Nelli Laitinen

Nelli Laitinen (born 29 April 2002) is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national team, currently playing in the NCAA Division I with the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey program.

Nelli Laitinen
Born (2002-04-29) 29 April 2002
Lohja, Finland
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 62 kg (137 lb; 9 st 11 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
NCAA team
Former teams		 Minnesota Golden Gophers
Kiekko-Espoo
KJT Kerava
National team  Finland
Playing career 2017–present
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2022 BeijingIce hockey
World Championship
Silver medal – second place2019 Finland
Bronze medal – third place2021 Canada

Playing career

Laitinen began her college ice hockey career with the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference of the NCAA as an incoming freshman for the 2022–23 season.[1] Despite missing eight games due to an upper-body injury that kept her sidelined for two months, she tallied 18 points and ranked third for points of all team defenseman.[2] Her impressive first season was recognized with her selection to the Watch List for the Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Year and naming to the USCHO All-Rookie and the WCHA All-Rookie teams.[3][4]

International play

As a junior player with the Finnish national under-18 team, she participated in the IIHF U18 Women's World Championships in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.[5]

Laitinen made her senior national team debut at the 2018 4 Nations Cup in Saskatoon, Canada, where she contributed one assist in four games to Finland's bronze medal victory.[6][7] Later that season, she represented Finland at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship.[8] At sixteen years old, she was the youngest player on the team and 29 years younger than Finland's eldest player, Riikka Sallinen.[9] She recorded one assist in seven games as Finland won the first World Championship silver medal in team history.[10]

She won bronze medals representing Finland at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship and in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[11]

At the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship, she notched 3 goals and 7 assists in seven games, ranking third on the team points table in a tie with forwards Noora Tulus and Viivi Vainikka, each scoring 10 points. Her totals ranked second of all Finnish defensemen, trailing captain Jenni Hiirikoski by just 1 assist.

Personal life

Laitinen's older brother, Villi (born 1999), is a professional ice hockey defenseman in the Finnish Liiga. When she joined the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the jersey number 9, which she had worn in her career to that point, was already in use and she selected 7 as her new number because her brother had worn it in the past.[12]

At a pre-Olympic press conference in January 2022, she confirmed that she was in a relationship with NHL player Jesperi Kotkaniemi.[13]

Her major at the University of Minnesota is in business and marketing. Swedish national team player Josefin Bouveng was one of her four roommates during her first year at the university.[12][14]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Naisten SM-sarja was rebranded as Naisten Liiga in 2017. Espoo Blues renamed as Kiekko-Espoo in 2019.

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016-17 HAKI N. Mestis 8 4 2 6 0 – – – – –
2016-17 HAKI N. Suomi-sarja 2 2 0 2 0 – – – – –
2016-17 KJT (L) NSMs 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2
2017-18 HAKI U16 U16 Mestis 18 3 8 11 0 – – – – –
2017-18 Espoo Blues NSML 11 2 1 3 0 10 1 4 5 2
2017-18 KJT (L) NSML 3 0 0 0 0 – – – – –
2018-19 Espoo Blues NSML 27 12 27 39 6 6 0 5 5 0
2019-20 Kiekko-Espoo NSML 28 7 24 31 12 6 6 8 14 6
2020-21 Kiekko-Espoo NSML 24 13 24 37 20 10 1 6 7 6
2021-22 Kiekko-Espoo NSML 23 7 24 31 16 10 8 13 21 8
2022-23Minnesota Golden GophersNCAA 30315184 ––––—
Naisten Liiga totals 1174110014154 4616365224

Note: Postseason results for the 2016–17 season are from the qualification series (Finnish: Karsintasarja) rather than the playoffs and are not calculated with playoff totals.
Sources: Elite Prospects,[15] Finnish Ice Hockey Association[16]

International
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2017 Finland U18 WW18 5th 5 0 1 1 4
2018 Finland U18 WW18 5th 5 0 4 4 0
2019 Finland U18 WW18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 3 4 3
2019 Finland WW 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 0 1 1 2
2020 Finland U18 WW18 4th 6 3 1 4 2
2021 Finland WW 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 0 1 4
2022 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 2 5 7 4
2022 Finland WW 6th 7 1 4 5 6
2023FinlandWW5th 737102
Junior totals 22491310
Senior totals 357172418

Sources: Finnish Ice Hockey Association,[16] International Ice Hockey Federation[5][17]

Honors and achievements
Award Year
International
WW18 Top-3 Player on Team 2018, 2019, 2020
WW18 All-Star Team 2019
WW18 Bronze Medal 2019
WW18 Best Defenseman 2020
World Championship Silver Medal 2019
World Championship Bronze Medal 2021
Olympic Bronze Medal 2022
Minnesota Golden Gophers
USCHO All-Rookie Team 2023[18]
WCHA All-Rookie Team 2023[19]
HCA National Rookie of the Year Watch List 2023[20]
Naisten Liiga
All-Star First Team 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Aurora Borealis Cup Champion 2019, 2021, 2022
Päivi Halonen Award (Best Defenseman) 2020, 2021, 2022
U18 Student Athlete of the Year 2020
Player of the Month October 2020
Karoliina Rantamäki Award (Playoff MVP) 2022

Sources: [21][22][23]

References
  • Aykroyd, Lucas (7 March 2023). "Laitinen's star on the rise". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  1. "Gophers Add Laitinen to 2022-23 Signing Class". University of Minnesota Athletics. 17 January 2022. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  2. Schoenberg, Eitan (20 January 2023). "UMN women's hockey climbs to top of WCHA". The Minnesota Daily. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  3. Aykroyd, Lucas (7 March 2023). "Laitinen's star on the rise". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  4. Johnson, Randy (23 February 2023). "Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle of Gophers named first-team All-WCHA". Star Tribune. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  5. Podnieks, Andrew; Nordmark, Birger, eds. (2019). "Active Skaters, Women". IIHF Guide & Record Book 2020. Toronto: Moydart. p. 653. ISBN 9780986796470.
  6. Viljanen, Markus (29 October 2018). "Naisleijonat vahvalla joukkueella 4 Nations Cupiin - mukana myös useampi 2000-luvulla syntynyt lupaus" [Naisleijonat has a strong team for the 4 Nations Cup – included several promising [players] born in the 21st century]. Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  7. "2018 4 Nations Cup – Player Stats – Players (Points)". Hockey Canada. 10 November 2018. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  8. "Naisleijonien MM-joukkue yhtä vaille valmis – Kisojen alkuun kymmenen päivää" [Naisleijonat World Championship team is ready – Ten days to the start of the tournament]. leijonat.fi. Finnish Ice Hockey Association. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  9. Martela, Ille (5 April 2019). "16-vuotias Nelli Laitinen on ottanut paikkansa Naisleijonissa" [16-year-old Nelli Laitinen has taken her place with the Naisleijonat]. Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  10. "2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship – Team Roster: FIN - Finland" (PDF). stats.iihf.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 5 April 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  11. "Beijing 2022 – Althetes: Nelli LAITINEN, Ice Hockey". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  12. Schoenberg, Eitan (6 February 2023). "9 to 7, Finland to Minnesota: Nelli Laitinen speaks on changes in hockey career". The Minnesota Daily. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  13. Palojärvi, Otto (25 January 2022). "Naisleijonien suurlupaus pahoillaan NHL-poikaystävänsä puolesta". Sportti.com (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  14. Huttunen, Sasha (6 April 2023). "Nelli Laitinen muutti 20-vuotiaana Yhdysvaltoihin – perillä odotti iso shokki: "Ihan sama, oletko nainen vai mies"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  15. "Player Profile: Nelli Laitinen". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  16. "Pelaajakortti: Nelli Laitinen". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  17. "2023 IIHF Women's World Championship – Player Statistics by Team: FIN - Finland". International Ice Hockey Federation. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  18. Haase, Nicole (31 March 2023). "Women's Division I College Hockey: 2022-23 All-USCHO Teams". U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  19. "2022-23 All-WCHA Teams Announced". Western Collegiate Hockey Association (Press release). 23 February 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  20. "Hockey Commissioners Association Releases National Women's Rookie of the Year 'Watch List'". Hockey Commissioners Association (Press release). 2 February 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  21. Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Liiga. Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). "Jääkiekkokirja 2019–2020" (PDF). Jääkiekkokirja (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti: 554. ISSN 0784-3321. OCLC 476321083. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  22. Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Jääkiekkon SM-liiga Oy (2020). Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). "Jääkiekkokirja 2021: Suomen Jääkiekkoliiton ja Liiga Kausijulkaisu 2020–2021" (PDF). Jääkiekkokirja (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti: 528. ISSN 0784-3321. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  23. Mennander, Pasi (15 March 2021). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2020–21 palkitut pelaajat ja tähtikentät". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
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