Joni Ortio

A native of Turku, Finland, Ortio played junior hockey for his hometown team, TPS. He appeared in 26 games in Finland's junior league in 2008–09 and recorded an 18–8 record with a 2.63 goals against average (GAA).[1] He made his first appearance with the Finnish national team, as he recorded three wins and one shutout to help the under-18 team win the bronze medal at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships.[2] The National Hockey League (NHL)'s Calgary Flames to select him with their sixth round selection, 171st overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Ortio remained in Finland for the 2009–10 season where he appeared in 30 junior games. He also made his SM-liiga debut with TPS as he played three games and won one.[1] Moving up to the national junior team, Ortio made two appearances at the World Junior Hockey Championship winning three games at both the 2010 and 2011 tournaments for Finland as the nation finished 5th and 6th, respectively.[2] He played 15 games with TPS in the SM-liiga in 2010–11 before moving to North America. Ortio was assigned to Calgary's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat. He made his North American debut on April 10, 2011, against the Toronto Marlies, but lost 6–0.[3] He began the 2011–12 AHL season with Abbotsford, but after nine games was reassigned on loan back to TPS in the SM-liiga. Ortio admitted that he had not been ready to play in North America at that time.[4]

Moving to HIFK Helsinki for the 2012–13 SM-liiga season, Ortio was the team's starting goaltender and appeared in 53 games. He recorded a 23–20–9 record with a 2.42 GAA and four shutouts.[1] Making his debut with the Finnish senior team, Ortio appeared in three games at the 2013 IIHF World Championship. He won all three and recorded a GAA of 1.98.[5]

Ortio returned to North America in 2013–14 and after playing four games with the ECHL's Alaska Aces, won his first nine decisions in the AHL with Abbotsford.[6] By midseason, he had posted a 19–5–0 record and earned his first recall to the NHL on February 3, 2014, after Calgary's starting goaltender Karri Rämö suffered an injury.[7] Ortio made his NHL debut with the Flames on Feb 27, 2014, in a 2–0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at the Scotiabank Saddledome.[8] His first NHL victory came in his second game, a 4–1 win over the Ottawa Senators on March 5.[9] Ortio posted a record of four wins and four losses in nine games with the Flames before finishing the season with the Heat; he won 27 of the 37 AHL games he played and was named to the AHL's All-Rookie Team.[10][11]

Returning to the AHL to begin the 2014–15 season, Ortio joined the newly relocated Adirondack Flames. He won 17 games by mid-season, and with a .916 save percentage, was named to play in the AHL All-Star Game before injury again led to his recall to Calgary.[12] Ortio made his season debut with the Flames on January 10, 2015, against the Vancouver Canucks and recorded his first career NHL shutout in a 1–0 victory.[13]

On September 7, 2016, Ortio signed a contract to play for Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League for the 2016–17 season.[14] Ortio enjoyed two successful seasons with Skellefteå, helping the club return to the Le Mat Trophy finals in the 2017–18 season.

As a free agent, Ortio left the SHL after two seasons, opting to sign a one-year contract with Russian outfit, HC Vityaz of the Kontinental Hockey League on May 8, 2018.[15] As Vityaz' first choice goaltender for the 2018–19 season, Ortio made 52 regular season appearances, collecting 24 wins, in helping Vityaz reach the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.

On 3 October 2019, Ortio as a free agent continued his professional career in Switzerland, agreeing to a one-year contract with the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL).[16] In the following 2019–20 season, Ortio made 21 appearances with the Zurich-based club, posting a 2.38 goals against average, before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ortio left Switzerland after just one season, returning to the KHL by agreeing to a one-year contract with Kazakh club, Barys Nur-Sultan, on 29 May 2020.[17] In the 2021–22 season, Ortio appeared in 39 regular season games as Barys starting goaltender and posted a 15-18-5 record.

Following a first-round defeat in the post-season, Ortio left the KHL and signed for a second stint in the SHL, by agreeing to a two-year contract with newly promoted HV71, on 23 May 2022.[18]