Iiro Pakarinen

Iiro Pakarinen (born 25 August 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for HIFK of the Finnish Liiga. Pakarinen previously played in Liiga with KalPa and has also played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Jokerit, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, and Barys Nur-Sultan, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers.

Playing career

Pakarinen played in his native Finland from his youth level with the professional Liiga club, KalPa. As a skilled, versatile forward, Pakarinen was drafted 184th overall in the 2011 NHL entry draft by the Florida Panthers. Unable to agree to terms with the Panthers, Pakarinen continued his development in the Finnish Liiga with KalPa. On 3 May 2012, he joined HIFK as a free agent on a two-year contract.

Upon completion of his second season with HIFK in 2013–14 and scoring a career-high 20 goals and 30 points, Pakarinen signed his first NHL contract as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers on a two-year entry-level deal on 16 June 2014. On 1 December 2017, he was placed on waivers by the Oilers, and was then sent to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, on 2 December.

On 2 July 2018, Pakarinen left the Oilers and the NHL as a free agent, signing a one-year contract with Russian club, Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. In the 2018–19 season, Pakarinen made as positive impact with Metallurg, producing 19 goals and 26 points in 60 games.

On 2 May 2019, having concluded his contract with Metallurg, Pakarinen continued in the KHL, signing a one-year deal with Kazakh-based, Barys Nur-Sultan. In the following 2019–20 season, Pakarinen suffered an injury-hit year, featuring in just 22 games and registering 10 points. He collected 1 goal in 5 post-season games before the playoffs were canceled due to COVID-19.

On 11 May 2020, Pakarinen opted to return to Finland and remain in the KHL, signing a three-year contract with Jokerit.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2007–08 KalPa FIN U18 20 14 14 28 59 2 0 0 0 4 2007–08 KalPa FIN U20 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2008–09 KalPa FIN U18 Q 2 2 0 2 2 — — — — — 2008–09 KalPa FIN U20 37 11 10 21 44 5 1 0 1 2 2009–10 KalPa FIN U20 11 8 4 12 10 — — — — — 2009–10 KalPa SM-l 38 3 5 8 37 12 3 0 3 8 2009–10 Suomi U20 Mestis 6 1 2 3 6 — — — — — 2010–11 KalPa FIN U20 4 3 2 5 6 — — — — — 2010–11 KalPa SM-l 46 7 3 10 34 7 1 0 1 37 2010–11 Suomi U20 Mestis 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2011–12 KalPa SM-l 54 10 3 13 47 7 2 2 4 0 2012–13 HIFK SM-l 33 5 7 12 6 6 3 0 3 4 2013–14 HIFK Liiga 60 20 10 30 32 2 0 0 0 2 2014–15 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 39 17 11 28 20 — — — — — 2014–15 Edmonton Oilers NHL 17 1 2 3 2 — — — — — 2015–16 Bakersfield Condors AHL 4 1 2 3 4 — — — — — 2015–16 Edmonton Oilers NHL 63 5 8 13 8 — — — — — 2016–17 Bakersfield Condors AHL 5 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 2016–17 Edmonton Oilers NHL 14 2 2 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 2017–18 Edmonton Oilers NHL 40 2 1 3 6 — — — — — 2017–18 Bakersfield Condors AHL 18 9 4 13 2 — — — — — 2018–19 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 60 19 7 26 6 6 0 1 1 2 2019–20 Barys Nur–Sultan KHL 22 4 6 10 2 5 1 0 1 2 2020–21 Jokerit KHL 32 9 6 15 24 4 0 1 1 4 2021–22 Jokerit KHL 46 10 10 20 10 — — — — — 2021–22 HIFK Liiga 11 4 0 4 4 7 0 3 3 0 2022–23 HIFK Liiga 58 19 17 36 47 12 7 1 8 2 2023–24 HIFK Liiga 59 18 12 30 10 7 1 3 4 6 2024–25 HIFK Liiga 58 30 12 42 37 4 0 1 1 2 2025–26 HIFK Liiga 22 6 5 11 39 5 0 0 0 2 Liiga totals 439 122 74 196 293 69 17 10 27 63 NHL totals 134 10 13 23 18 1 0 0 0 0 KHL totals 160 42 29 71 42 15 1 2 3 8

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2009 Finland WJC18 6 1 1 2 2 2010 Finland WJC 5th 6 1 1 2 2 2011 Finland WJC 6th 6 1 2 3 2 2014 Finland WC 10 3 0 3 2 2021 Finland WC 10 4 1 5 14 2022 Finland OG 6 3 0 3 2 2024 Finland WC 8th 8 0 2 2 0 Junior totals 18 3 4 7 6 Senior totals 34 10 3 13 18