Toni Rajala

Toni Rajala
Rajala in 2011
Born (1991-03-29) March 29, 1991 (age 33)
Parkano, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 168 lb (76 kg; 12 st 0 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
NL team
Former teams		 EHC Biel
Ilves
Oklahoma City Barons
HV71
HC Ugra
Färjestad BK
Luleå HF
National team  Finland
NHL draft 101st overall, 2009
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2008–present

Toni Rajala (born March 29, 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for EHC Biel of the National League (NL). He was drafted 101st overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Rajala began playing junior hockey with the Ilves Tampere system in 2005–06. By 2007–08, he had worked his way up to the Junior A level of the SM-Liiga, tallying 35 points in 33 games. Rajala turned pro with Ilves Tampere in 2008–09, tallying 5 points in 21 games during his professional rookie season in the SM-Liiga.

Rajala was selected in the first round of the 2009 CHL Import Draft (14th overall) by the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL).[1] He joined the Wheat Kings for the 2009–10 WHL season.

On July 16, 2009, Rajala signed a two-way contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[2]

With the impending 2012–13 NHL lockout, The Oilers directly assigned him to the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League on September 15, 2012.[3]

On August 25, 2013, with the prospects of another season in the American minor leagues, Rajala opted to be mutually released from his contract with the Oilers and later returned to Europe to sign a one-year contract with Swedish Hockey League club, HV71 on October 15, 2013.[4]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Slovakia
Gold medal – first place 2022 Finland
IIHF World U18 Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2009 United States

Rajala debuted internationally for Finland at the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships, recording 5 points in 6 games as Finland placed sixth. The following year, he was named to Finland's under-20 team for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and managed 3 points in 6 games; Finland finished in seventh place.

Later that year, in April 2009, Rajala competed for Finland at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships in the United States.[5] He led the tournament in scoring with ten goals and nine assists and broke the previous point record held by Alexander Ovechkin. Rajala was selected as the best forward in the tournament,[6] and was named to the tournament All-Star Team,[7] helping Finland to a bronze medal. Rajala also represented Finland at the 2010 World Junior Championships, which were held in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2006–07 Ilves FIN U18 30 18 26 44 32 — — — — —
2006–07 Ilves Jr. A 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Ilves FIN U18 13 10 15 25 18 — — — — —
2007–08 Ilves Jr. A 33 13 22 35 10 5 1 3 4 8
2008–09 Ilves Jr. A 31 14 17 31 18 — — — — —
2008–09 Ilves SM-l 21 2 3 5 0 3 0 0 0 2
2009–10 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 60 26 37 63 24 15 4 3 7 8
2010–11 Ilves SM-l 44 9 13 22 4 6 4 0 4 0
2010–11 LeKi Mestis 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Ilves SM-l 51 16 13 29 24 — — — — —
2012–13 Stockton Thunder ECHL 29 18 20 38 10 — — — — —
2012–13 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 46 17 28 45 16 17 4 12 16 8
2013–14 HV71 SHL 37 13 17 30 12 7 1 4 5 4
2014–15 HC Yugra KHL 21 3 9 12 6 — — — — —
2014–15 Färjestad BK SHL 31 14 13 27 12 3 0 2 2 0
2015–16 Luleå HF SHL 52 17 15 32 8 11 0 2 2 6
2016–17 EHC Biel NLA 36 16 8 24 14 5 2 3 5 2
2017–18 EHC Biel NL 44 16 19 35 8 12 9 5 14 0
2018–19 EHC Biel NL 50 27 21 48 36 12 5 1 6 2
2019–20 EHC Biel NL 50 23 23 46 10 — — — — —
2020–21 EHC Biel NL 46 12 20 32 22 2 0 0 0 0
2021–22 EHC Biel NL 51 22 26 48 10 7 2 3 5 4
2022–23 EHC Biel NL 51 16 22 38 18 17 10 5 15 2
Liiga totals 116 27 29 56 28 9 4 0 4 2
NL totals 328 132 139 271 118 55 28 17 45 10

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 Finland U17 6th 5 6 5 11 6
2008 Finland WJC18 6th 6 3 2 5 2
2009 Finland WJC 7th 6 2 1 3 4
2009 Finland WJC18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 10 9 19 6
2010 Finland WJC 5th 6 1 2 3 0
2011 Finland WJC 6th 6 0 4 4 2
2019 Finland WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 1 4 5 2
2022 Finland OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1 0 0 0 0
2022 Finland WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 4 2 6 0
Junior totals 35 22 23 45 20
Senior totals 21 5 6 11 2

Awards and honours

Award Year
CHL
George Parsons Trophy 2010 [8]
IIHF
U18 Best Forward 2009
U18 All-Star Team 2009 [9]

References

  1. ^ "Brandon Wheat Kings CHL Import Draft". Brandon Wheat Kings. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  2. ^ "Oilers ink trio: Dubnyk, Arsene, and 2009 draft pick Rajala sign deals with club". Edmonton Oilers. 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  3. ^ "Barons get 26 from Oilers". American Hockey League. 2012-09-15. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  4. ^ "Toni Rajala ready for HV71". HV71 (in Swedish). 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  5. ^ Rajala starred at World Under-18 tourney
  6. ^ "Best Players Selected By The Directorate" (PDF). IIHF. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  7. ^ "Media All-Stars" (PDF). IIHF. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  8. ^ IIHF (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-9867964-0-1.
  9. ^ "IIHF All-Star Team U18". eliteprospects.com. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2010-02-03.