Jussi Rynnäs

Jussi Rynnäs
Born (1987-05-22) May 22, 1987
Pori, FIN
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
KHL team
Former teams
Ak Bars Kazan
Ässät
Toronto Maple Leafs
Oulun Kärpät
Dallas Stars
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2005present

Jussi Rynnäs (born May 22, 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing with Ak Bars Kazan in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Playing career

As a younger player, Rynnäs was never considered a prime talent and was, for example, never drafted in the NHL. After becoming over-aged to play in the Ässät Junior team, Rynnäs had serious trouble in finding himself a team, ending up in the Finnish 3rd division. However, Ässät signed him for the 20092010 season and, after impressive performances in the pre-season games, Rynnäs got more and more responsibility and ended up becoming Ässät's number one Liiga goaltender and a fan favourite. He had the top save percentage (.927) during the 2009-10 season, and posted a 2.47 goals against average.

At the end of the season, several NHL teams showed interest, and Rynnäs chose Toronto.[1] He and Brian Burke, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, agreed to terms on a two-year entry-level contract.[2]

He was recalled to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 27, 2012 on an emergency basis due to the health of James Reimer. He made his first National Hockey League appearance in relief of Jonas Gustavsson that same night, against the Carolina Hurricanes. On March 29, 2012 a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Leafs starting goaltender Jonas Gustavsson was injured during a pre-game warmup in the knee. Rynnas was informed by the coach Randy Carlyle that he was going to start the game. Rynnas allowed 7 goals on 30 shots in his first NHL start, as the Flyers won 7-1.

On July 10, 2013, Rynnas left the Maple Leafs organization as a free agent and returned to Finland signing a two-year contract with Oulun Kärpät.[3] In the 2013–14 campaign, he produced a banner season to again lead the league with a 1.51 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

On July 7, 2014, Rynnäs was released from the second year of his contract with Kärpät and returned to the NHL in signing a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars.[4] In the 2014–15 season with the Stars, Rynnäs lost out on the backup position to start the year and was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. He later appeared in 2 games with Dallas, before returning to Texas for the duration of the season.

On June 15, 2015, it was announced that Rynnas had signed with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL, after being placed on unconditional waivers by the Dallas Stars to forgo his final year of contract in North America.[5]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2009–10 Ässät SM-l 31 14 13 1 1717 71 3 2.48 .927
2010–11 Toronto Marlies AHL 30 9 15 3 1660 75 1 2.71 .911
2011–12 Toronto Marlies AHL 22 11 9 1 1272 54 3 2.55 .910
2011–12 Reading Royals ECHL 14 8 5 1 767 41 1 3.21 .914
2011–12 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2 0 1 0 99 7 0 4.25 .825
2012–13 Toronto Marlies AHL 21 10 9 1 1231 54 3 2.63 .908
2012–13 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 1 0 0 0 10 0 0 0.00 1.000
2013–14 Kärpät Liiga 40 28 5 7 2382 60 9 1.51 .939 3 0 3 163 7 0 2.57 .881
2014–15 Texas Stars AHL 39 22 6 8 2202 93 4 2.53 .920 2 0 2 119 6 0 3.02 .922
2014–15 Dallas Stars NHL 2 0 1 0 92 7 0 4.57 .841
Liiga totals 71 42 18 8 4040 129 11 1.92 .934 3 0 3 163 7 0 2.57 .881
NHL totals 5 0 2 0 202 14 0 4.17 .844

References

  1. "Leafs sign Jussi Rynnäs". Maple Leafs Hot Stove.com. 2010-08-15. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  2. "Toronto Maple Leafs sign top Finnish goaltender Jussi Rynnas". digitaljournal.com. 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  3. "Rynnas signs with Oulun" (in Finnish). Oulun Kärpät. 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  4. "Dallas Stars sign goaltender Jussi Rynnas". Dallas Stars. 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  5. "Ak Bars conclude one-year contract with Rynnas". Ak Bars Kazan. 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2015-06-15.

External links

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