| Santtu Kinnunen | |
| Team: | ZSC Lions |
| League: | NL |
| Former Teams: | Pelicans Tappara |
| Position: | Defence |
| Birth Date: | 1999 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Lahti, Finland |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lbs: | 161 |
| Shoots: | Right |
| Draft: | 207th overall |
| Draft Year: | 2018 |
| Draft Team: | Florida Panthers |
| Career Start: | 2018 |
Santtu Kinnunen (born 25 March 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing under contract with the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL).
Kinnunen played as a youth within the Lahti Pelicans organization before making his professional debut with second tier affiliate, Peliitat Heinola, during the 2017–18 season. Showing promising development on the blueline, Kinnunen was selected by the Florida Panthers in the seventh-round, 207th overall, of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
He made his debut in the Liiga with 27 appearances for Lahti Pelicans during the 2018–19 Liiga season.[1]
Kinnunen played two full seasons with Tappara before he was signed to a two-year, entry-level contract with draft club, the Florida Panthers, on 2 May 2022.[2]
In moving to North America, Kinnunen featured in his first training camp with the Panthers in 2022, before he was re-assigned to begin the 2022–23 season with AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, on 2 October 2022.[3]
At the conclusion of his entry-level contract with the Panthers, Kinnunen as a pending restricted free agent was not tendered a qualifying offer by the club and was released as a free agent. On 18 July 2024, Kinnunen opted to return to Europe in signing a one-year contract with reigning Swiss champions, ZSC Lions of the NL.[4]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2016–17 | Lahti Pelicans | Jr. A | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Lahti Pelicans | Jr. A | 43 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Peliitat | Mestis | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Lahti Pelicans | Jr. A | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Lahti Pelicans | Liiga | 27 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Peliitat | Mestis | 21 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Lahti Pelicans | Jr. A | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Lahti Pelicans | Liiga | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Peliitat | Mestis | 26 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Tappara | Liiga | 59 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Tappara | Liiga | 54 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 57 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 69 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 68 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Liiga totals | 164 | 10 | 40 | 50 | 91 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||||