Matias Rajaniemi (born 2 September 2002) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for SaiPa of Liiga. Rajaniemi was drafted in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders with the 183rd overall pick.[1][2]
| Matias Rajaniemi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
2 September 2002 Lahti, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| Liiga team Former teams |
SaiPa Lahti Pelicans | ||
| NHL draft |
183rd overall, 2020 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 2020–present | ||
Playing career edit
Rajaniemi played as a youth within the Lahti Pelicans organization before making his professional debut in the Liiga with the Pelicans during the 2019–20 season. He registered 2 assists through 12 games.
During his fourth season with the Pelicans, having featured in 6 games, Rajaniemi left the club to sign a two-year contract and immediately join SaiPa of the Liiga on 22 November 2022.[3]
Career statistics edit
Regular season and playoffs edit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2018–19 | Lahti Pelicans | Jr. A | 34 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Lahti Pelicans | Jr. A | 39 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Lahti Pelicans | Liiga | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Peliitat | Mestis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Lahti Pelicans | Liiga | 46 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Lahti Pelicans | Liiga | 58 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Lahti Pelicans | Liiga | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 122 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 50 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
Representing  Finland
| ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2022 Canada | |
 |
2021 Canada | |
International edit
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Finland | WJC | 
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Finland | WJC | 
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
References edit
- ^ "Matias Rajaniemi". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "2020 NHL Draft: Complete results, list of picks for Rounds 1-7". NBC. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Defenseman Matias Rajaniemi joins SaiPa" (in Finnish). SaiPa. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
External links edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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