-game season. On 22 July 2014, Vatanen signed a new two-year, $2.525 million contract with Anaheim. He recorded 12 goals and 25 assists during the 2014–15 season, his first full NHL season. At the completion of the 2015–16 season, Vatanen amassed a new career high with 38 points in 71 games. As a restricted free agent, on 18 June 2016, he signed a new four-year contract with Anaheim. On 30 November 2017, during the 2017–18 season, Vatanen was traded (along with a conditional third-round pick in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

) to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

in exchange for

Joseph Blandisi Joseph Blandisi (born July 18, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently for the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL). He was drafted in the 6th round (162nd overall) by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2012 NHL E ...

Adam Henrique Adam Henrique (born February 6, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and an alternate captain for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 82nd overall at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey ...

and a third-round pick in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. He finished the season with 32 points in 72 games. On 24 February 2020, Vatanen was traded to the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

in exchange for

Janne Kuokkanen Janne Kuokkanen (born 25 May 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League (NL). Kuokkanen was drafted 43rd overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Befo ...

Fredrik Claesson Fredrik Claesson (born 24 November 1992), is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for HC CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fifth round (126th overall) of the ...

and a conditional

fourth-round pick. He appeared in seven postseason games for the club, recording three assists. On 7 January 2021, Vatanen returned to the Devils on a one-year $2 million contract. On 12 April, Vatanen was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Stars. On 26 September 2021, Vatanen signed a one-year contract with

of the Swiss

(NL).

International play

In 2010, Vatanen represented

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

internationally at the junior level ( 2010 World Junior Championships held in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

) and at the

senior level Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

( 2010 World Championships held in Germany). At the end of the 2009–10 season, Vatanen also became the highest-drafted Finnish player in Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) history when he was selected second overall in the

2010 KHL Junior Draft The 2010 KHL Junior Draft was the second entry draft held by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), taking place on June 4, 2010. Ice hockey players from around the world aged between 17 and 21 years of age were selected. Players eligible to take pa ...

by Metallurg Novokuznetsk. At the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Vatanen won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

when Finland defeated the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

5–0. Vatanen represented Finland at the

2016 World Cup of Hockey The 2016 World Cup of Hockey (abbreviated WCH2016) was an international ice hockey tournament. It was the third installment of the National Hockey League (NHL)-sanctioned competition, 12 years after the second World Cup of Hockey in 2004. It was ...

held in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in September 2016. Vatanen represented Finland at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

, where Finland beat Russia to win Olympic Gold.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vatanen, Sami 1991 births Living people Anaheim Ducks draft picks Anaheim Ducks players Carolina Hurricanes players Dallas Stars players Finnish ice hockey defencemen Genève-Servette HC players Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics JYP Jyväskylä players Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics New Jersey Devils players Norfolk Admirals players Olympic gold medalists for Finland Olympic bronze medalists for Finland Olympic ice hockey players of Finland Olympic medalists in ice hockey Sportspeople from Jyväskylä