Lauri Lahesalu

Lauri Lahesalu (born 29 March 1979) is an Estonian former professional ice hockey defenseman. He made a record 182 international appearances for Estonia, as well as playing club ice hockey in France.

Career Lahesalu started playing ice hockey for the club THK-88, who were local to him, after seeing an advertisement for players for the new club in a newspaper. He went on to make his international debut for the Estonia men's national ice hockey team on February 13, 1998, in a Codan Cup match against Denmark in Rödovre, which ended in a 7-7 draw. He was credited with his first assist for the Estonian national team on April 16 of that year, in the World Cup match against the Netherlands in Jesenice, in a match which finished 4-2. He scored his first international goal on April 6, 2002, in a World Cup match against Israel in Cape Town, South Africa. Lahesalu later served as team captain for the Estonian team. He also played club ice hockey in France in Angers for Ducs d'Angers. He stopped playing club hockey after the 2015-2016 season in order to prolong his international career with Estonia, keeping himself fit with daily gym sessions.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1996 Estonia EJC 20th 4 0 0 0 18 1997 Estonia EJC 19th 4 1 0 1 2 1998 Estonia WC-B 19th 7 0 1 1 0 1999 Estonia WJC-C 23rd 4 1 1 2 6 1999 Estonia WC-B 22nd 7 0 0 0 4 2000 Estonia WC-B 22nd 7 0 3 3 2 2001 Estonia WC-D1 28th 5 0 1 1 2 2002 Estonia WC-D2 29th 5 1 1 2 0 2003 Estonia WC-D1 22nd 5 0 1 1 4 2004 Estonia OGQ NQ 3 0 0 0 0 2005 Estonia WC-D1 23rd 5 0 5 5 2 2006 Estonia WC-D1 24th 5 0 1 1 6 2007 Estonia WC-D1 23rd 5 1 4 5 6 2008 Estonia WC-D1 27th 5 0 2 2 4 2009 Estonia WC-D2 31st 5 0 5 5 2 2011 Estonia WC-D1 27th 5 0 1 1 0 2012 Estonia WC-D2 29th 5 1 3 4 0 2014 Estonia WC-D2 29th 5 0 3 3 12 2015 Estonia WC-D1 27th 5 0 2 2 6 2016 Estonia WC-D1 27th 5 0 2 2 4 2016 Estonia OGQ NQ 3 2 9 11 2 2017 Estonia WC-D1 26th 5 0 4 4 0 2018 Estonia WC-D1 25th 5 0 2 2 0 2019 Estonia WC-D1 26th 5 0 2 2 2 2020 Estonia OGQ NQ 3 0 1 1 2 2022 Estonia WC-D1 25th 4 0 1 1 2 2023 Estonia WC-D1 26th5 0 0 010 Junior totals 12 2 1 3 26 Senior totals 119 5 54 59 72

Awards and achievements Award Year Ligue Magnus champion 2012–13