Janne Kuokkanen

Janne Kuokkanen (born 25 May 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League (NL). Kuokkanen was drafted 43rd overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Janne Kuokkanen
Kuokkanen with the London Knights in 2016
Born (1998-05-25) 25 May 1998
Oulunsalo, Finland
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NL team
Former teams		 HC Fribourg-Gottéron
Oulun Kärpät
Carolina Hurricanes
New Jersey Devils
NHL Draft 43rd overall, 2016
Carolina Hurricanes
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

Before joining London Knights for the 2016–17 season, Kuokkanen played one game in his native Finland for Oulun Kärpät in the Finnish Liiga. He also played one game for their affiliate team Hokki in the Finnish 2nd level and 47 games for Kärpät in their U20 team.[1] Approaching the post-season in his rookie season in North America with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and having averaged over a point-per-game offensively with 26 goals and 62 points in 60 games, Kuokkanen was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on 24 March 2017.[2] After a second round exit in the post-season with the Knights, Kuokkanen was assigned to join the Hurricanes AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, during their first round series against the Chicago Wolves. Kuokkanen made his North American professional debut appearing in a single game with the Checkers in their first round defeat.

Kuokkanen started the 2017–18 season with the Hurricanes but after playing four games and garnering no points he was reassigned to the Checkers on 30 October 2017.[3]

During the 2019–20 season, while leading the Charlotte Checkers in scoring with 42 points through 52 games, Kuokkanen was dealt by the Hurricanes at the NHL trade deadline, along with Fredrik Claesson and a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Sami Vatanen on 24 February 2020.[4] Kuokkanen scored his first NHL goal on 30 January 2021, in a 4–3 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres.[5] On 9 August, Kuokkanen was re-signed to a two-year contract by the Devils.[6]

On 13 July 2022, the Devils bought out the final year of Kuokkanen's contract.[7] Leaving the NHL, he was later signed to a one-year contract with Swiss club, HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League (NL), on 27 July 2022.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Oulun Kärpät Jr. A 35 3 12 15 16 — — — — —
2015–16 Oulun Kärpät Jr. A 47 22 31 53 53 3 0 1 1 2
2015–16 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 1 2 0 2 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Hokki Mestis 1 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2016–17 London Knights OHL 60 26 36 62 14 14 10 6 16 2
2016–17 Charlotte Checkers AHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
2017–18 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2017–18 Charlotte Checkers AHL 60 11 29 40 16 8 3 1 4 2
2018–19 Charlotte Checkers AHL 48 12 26 38 16 — — — — —
2018–19 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 7 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2019–20 Charlotte Checkers AHL 52 12 30 42 16 — — — — —
2019–20 Binghamton Devils AHL 4 3 3 6 2 — — — — —
2019–20 New Jersey Devils NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 16 3 4 7 2 — — — — —
2020–21 New Jersey Devils NHL 50 8 17 25 14 — — — — —
2021–22 New Jersey Devils NHL 57 6 11 17 10 — — — — —
2022–23 HC Fribourg-Gottéron NL 42 10 21 31 12 1 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 119 14 28 42 28 — — — — —

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Finland U17 4th 6 2 3 5 6
2015 Finland IH18 4th 5 0 6 6 4
2016 Finland WJC18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 3 4 7 4
2017 Finland WJC 9th 6 0 1 1 2
Junior totals 24 5 14 19 16

Awards and honours
Award Year
AHL
All-Star Game 2019
Calder Cup 2019 [9]

References
  1. "Janne Kuokkanen player profile". Eliteprospects. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  2. "Canes agree to terms with Kuokkanen". Carolina Hurricanes. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  3. Niedzielski, Nicholas (30 October 2017). "Hurricanes assign Janne Kuokkanen to Charlotte". gocheckers.com. Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  4. "RELEASE: Devils Acquire Janne Kuokkanen, Fredrik Claesson and 4th Rd Pick". NHL.com. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  5. Ryan, Chris (30 January 2021). "Devils fall to Sabres in shootout after Janne Kuokkanen's 1st NHL goal forced OT". NJ.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. "Janne Kuokkanen Re-Signs with Devils". NHL.com. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  7. "Flyers Waive Oskar Lindblom With Intent Of Buyout, Donate $100,000 To Cancer Organization". CBS Philly. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  8. HC Fribourg-Gottéron (27 July 2022). "Janne Kuokkanen signs with Fribourg-Gottéron" (in French). Twitter. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  9. "Check and Mate! Charlotte wins Calder Cup". American Hockey League. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
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