Mikko Koskinen

Mikko Koskinen (born 18 July 1988) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. Koskinen was drafted in the second round, 31st overall, in the 2009 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders. Koskinen is one of the tallest goalies ever to play in the National Hockey League (NHL), standing at 6 feet 7 inches (201cm).

Playing career

Koskinen was drafted 31st overall by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL entry draft after playing for the Espoo Blues in the Finnish SM-liiga. He was the first goalie and first Finnish player selected that year. Prior to the draft, he was the second-ranked European goaltender by NHL Central Scouting Bureau.

On 13 July 2009, Koskinen signed a three-year entry-level contract with the New York Islanders. In the 2009–10 season, his first in North America, Koskinen was assigned to the Islanders affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, to start the year. After only two appearances with the Sound Tigers, he suffered a torn labrum in his hip which required surgery and ruled him out for the majority of the season. On 19 March 2010, after four months of rehab, Koskinen was reassigned to the secondary Islanders affiliate, the Utah Grizzlies, for the remainder of the year. Undefeated in six starts, he helped the Grizzlies reach the conference semi-finals before returning to the Sound Tigers' first-round playoff series on 18 April 2010.

Koskinen made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut on 8 February 2011 against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Islanders lost 5–3. He earned his first career NHL win two days later in a 4–3 shootout victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

On 12 November 2011, Koskinen returned to Finland, signing with KalPa.

In April 2013, Koskinen signed with the Espoo Blues.

In September 2013, Koskinen left Finland to play for Sibir Novosibirsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Part way through the 2014–15 season he was traded to SKA Saint Petersburg for fellow goaltender Alexander Salák. Koskinen and his team went on to win the Gagarin Cup, the KHL championship trophy in April 2015 and 2017.

On 1 May 2018, Koskinen agreed to terms on a one year, $2.5 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL. On 21 January 2019, the Oilers signed Koskinen to a three-year, $13.5 million extension. The decision to sign Koskinen for three years based on such a short tenure was considered unusual, and many speculated that it was a cause of the dismissal of controversial Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli days later.

Koskinen made his postseason debut in the NHL with the Oilers on 1 August 2020, playing in relief of Mike Smith in a 6–4 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the qualifying round. He earned his first and only NHL playoff win of his career in Game 2, making 23 saves in a 6–3 win against the Blackhawks.

After the end of the 2021–22 NHL season and the end of his contract with the Oilers, Koskinen signed a two-year contract with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League (NL) on 13 June 2022.

On 3 April 2024, Koskinen announced his retirement from professional hockey after two seasons with Lugano.

International play

Koskinen has represented Finland in the World Championships in 2014 and 2016. In 2016, he was included in the All-Star Team and was named the best goaltender.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2006–07 Kiekko-Vantaa Jr. A 27 16 8 3 1567 62 3 2.37 .927 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Blues Jr. A 20 12 4 4 1176 45 2 2.30 .907 2 0 2 81 7 0 5.18 — 2007–08 Blues SM-l 1 1 0 0 60 0 1 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Blues Jr. A 9 9 0 0 545 15 2 1.65 .930 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Blues SM-l 33 17 9 7 1921 61 1 1.91 .932 14 6 8 856 37 0 2.59 .912 2009–10 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 2 1 1 0 123 5 0 2.45 .902 3 1 1 147 7 0 2.85 .900 2009–10 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 6 6 0 0 360 15 0 2.50 .924 4 2 1 0 172 10 3.49 .899 2010–11 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 36 12 21 1 2063 120 0 3.49 .892 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 New York Islanders NHL 4 2 1 0 208 15 0 4.33 .873 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 3 0 2 0 149 7 0 2.82 .909 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 KalPa SM-l 25 13 5 4 1382 53 5 2.30 .917 6 3 2 323 12 2 2.23 .890 2012–13 KalPa SM-l 49 21 15 13 2953 101 7 2.05 .919 5 1 4 295 10 1 2.03 .936 2013–14 Blues Liiga 2 1 0 1 121 5 0 2.47 .915 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 41 20 11 8 2361 67 3 1.70 .939 10 4 5 607 20 1 1.98 .928 2014–15 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 29 16 11 1 1564 58 3 2.22 .921 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 21 9 8 2 1270 40 1 1.89 .927 22 16 6 1377 37 3 1.61 .936 2015–16 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 41 20 18 0 2379 96 3 2.42 .915 15 8 7 981 24 5 1.47 .949 2016–17 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 23 14 6 3 1387 48 3 2.08 .916 15 12 1 913 25 1 1.64 .938 2017–18 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 29 22 4 1 1718 45 5 1.57 .937 15 10 5 924 25 4 1.62 .935 2018–19 Edmonton Oilers NHL 55 25 21 6 2992 146 4 2.93 .906 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Edmonton Oilers NHL 38 18 13 3 2117 97 1 2.75 .917 4 1 2 209 11 0 3.16 .889 2020–21 Edmonton Oilers NHL 26 13 13 0 1438 76 0 3.17 .899 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Edmonton Oilers NHL 45 27 12 4 2629 136 1 3.10 .903 3 0 2 90 6 0 4.04 .897 2022–23 HC Lugano NL 33 13 17 0 1886 92 2 2.93 .900 8 4 4 531 18 2 2.03 .937 2023–24 HC Lugano NL 28 12 13 0 1638 76 0 2.78 .900 4 1 3 237 13 0 3.29 .880Liiga totals 108 52 29 25 6,316 215 14 2.04 .928 25 10 14 1,474 59 3 2.40 .914KHL totals 184 101 58 15 10,680 354 18 1.99 .926 77 50 24 4,801 131 14 1.64 .938NHL totals 168 85 60 13 9,383 470 6 3.01 .906 7 1 4 299 17 0 3.42 .892

International Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2014 Finland WC 1 0 1 0 58 4 0 4.12 .846 2016 Finland WC 8 7 1 0 479 9 1 1.13 .947 2018 Finland OG 6th 5 3 2 0 297 8 0 1.62 .931Senior totals 14 10 4 0 834 21 1 1.52 .932

Awards

International Award Year(s) awarded Euro Hockey Tour winner 2017–18 World Championship All-Star Team 2016 World Championship Best Goaltender 2016

KHL Award Year(s) awarded Gagarin Cup champion 2014–15, 2016–17