Ilkka Sinisalo
| Ilkka Sinisalo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
July 10, 1958 Valkeakoski, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
NHL Philadelphia Flyers Minnesota North Stars Los Angeles Kings SM-liiga HIFK HPK Ilves Kiekko-Espoo | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1978–1996 | ||
Ilkka Antero Jouko Sinisalo (born July 10, 1958) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers,[1] Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings. He is currently a scout for the Flyers.
Playing career
Sinisalo played in the NHL from 1981–1992, scoring 204 goals and 426 points, mostly with the Flyers. He is ranked the all time most successful goal scorer among the European players in the history of Philadelphia Flyers. He is also ranked the fourth successful Finnish goal scorer in NHL history, which gave him an honor to be member of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997.[2]
When Sinisalo started his ice hockey career in the 1970s, the NHL teams did not scout extensively from Finland. The first Finnish ice hockey player in NHL was Matti Hagman in 1976-77 for Boston Bruins. However, the NHL scouts were so impressed by his talents that they made an exception of hiring him as a free agent after his 1980-81 season in HIFK, SM-Liiga where he scored 27 goals in 36 games. He signed his first NHL contract on February 17, 1981.[3] Sinisalo started his first season with Flyers by making history by scoring his first NHL score against Pittsburgh Penguins. Sinisalo became the first Flyers player to score his first NHL goal on a penalty shot, and the third of five NHL players in history. During the 1984-85 season, Sinisalo become one of the Mike Keenan’s most trusted players with 73 points in 70 games, with a +32 rating. 1989-90 was Sinisalo’s last season with Flyers, after which he played one season for Minnesota North Stars and two seasons for Los Angeles Kings.[2]
He retired from hockey in 1996 with his last team, the Kiekko-Espoo from SM-Liiga. Sinisalo was originally a junior product of HIFK.
Career after retirement
After playing his last season of professional ice hockey for Kiekko-Espoo in 1995-96 in Finland he took a job as the General Manager of the club. His last season of Kiekko-Espoo GM was 1998-99. He was then hired as the European based NHL Scout by San Jose Sharks General Manager, Dean Lombardi on September 12, 1998. In July 2004, he was back in the Flyers organization as their European Scout.[2]
Personal life
His son Tomas Sinisalo is a professional ice hockey player, primarily in Finland. Tomas attended the Flyers training camp in 2009.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1976–77 | PiTa Pitajanmaki | Fin-2 | 35 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | HIFK | SM-l | 36 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | HIFK | SM-l | 30 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1979–80 | HIFK | SM-l | 35 | 16 | 9 | 25 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1980–81 | HIFK | SM-l | 36 | 27 | 17 | 44 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1981–82 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 66 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1982–83 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 61 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1983–84 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 29 | 17 | 46 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1984–85 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 70 | 36 | 37 | 73 | 16 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1985–86 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 74 | 39 | 37 | 76 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 42 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1987–88 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 68 | 25 | 17 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1988–89 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 59 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 46 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1991–92 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Phoenix Roadrunners | IHL | 42 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | HPK | SM-l | 46 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 55 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1993–94 | Kärpät | Fin-2 | 28 | 27 | 15 | 42 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Ilves | SM-l | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1994–95 | Ilves | SM-l | 30 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Kiekko-Espoo | SM-l | 16 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1995–96 | Kiekko-Espoo | SM-l | 44 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 582 | 204 | 222 | 426 | 208 | 68 | 21 | 11 | 32 | 6 | ||||
| SM-l totals | 285 | 88 | 81 | 169 | 216 | 39 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 28 | ||||
| Fin-2 totals | 63 | 49 | 31 | 80 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Finland | WJC | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1981 | Finland | WEC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1981 | Finland | CC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 1982 | Finland | WEC | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| 1983 | Finland | WEC | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Junior int'l totals | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | |||
| Senior int'l totals | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 | |||
References
- ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Flyers Sign Sinisalo". The New York Times. 21 May 1989. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- 1 2 3 Meltzer, Bill (October 23, 2006). "Flyers Heroes of the Past: Ilkka Sinisalo". Philadelphia Flyers. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ "The Philadelphia Flyers signed left wing Ilkka Sinisalo, a...". UPI. February 17, 1981. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database