Iiro Pakarinen

Iiro Pakarinen
Pakarinen in February 2015
Born	(1991-08-25) 25 August 1991 (age 33) Suonenjoki, Finland
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Right
Liiga team Former teams	HIFK KalPa Edmonton Oilers Metallurg Magnitogorsk Barys Nur-Sultan Jokerit
National team	Finland
NHL draft	184th overall, 2011 Florida Panthers
Playing career	2009–present

Iiro Pakarinen (born 25 August 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for HIFK of the Finnish Liiga. Pakarinen previously played in Liiga with KalPa and has also played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Jokerit, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Barys Nur-Sultan, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers.

Playing career

Pakarinen played in his native Finland from his youth level with the professional Liiga club, KalPa. As a skilled, versatile forward, Pakarinen was drafted 184th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers. Unable to agree to terms with the Panthers, Pakarinen continued his development in the Finnish Liiga with KalPa.[1] On 3 May 2012, he joined HIFK as a free agent on a two-year contract.[2]

Upon completion of his second season with HIFK in 2013–14 and scoring a career-high 20 goals and 30 points, Pakarinen signed his first NHL contract as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers on a two-year entry-level deal on 16 June 2014.[3] On 1 December 2017, he was placed on waivers by the Oilers,[4] and was then sent to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, on 2 December.[5]

On 2 July 2018, Pakarinen left the Oilers and the NHL as a free agent, signing a one-year contract with Russian club, Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.[6] In the 2018–19 season, Pakarinen made as positive impact with Metallurg, producing 19 goals and 26 points in 60 games.

On 2 May 2019, having concluded his contract with Metallurg, Pakarinen continued in the KHL, signing a one-year deal with Kazakh-based, Barys Nur-Sultan.[7] In the following 2019–20 season, Pakarinen suffered an injury-hit year, featuring in just 22 games and registering 10 points. He collected 1 goal in 5 post-season games before the playoffs were canceled due to COVID-19.

On 11 May 2020, Pakarinen opted to return to Finland and remain in the KHL, signing a three-year contract with Jokerit.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	KalPa	FIN U18		20	14	14	28	59		2	0	0	0	4
2007–08	KalPa	FIN U20		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	KalPa	FIN U18 Q		2	2	0	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	KalPa	FIN U20		37	11	10	21	44		5	1	0	1	2
2009–10	KalPa	FIN U20		11	8	4	12	10		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	KalPa	SM-l		38	3	5	8	37		12	3	0	3	8
2010–11	KalPa	FIN U20		4	3	2	5	6		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	KalPa	SM-l		46	7	3	10	34		7	1	0	1	37
2011–12	KalPa	SM-l		54	10	3	13	47		7	2	2	4	0
2012–13	HIFK	SM-l		33	5	7	12	6		6	3	0	3	4
2013–14	HIFK	Liiga		60	20	10	30	32		2	0	0	0	2
2014–15	Oklahoma City Barons	AHL		39	17	11	28	20		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		17	1	2	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Bakersfield Condors	AHL		4	1	2	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		63	5	8	13	8		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Bakersfield Condors	AHL		5	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		14	2	2	4	2		1	0	0	0	0
2017–18	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		40	2	1	3	6		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Bakersfield Condors	AHL		18	9	4	13	2		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	KHL		60	19	7	26	6		6	0	1	1	2
2019–20	Barys Nur–Sultan	KHL		22	4	6	10	2		5	1	0	1	2
2020–21	Jokerit	KHL		32	9	6	15	24		4	0	1	1	4
2021–22	Jokerit	KHL		46	10	10	20	10		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	HIFK	Liiga		11	4	0	4	4		7	0	3	3	0
2022–23	HIFK	Liiga		58	19	17	36	47		12	7	1	8	2
2023–24	HIFK	Liiga		59	18	12	30	10		7	1	3	4	6
Liiga totals				359	86	57	143	217		60	17	9	26	59
NHL totals				134	10	13	23	18		1	0	0	0	0
KHL totals				160	42	29	71	42		15	1	2	3	8

International

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
	2022 Beijing
World Championships
	2014 Minsk
	2021 Latvia

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009	Finland	WJC18			6	1	1	2	2
2010	Finland	WJC	5th		6	1	1	2	2
2011	Finland	WJC	6th		6	1	2	3	2
2014	Finland	WC			10	3	0	3	2
2021	Finland	WC			10	4	1	5	14
2022	Finland	OG			6	3	0	3	2
2024	Finland	WC	8th		8	0	2	2	0
Junior totals					18	3	4	7	6
Senior totals					34	10	3	13	18

References

1. "2010-11 Scoring for KalPa Kuopio (SM-liiga)". hockeydb.com. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
2. "Pakarinen agrees to transfer to HIFK" (in Finnish). HIFK. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
3. "Oilers agree to terms with Iiro Pakarinen". Edmonton Oilers. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
4. "RELEASE: Oilers Claim Nathan Walker; Place Pakarinen on Waivers". NHL.com. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
5. "BakersfieldCondors.com | PAKARINEN ASSIGNED TO BAKERSFIELD". www.bakersfieldcondors.com. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
6. "Iiro Pakarinen in Metallurg". Metallurg Magnitogorsk (in Russian). 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
7. "KHL player movement tracker". Kontinental Hockey League (in Russian). 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
8. "Pakarinen brings additional strength to attack" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database