Mikko Mäkelä

Mikko Matti Mäkelä (born February 28, 1965) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey left wing. Known as the "Flying Finn", he was drafted in the fourth round, 65th overall, by the New York Islanders in the 1983 NHL entry draft.

Mäkelä made his NHL debut with the Islanders in the 1985–86 season. In four-plus seasons with the Islanders, Mäkelä scored 95 goals, including 37 in the 1987–88 season. The Islanders traded Mäkelä to the Los Angeles Kings during the 1989–90 season in exchange for Hubie McDonough and Ken Baumgartner.

After finishing the 1989–90 season with Los Angeles, Mäkelä was traded again before the 1990–91 season. This time, he went to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Mike Donnelly. After one season in Buffalo, Mäkelä returned to Europe, spending two-plus seasons playing in his native Finland and one in Sweden.

Mäkelä returned to the NHL following the 1994–95 NHL lockout, appearing in 11 games with the Boston Bruins during the shortened 1994–95 season. Mäkelä returned to Europe for the remainder of his career, playing two seasons in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga before returning to Sweden and Finland for his final two seasons.

Mäkelä appeared in 423 NHL games in his career, scoring 118 goals and adding 147 assists. He also appeared in 18 Stanley Cup playoff games, scoring three goals and recording eight assists.

Since retiring from professional hockey, Mäkelä has moved to Lethbridge, Alberta, where he and his family currently reside.

Mäkelä served as the head coach for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League. With the hiring, Mäkelä was the first European born and bred head coach in the history of the Canadian Hockey League. Mäkelä would be relieved of his duties on January 13, 2004 and replaced by former London Knights head coach Lindsay Hofford.

He worked at the Warner Hockey School, a private girls' school located in Warner, Alberta where he served as both Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations of the Warner Hockey School Warriors girls' hockey team of the Junior Women's Hockey League.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Ilves FIN U20 23 29 11 40 28 4 2 5 7 2 1983–84 Ilves FIN U20 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1983–84 Ilves SM-l 35 17 11 28 26 2 0 1 1 0 1984–85 Ilves SM-l 36 34 25 59 24 9 4 7 11 10 1985–86 New York Islanders NHL 58 16 20 36 28 — — — — — 1985–86 Springfield Indians AHL 2 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 1986–87 New York Islanders NHL 80 24 33 57 24 11 2 4 6 8 1987–88 New York Islanders NHL 73 36 40 76 22 6 1 4 5 6 1988–89 New York Islanders NHL 76 17 28 45 22 — — — — — 1989–90 Los Angeles Kings NHL 45 7 14 21 16 1 0 0 0 0 1990–91 Buffalo Sabres NHL 60 15 7 22 25 — — — — — 1991–92 TPS SM-l 44 25 45 70 38 3 2 3 5 0 1992–93 TPS SM-l 38 17 27 44 22 11 4 8 12 0 1993–94 Malmö IF SEL 37 15 21 36 20 11 4 7 11 2 1994–95 Ilves SM-l 18 3 11 14 4 — — — — — 1994–95 Boston Bruins NHL 11 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 1994–95 Providence Bruins AHL — — — — — 7 2 4 6 2 1995–96 Düsseldorfer EG DEL 47 17 37 54 16 13 0 14 14 12 1996–97 Düsseldorfer EG DEL 40 4 14 18 0 4 1 1 2 0 1997–98 Södertälje SK SEL 25 2 11 13 14 — — — — — 1998–99 Tappara SM-l 41 4 6 10 14 — — — — — SM-l totals 212 100 125 225 128 25 10 19 29 10 NHL totals 423 118 147 265 139 18 3 8 11 14

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1982 Finland EJC 5 3 0 3 4 1983 Finland EJC 5 1 3 4 8 1984 Finland WJC 7 1 2 3 0 1985 Finland WJC 7 11 2 13 6 1985 Finland WC 8 2 2 4 2 1987 Finland CC 5 1 1 2 12 1992 Finland OLY 5 3 3 6 0 1992 Finland WC 8 2 8 10 0 1994 Finland OLY 8 2 3 5 4 1994 Finland WC 8 5 4 9 6 Junior totals 24 16 7 23 18 Senior totals 42 15 21 36 24