Antti Laaksonen
Antti Laaksonen | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 3, 1973 Finland |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey player (retired) |
| Years active | 1997–2010 |
| Known for | Left winger for Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Lukko |
Antti Akseli Laaksonen (born October 3, 1973) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey left winger who most recently played for Lukko in the SM-Liiga. His NHL tenure spanned seven years, during which he mainly served as a third-line forward and penalty killer with the Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, and Colorado Avalanche.
Playing career
In 1993, Laaksonen relocated from Finland to North America to attend the University of Denver, where he competed for four seasons. The Boston Bruins selected him 191st overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. During the 1997–98 season, he began his professional career splitting time between the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers and the Providence Bruins of the AHL, Boston’s affiliate.
Laaksonen made his NHL debut with Boston in the 1998–99 season, participating in 11 games before returning to Providence to contribute to a Calder Cup victory. After failing to secure a permanent NHL roster spot by 2000, he departed Boston as a free agent.
On July 14, 2000, he signed with the Minnesota Wild ahead of their inaugural season, becoming a steady presence on their lineup over four campaigns.
He agreed to a two-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche on July 2, 2004. Due to the NHL lockout during the 2004–05 season, his Avalanche debut was delayed until 2005–06, when he posted career-best marks with 16 goals and 34 points. Colorado re-signed him for the following season but reassigned him to their AHL affiliate Albany River Rats after a downturn in performance.
Subsequently, Laaksonen joined Swiss National League A club HC Fribourg-Gottéron on June 18, 2007. After one year abroad, he returned to Finland to play for Lukko in the SM-Liiga. In his second season with Lukko, he served as team captain and led them back into postseason contention before retiring and settling in Minnesota, where much of his NHL career success occurred.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990–91 | FoPS | FIN.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | FoPS | FIN.2 | 41 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | FoPS | FIN U20 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | FoPS | FIN.2 | 34 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | HPK | SM-l | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | University of Denver | WCHA | 36 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | University of Denver | WCHA | 40 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 42 | |||||||
| 1995–96 | University of Denver | WCHA | 38 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 71 | |||||||
| 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season#1996-97 | University of Denver | WCHA | 39 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 63 | |||||||
| 1997–98 ECHL season | Charlotte Checkers (ECHL) | ECHL | 15 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 1997–98 AHL season | Providence Bruins | American Hockey League | 38 | 3 | 2 | 5 | - | 1998–99 NHL season | Boston Bruins | NHL | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1998–99 AHL season | Providence Bruins | AHL | 66 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 52 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 9 | |||
| 1999–2000 NHL season | Boston Bruins | NHL | 27 | 6 | 3 | 9 | ||||||||
| 1999–2000 AHL season | Providence Bruins | AHL | 40 | 10 | 12 | 22 | ||||||||
|
NHL |
82 |
12 |
16 |
28 | ||||||||||
|
Minnesota Wild |
NHL |
82 |
16 |
17 |
33 | |||||||||
|
Minnesota Wild |
NHL |
82 |
15 |
16 |
31 |
26 |
16 |
1 |
3 |
4 | ||||
|
Minnesota Wild |
NHL |
77 |
12 |
14 |
26 | |||||||||
|
NHL |
81 |
16 |
18 |
34 |
40 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
2 | |||||
|
Colorado Avalanche |
NHL |
41 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
16 | ||||||||
|
AHL |
24 |
9 |
7 |
16 | ||||||||||
|
46 |
12 |
13 |
25 |
44 | ||||||||||
|
SM-l |
51 |
17 |
23 |
40 | ||||||||||
|
Lukko |
SM-l |
47 |
9 |
14 |
23 | |||||||||
| NHL totals | 483 !81 !87 !168 !152 !25 !1 !5 !6 !6 | |||||||||||||
International
| Year | Nation | Tournament | Placement | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Penalty Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Finland | WJC | 5th place | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2001 | Finland | WC | Silver medalist | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| 2004 | Finland | WC | Finished 6th | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2004 | Finland | WCH | Silver medalist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | Finland | OG | Silver medalist | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Junior career totals | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Senior career totals | 25 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 16 | |||
Awards and honors
| Distinction | Season |
|---|---|
| All-WCHA Second Team | 1995–96 |
| AHL Calder Cup (Providence Bruins) | 1998–99 |