Kai Suikkanen
Finnish ice hockey player and coach
Ice hockey player
| Kai Suikkanen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Suikkanen in 2023 | |||
| Born | (1959-06-29) June 29, 1959 (age 64) Parkano, FIN | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Kärpät Buffalo Sabres TPS | ||
| National team |  Finland | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1977–1991 | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Representing Finland | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 1988 Calgary | Team |
Kai Petri Suikkanen (born June 29, 1959)[1] is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey left wing. Currently, he works as the head coach of Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Playing career
- Suikkanen played in two games in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres, and spent most of his career in Finland's SM-liiga with Kärpät and TPS Turku.
- Two times Kanada-malja champion: 1980–81, 1990–91
- Calder Cup champion, season 1982-83.
Coaching career
- Suikkanen Head coached Kajaanin Hokki as the champion of the Mestis (Second-highest league in Finland), during the season 2006–07.
- Suikkanen Head coached TPS as the champion of the SM-Liiga (top league in Finland), during the season 2009–10.
- Suikkanen worked as the head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl during the 2010–11 KHL season.
- Suikkanen Head coached HC Bozen-Bolzano as the champion of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL league), during the season 2017–18.
International
Suikkanen won a silver medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary as a member of the Finland men's national ice hockey team.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1975–76 | Kärpät | FIN Jr. | 34 | 28 | 7 | 35 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Kärpät | FIN Jr. | 9 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Kärpät | FIN II | 16 | 15 | 4 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1977–78 | Kärpät | SM-l | 35 | 21 | 6 | 27 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Kärpät | SM-l | 36 | 16 | 6 | 22 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Kärpät | SM-l | 36 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1980–81 | Kärpät | SM-l | 33 | 20 | 11 | 31 | 60 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 32 | ||
| 1981–82 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 71 | 34 | 33 | 67 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1982–83 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 66 | 33 | 44 | 77 | 65 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 21 | ||
| 1983–84 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 15 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Kärpät | SM-l | 23 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 1984–85 | Kärpät | SM-l | 22 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 47 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1985–86 | Kärpät | SM-l | 33 | 26 | 10 | 36 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 1986–87 | Kärpät | SM-l | 44 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 30 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1987–88 | Kärpät | SM-l | 26 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Kärpät | SM-l | 33 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Kärpät | FIN II | 35 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | TPS | SM-l | 41 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| SM-l totals | 362 | 179 | 112 | 291 | 330 | 56 | 21 | 14 | 35 | 82 | ||||
| AHL totals | 152 | 74 | 87 | 161 | 99 | 25 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 25 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Finland | WJC | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 | |
| 1979 | Finland | WJC | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1986 | Finland | WC | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1988 | Finland | OG | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 12 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 9 | |||
| Senior totals | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | |||
References
- ^ Kai Suikkanen Elite Hockey Prospects
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
