Kalle Kossila

Kalle Kossila (born 14 April 1993) is a French-born Finnish professional ice hockey centre. He is currently playing for Växjö Lakers in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Kossila spent time in North America as part of the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs organizations. His biological parents are Finnish.

Kalle Kossila
Kossila with the St. Cloud State Huskies in 2016
Born (1993-04-14) 14 April 1993
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams		 Växjö Lakers
Anaheim Ducks
EHC München
Jokerit
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

Kossila first played junior hockey in his homeland of Finland, with professional clubs, Jokerit and Espoo Blues before moving to North America to play collegiate hockey on a scholarship with St. Cloud State University of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

With strong offensive instincts and top-level speed, Kossila proved as a scoring forward at the collegiate level with the Huskies. His scholastic ability within college was noted at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season as he was awarded the NCHC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In his senior year with the Huskies in 2015–16, Kossila led the team and co-led the NCHC in scoring, alongside Brock Boeser, with 54 points in 41 games in helping St. Cloud capture the Frozen Faceoff championship.

Kossila completed his collegiate career, ranking second all-time with 105 assists and sixth in points with 153 in 157 games for St. Cloud State. On 31 March 2016, as an undrafted free agent, Kossila agreed to a two-year entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks.[1] He immediately joined AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls on an amateur try-out basis, and made his professional debut in finishing the regular season with 2 goals and 4 points in 6 games.

In his first full professional season and after attending the Ducks training camp, Kossila was assigned to begin the 2016–17 season with the Gulls. Assuming a top-line role within San Diego, Kossila was amongst the club's leaders in offensive totals before he received his first recall to the Anaheim Ducks on 25 January 2017.[2] He made his NHL debut later that night in a 4–0 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers.[3]

Having left the Ducks as a free agent after four seasons within the organization, Kossila was signed to a two-year, two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 24, 2019.[4]

Approaching his final year under contract with the Maple Leafs, and with the North American 2020–21 season delayed due to the ongoing pandemic, Kossila was loaned by Toronto to join German club, EHC Red Bull München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), on 10 December 2020.[5] He contributed with 5 goals and 12 points in just 13 games in the DEL before returning to the Maple Leafs organization assigned to the Marlies on February 9, 2021.

As a free agent from the Maple Leafs organization, Kossila was signed by Finnish outfit, Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), agreeing to a two-year contract on 15 June 2021.[6] In the 2021-22 season, Kossila made 39 appearances with Jokerit, collecting 21 points, before the team pulled out of the playoffs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kossila having left his contract with Jokerit was joined Swiss club, SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL) for the remainder of the season.

On 9 May 2022, Kossila moved to the SHL, in agreeing to a two-year contract with the Växjö Lakers.[7]

Personal

Despite some articles Kossila holds only Finnish citizenship.[8]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Espoo Blues Jr. A 30 8 11 19 6 12 3 5 8 0
2011–12 Espoo Blues Jr. A 32 20 37 57 22 4 1 1 2 0
2012–13 St. Cloud State WCHA 39 15 18 33 12 — — — — —
2013–14 St. Cloud State NCHC 38 13 27 40 16 — — — — —
2014–15 St. Cloud State NCHC 39 6 20 26 29 — — — — —
2015–16 St. Cloud State NCHC 41 14 40 54 14 — — — — —
2015–16 San Diego Gulls AHL 6 2 2 4 0 7 2 0 2 2
2016–17 San Diego Gulls AHL 65 14 34 48 8 10 2 4 6 2
2016–17 Anaheim Ducks NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2017–18 San Diego Gulls AHL 55 21 33 54 26 — — — — —
2017–18 Anaheim Ducks NHL 10 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2018–19 San Diego Gulls AHL 44 14 21 35 14 16 3 4 7 2
2018–19 Anaheim Ducks NHL 8 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
2019–20 Toronto Marlies AHL 12 3 3 6 4 — — — — —
2020–21 EHC München DEL 13 5 7 12 4 — — — — —
2020–21 Toronto Marlies AHL 28 7 22 29 14 — — — — —
2021–22 Jokerit KHL 39 7 14 21 6 — — — — —
2021–22 SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers NL 7 2 1 3 2 6 1 0 1 0
NHL totals 19 2 1 3 4 — — — — —
KHL totals 39 7 14 21 6 — — — — —

Awards and honours
Award Year
College
NCHC Scholar Athlete of the Year 2015
NCHC Second All-Conference Team 2016

References
  1. "Ducks sign Kossila to two-year entry-level contract". Anaheim Ducks. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  2. "Ducks recall Kossila from San Diego". Anaheim Ducks. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  3. "Talbot leads Oilers in rout of Ducks". CBS Sports. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  4. "Maple Leafs announce free agent signings". 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  5. Toronto Maple Leafs (10 December 2020). "Leafs loan Kalle Kossila to Germany". Twitter. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  6. "Kalle Kossila and Otto Leskinen in a Jokerit jersey" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  7. "Welcome Kalle Kossila" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  8. "Ilmaveivillä hurmannut suomalaishyökkääjä kutsuttiin heti NHL:ään!". Iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 August 2017.
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