Raimo Helminen
Raimo Helminen | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born |
Tampere, FIN | 11 March 1964|||||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | |||||
Weight | 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb) | |||||
Position | Centre | |||||
Shot | Left | |||||
Played for |
Ilves New York Rangers Minnesota North Stars New York Islanders Malmö IF Redhawks | |||||
National team |
NHL Draft |
35th overall, 1984 New York Rangers | ||||
Playing career | 1982–2008 | |||||
Website | http://www.raipe.fi |
Raimo Ilmari Helminen (born 11 March 1964 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is often called "Raipe" or "Maestro" by his fans. He is the world record holder for most international games played by a hockey player, as well as for tied for being the hockey player in the most Olympic Games,[1][2] and his 26 seasons as a professional is one of the longest careers in professional hockey history. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2012.
In the 2022-23 season he is serving as the assistant coach of Ilves. Helminen is credited with invention of the saucer pass.
Personal life
He has a wife, Leena, and two children, Anssi and Nelli.
Professional career
Early years
Helminen has himself said that he developed most of his skills when he was young and spent all his free time playing in outdoor ice rinks in
Helminen started his career in his native town, playing for one of oldest teams in the country,
NHL
The following season he was one of the best players for Ilves, being the second highest scorer for his team and third overall in the league. As the centre of the first line, he led Ilves to a league championship victory for the first time in the league's history.
The
Difficulties and success
The next season proved more difficult, and Helminen ended up playing a lot in the minor leagues. In the fall of 1987 he returned to home soil to play for Ilves again. He proved to be a success and secured a place in the national team for the 1988 Winter Olympics. There he helped his country win their first Olympic medal (silver) in ice hockey.
His performance included 10 points in seven games and assisting two goals in Finland's surprise 3–1 victory over gold medal hopefuls Canada. The tournament left NHL scouts wondering why this player was not playing in North America. Eventually Helminen got another chance to play in the NHL, this time for the New York Islanders.
Back problems and Sweden
In the spring of 1988 Helminen started having back problems that would hinder his career for the next couple of years. Because of this injury his 1988–89 season for the Islanders was a disappointment—although he played spectacularly for New York's AHL Springfield Indians farm team for a month—and he left the Islanders for Malmö IF in Sweden.
Helminen's play in
Late career
In 1996 Helminen returned again to his home town to play for Ilves and quickly became a fan favorite again. In 1998 Ilves won silver medals in the
Helminen officially retired after the 2007–08 SM-liiga season ended for Ilves, when they were defeated by
International play
Helminen in the chair after his last international match | ||
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Finland | ||
Men's ice hockey | ||
Olympic Games | ||
1988 Calgary | ||
1994 Lillehammer | ||
1998 Nagano | ||
World Championships | ||
1995 Sweden |
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1994 Italy |
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1998 Switzerland | ||
1999 Norway | ||
2001 Germany | ||
2000 Russia | ||
World Junior Championships | ||
1984 Sweden |
Helminen played in a few international tournaments throughout the 1980s and was on the silver winning team of the
His number originally was 14, but he had to change it to 41 when Ilves retired 14 in honour of
The
In February 2008, Helminen returned to the national team for one game, his farewell match. Finland faced the Czech Republic in the LG Hockey Tournament, which is part of the European Hockey Tour. Although the tournament is held in Sweden, the match was played in Tampere, which is Helminen's hometown. Helminen recorded an assist on a goal scored by Tuomas Pihlman four seconds before the end of the game. Finland won the game 6–1.
In 1998, Helminen and Dieter Hegen (Germany) became the third and fourth ice hockey players to compete at five Olympics, after Udo Kießling (Germany) and Petter Thoresen (Norway). Helminen's appearance at the 2002 Olympics made him the first ice hockey player to compete at six Olympics, with compatriot Teemu Selänne becoming the second in 2014.
Coaching career
Helminen has been assistant coach of Ilves since late parts of the 2009–10 season, when Juha Pajuoja got the job as the head coach. Pajuoja was sacked in late October in 2011 and replaced by Seppo Hiitelä.
He was also assistant coach of the Finnish U20 team in the 2010 and 2011 World Championship, before being promoted to head coach for the 2012 tournament.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1981–82 | Ilves | FIN U20 | 30 | 28 | 31 | 59 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
1982–83 | Ilves | FIN U20 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
1982–83 | Ilves | SM-l
|
31 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1983–84 | Ilves | SM-l | 37 | 17 | 13 | 30 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1984–85 | Ilves | SM-l | 36 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
1985–86 | New York Rangers | NHL
|
66 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1986–87 | New York Rangers | NHL | 21 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1986–87 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1986–87 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1987–88 | Ilves | SM-l | 31 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 42 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
1988–89 | New York Islanders | NHL | 24 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1988–89 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 16 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1989–90 | Malmö IF
|
SWE.2 | 29 | 26 | 30 | 56 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
1990–91 | Malmö IF | SEL
|
33 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
1991–92 | Malmö IF | SEL | 40 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 24 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
1992–93 | Malmö IF | SEL | 40 | 9 | 33 | 42 | 59 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
1993–94 | Malmö IF | SEL | 38 | 20 | 34 | 54 | 26 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | ||
1994–95 | Malmö IF | SEL | 35 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 55 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | ||
1995–96 | Malmö IF | SEL | 40 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 53 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
1996–97 | Ilves | SM-l | 49 | 11 | 39 | 50 | 54 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
1997–98 | Ilves | SM-l | 46 | 12 | 36 | 48 | 42 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | ||
1998–99 | Ilves | SM-l | 53 | 12 | 38 | 50 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
1999–2000
|
Ilves | SM-l | 51 | 7 | 38 | 45 | 68 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
2000–01 | Ilves | SM-l | 56 | 9 | 37 | 46 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | ||
2001–02 | Ilves | SM-l | 56 | 7 | 34 | 41 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2002–03 | Ilves | SM-l | 53 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2003–04 | Ilves | SM-l | 56 | 9 | 34 | 43 | 46 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
2004–05 | Ilves | SM-l | 53 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
2005–06 | Ilves | SM-l | 46 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
2006–07 | Ilves | SM-l | 43 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 47 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
2007–08 | Ilves | SM-l | 53 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 53 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||
SM-l totals | 751 | 161 | 420 | 581 | 626 | 91 | 14 | 31 | 45 | 70 | ||||
NHL totals | 117 | 13 | 46 | 59 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
SEL totals | 226 | 68 | 141 | 209 | 231 | 41 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 40 |
International
Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | Finland | EJC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
1983 | Finland | WJC
|
7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
1984 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 4 | |
1984 | Finland | OLY | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
1985
|
Finland | WC | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | |
1987 | Finland | CC | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
1988 | Finland | OLY | 7 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 4 | |
1990
|
Finland | WC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
1992 | Finland | OLY | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
1994 | Finland | OLY | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | |
1994
|
Finland | WC | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |
1995
|
Finland | WC | 8 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | |
1996
|
Finland | WC | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | |
1996 | Finland | WCH | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
1997
|
Finland | WC | 8 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
1998 | Finland | OLY | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
1998 | Finland | WC | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0 | |
1999 | Finland | WC | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
2000 | Finland | WC | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
2001 | Finland | WC | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |
2002 | Finland | OLY | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
2002 | Finland | WC | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
Junior totals | 19 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 6 | |||
Senior totals | 138 | 18 | 70 | 88 | 24 |
Coaching history
Head coach
- Ilves 2013, Liiga
- TPS 2020-2021, Liiga
- HC Pustertal 2021-2022, ICEHL
- HC '05 BB 2023-2024, Tipos Extraliga
Asst. coach
- Ilves 2010–2012, SM-liiga
- KHL
- Dinamo Riga 2015-2016, KHL
- Jokerit 2016-2019, KHL
- Ilves 2022-2023, Liiga
Awards
- SM-liiga, Kanada-malja champion – 1984-85
- SM-liiga, Runners-up – 1997-98
- 2000-01
- Elitserien, Le Mat Trophy champion – 1991-92, 1993-94
- Swedish Division 1, Promotion (Malmö) – 1989-90
- Lasse Oksanen trophy for best player during the SM-liiga regular season – 1998
- Kultainen kypärä trophy for best player as voted by the players – 1998
Achievements
- Best Player of World Championships 1984)
- All Star Team (SM-liiga1987–88, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99)
- Most assists (Elitserien, 1992–93)
- Most points (Elitserien, 1993–94)
- The first foreign player to be the top scorer of the Swedish Elitserien (1993–94)
- Best Player (SM-liiga1997–98)
- Most assists (155) and points (207) scored for Team Finland
- World record holder for most international games played (331)
- One of the only two (with Selänne) ice hockey players who have participated in six Olympic Games: Sarajevo 1984, Calgary 1988, Albertville 1992, Lillehammer 1994, Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002
- Inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2012[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ Klein, Jeff Z. (November 22, 2008). "Hockey Night in Europe: Helminen's No. 41 Raised to the Rafters".
- ^ "Eurohockey.com - 404 error page". www.eurohockey.com.
- ISBN 951-96715-7-9(in Finnish)
- ^ fi:SM-liigan jäähyennätys
- ^ Parviainen, Vesa (16 February 2021). "Raimo Helmisen tulikuuma TPS on kovassa paikassa: Sitä ei ole kukaan kokenut Suomen jääkiekkohistoriassa". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ Podnieks, Andrew (20 May 2012). "IIHF class of 2012 honoured". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
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