Quick Facts
Biography
Mikko Vainonen (born April 11, 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently under contract with Krefeld Pinguine in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Early life
Mikko Vainonen was a hard working defenceman in his childhood. He played a lot of floorball with his friends in residential Helsinki.
Playing career
He made his professional debut playing with HIFK of the SM-liiga during the 2011–12 SM-liiga season. He was selected in the fourth-round, 118th overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators. In the following season and in pursuit of his NHL ambition, he moved to North America to play major junior after he was drafted in the 2012 CHL import draft in the 1st round, 6th overall by the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.
In May 24, 2013, he was signed to a three-year entry level contract with the Nashville Predators. Vainonen split time between Nashville's farm teams the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League and the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL over the next two seasons, before being loaned to Liiga's SaiPa to finish the 2014–15 season.
At the start of the 2015–16 NHL season Vainonen and Nashville agreed to mutually terminate his contract, allowing him to seek employment elsewhere. He returned to his native Finland, coming to terms with Ässät Pori of the top tier Liiga.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | HIFK | Liiga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 55 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 42 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 57 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 73 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2013–14 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 31 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | SaiPa | Liiga | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 33 | ||
| 2015–16 | Ässät | Liiga | 39 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Ässät | Liiga | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 28 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 81 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 85 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 33 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Finland | U17 | 7th | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| 2012 | Finland | WJC18 | 4th | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | |
| 2014 | Finland | WJC | 01 ! | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 19 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 22 | ||||