Hannu Toivonen Explained

Hannu Toivonen
Played For:HPK
Boston Bruins
St. Louis Blues
Ilves
Malmö Redhawks
SaiPa
Vaasan Sport
Graz 99ers
Odense Bulldogs
HIFK
Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
Height Ft:6
Height In:2
Weight Lb:197
Birth Date:1984 5, df=yes
Birth Place:Kalvola, Finland
Draft:29th overall
Draft Year:2002
Draft Team:Boston Bruins
Career Start:2002
Career End:2019

Hannu Pekka Toivonen (in Finnish pronounced as /ˈhɑnːu ˈtoi̯ʋonen/; born 18 May 1984) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He is the current goaltending coach for the Toronto Marlies. He played with the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League (NHL), the former of which drafted him 29th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Toivonen also spent several years with the Tampereen Ilves of the Liiga in his home country.

Although Toivonen was widely considered to be a top goaltending prospect, he was injured in 2005–06 and never regained the form that made him a first-round selection in 2002.

Playing career

Professional

Toivonen started his pro career with HPK in the Finnish SM-liiga. He was drafted by the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, and moved to the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2003.

With Andrew Raycroft sitting out due to a contract dispute, Toivonen started the 2005–06 NHL season as the Bruins' backup goaltender. He made his NHL debut on 8 October 2005 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, coming away with an overtime win. He holds the distinction of allowing the first goal of Sidney Crosby's career in that game. On 1 December 2005, he recorded his first NHL shutout, blanking the Ottawa Senators. Toivonen was 9–5–4 with a 2.63 GAA and a .914 SV% before suffering a high ankle sprain in January that effectively ended his season.

At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, Toivonen and Tim Thomas were competing for the starter spot. After a rough start at the beginning of the season, Toivonen was sent down to Providence and was replaced by Brian Finley on 7 November 2006, officially making Thomas the starting goaltender for Boston. Over the course of the next couple months, he was repeatedly recalled to Boston and sent back down to Providence. On 2 April, he was recalled to Boston for the last two away games, then sent back to Providence on 6 April.[1] On 26 April 2007, Toivonen signed a one-year contract extension with the Bruins.

On 23 July 2007, Toivonen was traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Carl Söderberg.[2] Upon being traded to the Blues, Toivonen was reunited with former Bruins teammates Brad Boyes, Ryan Glenn, Yan Stastny and Derek Gustafson. In the 2007–08 season, Toivonen played in 23 games with the Blues before he was assigned to the Peoria Rivermen, the Blues' AHL affiliate, on 11 February 2008.[3]

Toivonen spent the 2008–09 season with Ilves in Finland, but re-signed with St. Louis on 9 June 2009.[4] He was then assigned to the Blues' farm team in Peoria on 21 September 2009, for the beginning of the 2009–10 season. On 1 March 2010, Toivonen was traded from St. Louis to the Chicago Blackhawks, along with Danny Richmond, in exchange for goaltender Joe Fallon. All players involved in the trade remained with their respective AHL affiliates.[5]

Toivonen signed a two-year contract with the Malmö Redhawks of the HockeyAllsvenskan on 1 July 2011.[6] In the 2011–12 season he played in 19 games, averaging a .895 save percentage (SVS) and 3.30 goals against average (GAA). However, due to economical crisis in the Redhawks club, Toivonen was forced to leave the club after the 2011–12 season. His contract is being paid out by the Redhawks.[7]

With the commencement of the 2013–14 season under-way, Toivonen joined the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL on 11 November 2013.[8]

On 11 April 2014, Toivonen returned to Finland to sign a contract with newly promoted Liiga club, Vaasan Sport.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L T OTL MIN GA SV%GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2000–01HPKJr. B
2001–02HPKJr. B5 4 1 0 277 14 0 3.03
2001–02HPKJr. A31 15 12 4 1878 103 2 3.29 .9117 3 4 440 31 0 4.23 .903
2002–03HPKJr. A6 3 3 0 359 20 0 3.34 .919
2002–03HPKSM-l24 16 2 4 1432 54 2 2.26 .9112 1 1 117 3 1 1.53 .927
2003–04Providence BruinsAHL36 15 16 4 2162 83 2 2.30 .921
2004–05Providence BruinsAHL54 29 18 3 3017 103 7 2.05 .93217 10 7 1038 42 0 2.43 .923
2005–06Boston BruinsNHL20 9 5 4 1163 51 1 2.63 .914
2006–07Providence BruinsAHL27 13 13 1 1618 64 2 2.37 .90913 6 7 742 36 0 2.91 .897
2006–07Boston BruinsNHL18 3 9 1 893 63 0 4.23 .875
2007–08St. Louis BluesNHL23 6 10 5 1202 69 0 3.44 .878
2007–08Peoria RivermenAHL11 6 4 0 627 33 0 3.16 .883
2008–09IlvesSM-l56 19 23 9 2913 130 3 2.68 .9103 1 2 198 6 1 1.82 .939
2009–10Peoria RivermenAHL26 11 11 3 1516 69 0 2.73 .906
2009–10Rockford IceHogsAHL5 1 4 0 296 17 0 3.44 .8831 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 .800
2010–11Rockford IceHogsAHL49 21 16 4 2463 119 3 2.90 .907
2011–12Malmö RedhawksAllsv19 1054 58 1 3.30 .894
2012–13Orlando Solar BearsECHL11 2 7 0 565 37 0 3.93 .888
2012–13SaiPaSM-l8 2 4 2 462 22 1 2.85 .900
2013–14Toledo WalleyeECHL31 12 17 1 1826 103 1 3.38 .905
2013–14Milwaukee AdmiralsAHL4 1 1 1 120 5 0 2.50 .909
2013–14Iowa WildAHL1 0 1 0 40 8 0 12.00 .680
2014–15SportLiiga45 13 23 6 2577 114 1 2.65 .918
2015–16IlvesLiiga46 13 24 8 2600 106 4 2.45 .907
2016–17IlvesLiiga32 8 16 7 1814 75 2 2.48 .913
2017–18Graz 99ersEBEL32 1809 105 0 3.48 .902
2017–18Odense BulldogsDNK4 4.60 .8483 3.75 .879
2018–19HIFKLiiga1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
2018–19Maine MarinersECHL9 5 3 0 506 28 0 3.32 .900
SM-l/Liiga totals208 71 76 36 11,799 501 13 2.55 5 2 3 315 9 2 1.71
NHL totals61 18 24 10 3258 183 1 3.37 .890

International

YearTeamEventGPWLTMINGASOGAASV%
2002FinlandWJC185242912.23.930
2004FinlandWJC64203571111.85.920
Junior totals115992022.00

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bruins assign Toivonen . . 2007-04-06 . 2010-03-01.
  2. Web site: Bruins acquire center Carl Soderberg . . 2007-07-23 . 2010-03-01.
  3. Web site: Toivonen sent down, Beckford-Tseu and Stastny up . . 2008-02-11 . 2010-03-01.
  4. Web site: Blues agree to terms with Toivonen . . 2009-06-09 . 2010-03-01.
  5. Web site: Blues acquire Fallon from Blackhawks for Toivonen, Richmond. TSN. 2010-03-01. 2010-03-01. 11 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121011105741/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=312017. dead.
  6. Web site: Finsk målvakt klar för Redhawks . . Swedish . 2011-07-01 . 2011-07-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110908032335/http://www.mifredhawks.com/en/Blog/110701%20Toivonen.aspx . 8 September 2011 . dmy-all .
  7. Web site: Hugo Stenbeck och Malmö Redhawks eniga . . Martin . Nathalie . Swedish . 2012-05-17 . 2012-05-22 .
  8. Web site: Toledo Walleye team roster . . 2013-11-11 . 2013-11-11.
  9. Web site: Stacking continues - 14 new players . . 2014-04-11 . 2014-04-11 . Finnish . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140420080147/http://www.vaasansport.fi/uutiset/liiga-sportin-kasaaminen-jatkuu-14-uutta-pelaajaa.1189 . 20 April 2014 . dmy-all .