Pekka Rautakallio

Pekka Olavi "Rocky" Rautakallio (born July 25, 1953) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played 14 seasons in Finland's SM-sarja and SM-liiga between 1968 and 1987 for Ässät and HIFK Helsinki, during which he was a five-time Finnish All-Star. Rautakallio was a member of Ässät's championship team that won the Kanada-malja in 1978. He was named the best defenceman of the SM-liiga in 1978, 1979 and 1986; the league later named the award the Pekka Rautakallio trophy in his honour. Internationally, Rautakallio played with the Finnish national team in seven World Championships and two Canada Cup tournaments.

Rautakallio played North American professional hockey on two occasions. He spent two years with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1975 and 1977. He returned in 1979 to join the Atlanta Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL) for one season before relocating to Canada with the franchise and playing two more with the Calgary Flames. Rautakallio played in the 1982 NHL All-Star Game, making him the first Finnish player in league history to appear in the game. He retired in 1989 after playing the final two seasons of his career with SC Rapperswil-Jona of the Swiss second division, after which he turned to coaching. Rautakallio has coached in Switzerland, Finland, and most recently Latvia with Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Playing career

Pekka Rautakallio started his ice hockey career in local club of his hometown, Ässät in 1970. He also represented the club's football team. As a skilled and mobile defenceman, Rautakallio was soon noticed and he played on his first International tournament in 1972.

Rautakallio gained the attention of World Hockey Association (WHA) officials when the 1974 Summit Series team played an exhibition against the Finnish national team. The Phoenix Roadrunners thought to sign him to a contract that year, but hesitated out of fear that the challenge of a Finn adapting to life in Arizona on his own would be too great. They brought him over one year later, along with his countryman Lauri Mononen, and signed both to two-year contracts. Rautakallio recorded 50 points, including 11 goals, in 1975–76. He finished as the leading scorer among rookie defencemen, and fifth overall for all defencemen.

Rautakallio returned to Ässät, which had joined the recently formed SM-liiga, and established himself as a top defenceman in the league. He was named defenceman of the year in both 1977–78 and 1978–79; the SM-liiga ultimately named the award the Pekka Rautakallio trophy in his honour. He recorded 37 points in 36 games in 1977–78, then improved to 25 goals and 53 points the following year. Ässät established its place as the SM-liiga's dominant team by winning the Kanada-malja as league champions in 1978 and reaching the final in 1979.

The Atlanta Flames brought Rautakallio back to North America in 1979 as general manager Cliff Fletcher signed him to a National Hockey League (NHL) contract. The Flames were impressed with the power of his shot and his speed; he finished his first NHL season with 30 points.

The 1981–82 season was Rautakallio's best in the NHL. He again led the team's defencemen in scoring, and was fourth overall, with 68 points in 80 games. He played for the Campbell Conference team at the 1982 All-Star Game, and in doing so became the first Finn in NHL history to appear in the mid-season contest.

Coaching career Rautakallio remained with SC Rapperswil-Jona and joined the team as its coach. He later coached in Bern and Zurich.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1968–69 Ässät SM-sarja 10 2 1 3 0 — — — — — 1969–70 Ässät SM-s 22 9 2 11 2 — — — — — 1970–71 Ässät SM-s 31 6 5 11 18 — — — — — 1971–72 Ässät SM-s 32 10 8 18 14 — — — — — 1972–73 Ässät SM-s 34 23 12 35 21 — — — — — 1973–74 Ässät SM-s 32 9 12 21 8 — — — — — 1974–75 Ässät SM-s 36 9 13 22 19 — — — — — 1975–76 Phoenix Roadrunners WHA 73 11 39 50 8 5 0 2 2 0 1976–77 Phoenix Roadrunners WHA 78 4 31 35 8 — — — — — 1977–78 Ässät SM-l 36 16 21 37 16 9 5 4 9 0 1978–79 Ässät SM-l 36 25 28 53 26 8 5 9 14 2 1979–80 Atlanta Flames NHL 79 5 25 30 18 4 0 1 1 2 1980–81 Calgary Flames NHL 76 11 45 56 64 16 2 4 6 6 1981–82 Calgary Flames NHL 80 17 51 68 40 3 0 0 0 0 1982–83 HIFK Helsinki SM-l 36 16 16 32 16 9 6 4 10 10 1983–84 HIFK Helsinki SM-l 33 9 21 30 10 2 0 2 2 0 1984–85 HIFK Helsinki SM-l 29 12 18 30 18 — — — — — 1985–86 HIFK Helsinki SM-l 34 13 23 36 8 10 3 0 3 10 1987–88 HIFK Helsinki SM-l 42 15 25 40 10 5 5 1 6 5 1987–88 SC Rapperswil-Jona NLB 33 19 14 33 18 3 1 1 2 0 1988–89 SC Rapperswil-Jona NLB 12 1 4 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 SM-s/SM-l totals 443 174 205 379 186 43 24 20 44 27 WHA totals 151 15 70 85 16 5 0 2 2 0 NHL totals 235 33 121 154 122 23 2 5 7 8

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1972 Finland WC 4 0 0 0 0 1973 Finland WC 7 0 0 0 4 1975 Finland WC 10 0 3 3 0 1976 Finland CC 5 2 2 4 2 1977 Finland WC 10 3 4 7 2 1978 Finland WC 10 4 3 7 2 1979 Finland WC 7 2 1 3 2 1981 Finland CC 5 0 1 1 2 1983 Finland WC 10 1 7 8 0 Senior totals 68 12 21 33 14

Awards and honours AwardYearRef EJC best defenceman 1971 EJC All-Star 1971 Finnish First All-Star Team 1974–75, 1977–781978–79, 1982–831985–86 SM-liiga top defenceman 1977–78, 1978–791985–86 Matti Keinonen trophy 1977–78 NHL All-Star Game 1982