Ray Kaunisto

Ray Kaunisto
Born	(1987-02-07) February 7, 1987 United States
Occupation	Ice hockey player (retired)
Years active	2006–2016
Known for	Professional ice hockey forward in the AHL and ECHL

Ray Kaunisto (born February 7, 1987) is a retired American professional ice hockey forward. His final team was the Brampton Beast competing in the ECHL.

Playing career

From 2006 through 2010, Kaunisto competed at Northern Michigan University, sharing the ice with his younger sibling Kory Kaunisto. On March 31, 2010, he inked a two-year entry-level contract as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Kings organization. Over the next two seasons, he played primarily for their AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. When the Kings chose not to tender a qualifying offer by June 20, 2012, Kaunisto entered unrestricted free agency.

Kaunisto agreed to terms with the St. John's IceCaps of the AHL, affiliated with the Winnipeg Jets, on August 21, 2013. Nevertheless, he spent most of the 2012–13 campaign in the ECHL playing for the Colorado Eagles. Soon after, on August 28, 2013, he secured a one-year contract in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings.

During his second year with Kalamazoo in the 2014–15 season, after participating in 43 games, Kaunisto was traded to the Evansville IceMen on March 11, 2015. The following day, he was transferred to the Florida Everblades where he completed the season.

After remaining unsigned for a significant portion of the 2015–16 season, Kaunisto joined the Brampton Beast on February 6, 2016, appearing in one final ECHL match before announcing his retirement from professional hockey on February 8, 2016.

Career statistics

  | 2013–14   | Utica Comets   | AHL   | 19   | 1   | 1   | 2   | 4   | —   | —   | —   | — 2014-15 ECHL season2015-16 ECHL season

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004–05	Soo Indians	NAHL		55	20	20	40	72		14	4	6	10	8
2005–06	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders	USHL		53	5	14	19	78		8	1	1	2	12
2006–07	Northern Michigan University	CCHA		41	3	0	3	30		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Northern Michigan University	CCHA		40	8	5	13	44		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Northern Michigan University	CCHA		40	7	7	14	56		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Northern Michigan University	CCHA		40	18	14	32	78		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Manchester Monarchs	AHL		57	8	6	14	50		7	2	1	3	4
2011-12 AHL season	Manchester Monarchs	AHL		74	7	15	22	65		4	0	1	1	0
2012-13 AHL season	St. John's IceCaps	AHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13 ECHL season	Colorado Eagles	ECHL		53	7	16	23	113		1	0	0	0	2
2013-14 ECHL season	Kalamazoo Wings	ECHL		34	2	10	12	46		6	0	0	0	2
2013-14 AHL season	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		6	1	0	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Lake Erie Monsters	AHL   | 3   | 0   | 1   | 1   | 2   | —   | —   | —   | —   | —
Kalamazoo Wings	ECHL	43		5	9	14	76	—		—	—	—	—
2014–15	Florida Everblades	ECHL		14	5	7	12	12		10	1	0	1	8
Brampton Beast	ECHL	1		0	0	0	0	—		—	—	—	—
AHL totals				160	17	23	40	125		11	2	2	4	4

Awards and honours

Award	Year
colspan="3"	"Collegiate"	-	"CCHA" All-Tournament Team | 2010 |