Janne Niskala

Janne Niskala
Born (1981-09-22) 22 September 1981 (age 43)
Västerås, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0.5 in (184 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Liiga team
Former teams		 Lukko
Färjestad BK
Tampa Bay Lightning
Frölunda HC
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Atlant Moscow Oblast
HC Dinamo Minsk
National team  Finland
NHL draft 147th overall, 2004
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2000–2019

Janne Juhani Niskala (born 22 September 1981) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for Lukko of the Finnish Liiga.

Playing career

Niskala was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft in 5th round as the 147th pick overall. He is known for his good offensive skills and his power play scoring ability.[1]

Niskala has played in Finland for the SM-liiga club Lukko for five seasons. During the 2000–01 season he played in the Finnish second tier division but also for the British club Manchester Storm. He has spent one season with the Swiss club EV Zug and one for the Swedish Elitserien club Färjestads BK. In Sweden he was reunited with his former teammate from Lukko, Esa Pirnes. During the 2006–07 season in Sweden, Niskala led all defensemen in both points and goals. He also finished first in the plus/minus statistics with a plus-25 rating.[1]

Following his big season with Färjestad, Niskala signed a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL), but spent the entire 2007–08 season with the farm team Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). Niskala was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on 24 June 2008 in exchange for Triston Grant and a 7th round draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. On 30 June 2008, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 6th round draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He scored a goal in his first NHL preseason game on 20 September 2008 against the Penguins. He then scored his first NHL goal in his third NHL game, on 11 October against Michael Leighton of the Carolina Hurricanes.[2] Niskala only play six games for the Lightning before asking to be waived since he had been cut off the roster. On 13 November, he signed a two-year contract with Frölunda HC in Elitserien.

On 4 May 2011, he moved from KHL's Metallurg Magnitogorsk to Atlant Mytishchi.[3]

On 9 October 2012, Atlant Mytishchi traded Janne Niskala to HC Dinamo Minsk for Jonas Frögren. He returned to Atlant after completion of the 2012–13 season with Minsk.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997–98 Lukko FIN U18 12 0 1 1 10 — — — — —
1998–99 Lukko FIN U18 14 7 4 11 42 — — — — —
1998–99 Lukko FIN U20 2 0 0 0 12 — — — — —
1999–2000 Lukko FIN U20 40 14 15 29 50 8 0 2 2 8
2000–01 Lukko FIN U20 13 4 8 12 40 — — — — —
2000–01 Lukko SM-l 18 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2000–01 UJK FIN-2 13 4 1 5 43 — — — — —
2000–01 Manchester Storm GBR 10 0 1 1 8 6 0 0 0 6
2001–02 Lukko FIN U20 3 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2001–02 Lukko SM-l 55 7 13 20 81 — — — — —
2002–03 Lukko SM-l 46 4 5 9 40 — — — — —
2003–04 Lukko SM-l 55 21 15 36 73 4 0 0 0 18
2004–05 Lukko SML 44 9 12 21 63 9 5 2 7 4
2005–06 EV Zug NLA 44 12 17 29 50 7 0 2 2 10
2006–07 Färjestads BK SEL 53 19 30 49 62 9 3 3 6 14
2007–08 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 80 19 25 44 81 6 0 1 1 8
2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 6 1 2 3 6 — — — — —
2008–09 Frölunda HC SEL 35 9 10 19 20 11 3 3 6 8
2009–10 Frölunda HC SEL 50 12 16 28 34 7 3 4 7 6
2010–11 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 54 11 19 30 30 19 0 4 4 14
2011–12 Atlant Mytishchi KHL 54 12 22 34 32 12 2 1 3 6
2012–13 Atlant Mytishchi KHL 14 1 3 4 10 — — — — —
2012–13 Dinamo Minsk KHL 37 6 8 14 20 — — — — —
2013–14 Atlant Mytishchi KHL 38 2 5 7 6 — — — — —
2014–15 Lukko Liiga 60 14 16 30 71 14 2 3 5 8
2015–16 Lukko Liiga 56 10 24 34 46 5 0 2 2 2
2016–17 Lukko Liiga 43 11 6 17 12 — — — — —
2017–18 Lukko Liiga 54 9 19 28 28 — — — — —
2018–19 Lukko Liiga 44 1 8 9 12 — — — — —
SM-l/Liiga totals 475 86 118 204 426 32 7 7 14 32
NHL totals 6 1 2 3 6 — — — — —
KHL totals 197 33 57 90 98 31 2 5 7 20

International

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vancouver
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Bratislava
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Quebec
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2001 Moscow
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2001 Finland WJC 7 0 0 0 10
2008 Finland WC 9 2 2 4 2
2009 Finland WC 4 1 2 3 2
2010 Finland OG 6 0 2 2 2
2010 Finland WC 7 0 2 2 4
2011 Finland WC 9 1 3 4 4
2012 Finland WC 10 3 1 4 10
Senior totals 45 7 12 19 24

References

  1. ^ a b "Janne Niskala". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
  2. ^ "Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning". hockeyreference.com. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Atlant sign Janne Niskala, but lose Jan Bulis". Sports.ru. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.