Peetro Seppälä
Peetro Seppälä (born August 17, 2000) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman for the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL).
| Peetro Seppälä | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Seppälä with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022 | |||
| Born |
August 17, 2000 Kuusankoski, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defenseman | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Seattle Kraken Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) KooKoo | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||
Playing career
Seppälä played junior hockey with KooKoo of the SM-sarja. In the 2015–16 season, he was the captain of the club's C-youth team. In August 2016, at only 15-years-old, Seppälä signed a two-year contract with KooKoo,[1] although he played most of the 2016–17 season in the club's A-youth and strengthened B-youth teams.
In the 2017–18 season, Seppälä made his debut in KooKoo's Liiga team. At the age of 17, Seppälä made his league debut on December 13, 2017, away against Tappara. In the same month, Seppälä then signed a two-year contract extension with KooKoo.[2] During the season, he played six regular season matches in the Liiga without scoring points. Seppälä played most of his season in KooKoo's A-youth.
In his actual Liiga rookie season in 2018–19, Seppälä managed 5 points in 31 regular season games. He scored the first goal of his Liiga career on January 4, 2019, away at Tampere Ilves. For about half of the season, Seppälä still played in KooKoo's A-youth team. During the 2019–20 season, he established his place in the Liiga, where he got 12 points in 41 games. In November 2019, he was sidelined for about a month due to an injury. In February 2020, Seppälä signed another two-year contract extension with KooKoo.[3] In October of the 2020–21 season, Seppälä was sidelined for about a month after JYP Jyväskylä's Samuel Helenius tackled him in the head. During the 2021–22 season, he made his breakthrough in the Liiga as he was KooKoo's best defenseman, with 29 points.
In May 2022, Seppälä signed a two-year contract with Ilves.[4] Only five days later, he signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken.[5] At the end of the Kraken's training camp, Seppälä was sent to the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL).
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World U18 Championship | ||
| 2018 Russia | ||
Seppälä played in the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he won the gold medal with Finland. He also played in the 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2016–17 | KooKoo | Jr. A | 30 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | KooKoo | Jr. A | 47 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | ||
| 2017–18 | KooKoo | Liiga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | KooKoo | Jr. A | 30 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | KooKoo | Liiga | 31 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | KooKoo | Jr. A | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | KooKoo | Liiga | 41 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | KooKoo | Liiga | 39 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | KooKoo | Liiga | 57 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 30 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2022–23 | Coachella Valley Firebirds | AHL | 70 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Coachella Valley Firebirds | AHL | 49 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 174 | 15 | 39 | 54 | 94 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | ||||
References
- "Eklund jatkaa KooKoon puolustuksessa - "Voi olla vielä nähtyäkin parempi"". Jatkoaika.com - Kaikki jääkiekosta (in Finnish). August 1, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- Miettinen, Miska (December 23, 2017). "Mieluinen joululahja: Pudotuspelipaikasta vääntävä KooKoo rustasi hurjan läjän sopimuksia!". SuomiKiekko (in Finnish). Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- "KooKoo solmi ison tukun jatkosopimuksia − kapteeni Bonsaksen ja kohupuolustaja Berger jatkavat Kouvolassa". Jatkoaika.com - Kaikki jääkiekosta (in Finnish). February 25, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- "Ilves announced the signing of seven new players". Tampereen Ilves (in Finnish). May 3, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- "Kraken sign Finnish defenseman Peetro Seppala to entry-level contract". The Seattle Times. May 7, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database