Toni Rajala (born March 29, 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for EHC Biel of the National League (NL). He was drafted 101st overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
| Toni Rajala | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Rajala in 2011 | |||
| Born | March 29, 1991 Parkano, Finland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 168 lb (76 kg; 12 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NL team Former teams | EHC Biel Ilves Oklahoma City Barons HV71 HC Ugra Färjestad BK Luleå HF | ||
| National team |  Finland | ||
| NHL draft | 101st overall, 2009 Edmonton Oilers | ||
| Playing career | 2008–present | ||
Playing career
editRajala began playing junior hockey with the Ilves Tampere system in 2005–06. By 2007–08, he had worked his way up to the Junior A level of the SM-Liiga, tallying 35 points in 33 games. Rajala turned pro with Ilves Tampere in 2008–09, tallying 5 points in 21 games during his professional rookie season in the SM-Liiga.
Rajala was selected in the first round of the 2009 CHL Import Draft (14th overall) by the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL).[1] He joined the Wheat Kings for the 2009–10 WHL season.
On July 16, 2009, Rajala signed a two-way contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[2]
With the impending 2012–13 NHL lockout, The Oilers directly assigned him to the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League on September 15, 2012.[3]
On August 25, 2013, with the prospects of another season in the American minor leagues, Rajala opted to be mutually released from his contract with the Oilers and later returned to Europe to sign a one-year contract with Swedish Hockey League club, HV71 on October 15, 2013.[4]
International play
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 2022 Beijing | |
| World Championships | ||
| | 2019 Slovakia | |
| | 2022 Finland | |
| IIHF World U18 Championships | ||
 | 2009 United States | |
Rajala debuted internationally for Finland at the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships, recording 5 points in 6 games as Finland placed sixth. The following year, he was named to Finland's under-20 team for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and managed 3 points in 6 games; Finland finished in seventh place.
Later that year, in April 2009, Rajala competed for Finland at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships in the United States.[5] He led the tournament in scoring with ten goals and nine assists and broke the previous point record held by Alexander Ovechkin. Rajala was selected as the best forward in the tournament,[6] and was named to the tournament All-Star Team,[7] helping Finland to a bronze medal. Rajala also represented Finland at the 2010 World Junior Championships, which were held in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Ilves | FIN U18 | 30 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Ilves | Jr. A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Ilves | FIN U18 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Ilves | Jr. A | 33 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | Ilves | Jr. A | 31 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Ilves | SM-l | 21 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 60 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 24 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 2010–11 | Ilves | SM-l | 44 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | LeKi | Mestis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Ilves | SM-l | 51 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Stockton Thunder | ECHL | 29 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Oklahoma City Barons | AHL | 46 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 16 | 17 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 8 | ||
| 2013–14 | HV71 | SHL | 37 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Yugra | KHL | 21 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Färjestad BK | SHL | 31 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Luleå HF | SHL | 52 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 | EHC Biel | NLA | 36 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | EHC Biel | NL | 44 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | EHC Biel | NL | 50 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 36 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | EHC Biel | NL | 50 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | EHC Biel | NL | 46 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | EHC Biel | NL | 51 | 22 | 26 | 48 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| Liiga totals | 116 | 27 | 29 | 56 | 28 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| NL totals | 277 | 116 | 117 | 233 | 100 | 38 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 8 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Finland | U17 | 6th | 5 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 6 | |
| 2008 | Finland | WJC18 | 6th | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2009 | Finland | WJC | 7th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2009 | Finland | WJC18 |  | 6 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 6 | |
| 2010 | Finland | WJC | 5th | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2011 | Finland | WJC | 6th | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Finland | WC |  | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2022 | Finland | OG | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Finland | WC | | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 35 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 20 | ||||
| Senior totals | 21 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| CHL | ||
| George Parsons Trophy | 2010 | [8] |
| IIHF | ||
| U18 Best Forward | 2009 | |
| U18 All-Star Team | 2009 | [9] |
References
editExternal links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database