Tuomas Tarkki (born February 28, 1980) 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 ...

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 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 ...

, currently serving as director of goaltending coaching for the under-18 (U18) team of

Vaasan Sport Sport, known by its full name as ''Hockey Team Vaasan Sport OY'', is a Finnish ice hockey team playing in Liiga, and is based at Vaasa Arena (capacity 4448) in Vaasa. The team was established in 1939 as IF Sport (Idrottsföreningen Sport). H ...

in the U18 SM-sarja and as an assistant coach to the Finnish women's national U18 team. He played

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

and professionally in the Finnish

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 ...

, the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL), the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Elitserien, the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL), the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The le ...

, and the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Metal Ligaen Metal Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The league consists of 9 professional teams. The name of the league has changed many times, but is being sponsored by Dansk Metal and therefore got the name Metalligaen. History It is ...

Playing career

After playing junior hockey with

Lukko Rauman Lukko (Finnish for "lock") is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, best known for its men’s professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently plays in the Fi ...

, including three

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 ...

games as a backup, Tarkki studied at the

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

and played four years of college hockey with the

Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey The Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Northern Michigan University (NMU). The Wildcats are a member of the Central Coll ...

program, being named the top goalie in the NCAA in 2005. After college hockey he spent a year in the minor leagues before returning to Finland to replace the injured

Andy Chiodo Andy Chiodo (born April 25, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Chiodo played eight games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2003–04 NHL season, for whom he is presently a goal ...

as the Kärpät starting goaltender. On December 9, 2006, Tarkki made SM-liiga history by facing his younger brother,

Iiro Tarkki Iiro Tarkki (born July 1, 1985) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played with Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga. He played a solitary game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Anaheim Ducks. He is the you ...

, who was in goal for

SaiPa SAIPA ( fa, سایپا, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'') was established in 1965 as with 75% Iranian ownersh ...

. This was the first time in the league that two brothers had played against each other in goal. Tuomas made 31 saves and registered a shutout while Iiro, five years his junior, allowed four goals on 20 shots.

International play

Tarkki made his debut on the Finnish national team on December 15, 2007, in the Channel One Cup on the

Euro Hockey Tour The Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) is an annual ice hockey tournament open to only the national men's teams of Czechia, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden. Most of the teams use the competition as a preparation for the upcoming World Championships or Olym ...

, playing one game against the Czech Republic. Tarkki had a dismal game, allowing five goals on 23 shots.

Personal life

Tarkki is married to former Finnish women's national team defenseman Saija Tarkki ().

Career statistics

Regular season

International

Awards and achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarkki, Tuomas 1980 births Living people BK Mladá Boleslav players Finnish ice hockey goaltenders Chicago Wolves players Gwinnett Gladiators players HC Benátky nad Jizerou players Hokki players JYP Jyväskylä players Lukko players Modo Hockey players HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey players Northern Michigan University alumni Oulun Kärpät players People from Rauma, Finland Rungsted Seier Capital players Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) coaches AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Sportspeople from Satakunta