Ray Kaunisto

Ray Kaunisto (born February 7, 1987) is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He last played with the Brampton Beast of the ECHL.

Playing career He played hockey at Northern Michigan University from 2006 to 2010, along with his younger brother Kory Kaunisto. On March 31, 2010, he was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Kings to a two-year entry-level contract. After two seasons with Kings affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, Kaunisto became an unrestricted free agent on June 20, 2012, when the Kings did not tender him a qualifying offer.

On August 21, 2013, Kaunisto signed with the AHL's St. John's IceCaps, an affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets. Kaunisto however spent the majority of the 2012–13 season, in the ECHL with lower tier affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

On August 28, 2013, he signed as a free agent to a one-year ECHL contract with the Kalamazoo Wings.

During his second season with the Wings in 2014–15, and after appearing in 43 games, Kaunisto was traded to the Evansville IceMen on March 11, 2015. The following day he was moved onto the Florida Everblades to finish out the season.

In the 2015–16 season, Kaunisto was without a club. On February 6, 2016, he signed with the Brampton Beast to play a final professional game in the ECHL before announcing his retirement from professional hockey on February 8, 2016.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2004–05 Soo Indians NAHL 55 20 20 40 72 14 4 6 10 8 2005–06 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 53 5 14 19 78 8 1 1 2 12 2006–07 Northern Michigan University CCHA 41 3 0 3 30 — — — — — 2007–08 Northern Michigan University CCHA 40 8 5 13 44 — — — — — 2008–09 Northern Michigan University CCHA 40 7 7 14 56 — — — — — 2009–10 Northern Michigan University CCHA 40 18 14 32 78 — — — — — 2010–11 Manchester Monarchs AHL 57 8 6 14 50 7 2 1 3 4 2011–12 Manchester Monarchs AHL 74 7 15 22 65 4 0 1 1 0 2012–13 St. John's IceCaps AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2012–13 Colorado Eagles ECHL 53 7 16 23 113 1 0 0 0 2 2013–14 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 34 2 10 12 46 6 0 0 0 2 2013–14 Syracuse Crunch AHL 6 1 0 1 4 — — — — — 2013–14 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2013–14 Utica Comets AHL 19 1 1 2 4 — — — — — 2014–15 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 43 5 9 14 76 — — — — — 2014–15 Florida Everblades ECHL 14 5 7 12 12 10 1 0 1 8 2015–16 Brampton Beast ECHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — AHL totals 160 17 23 40 125 11 2 2 4 4

Awards and honours Award Year College CCHA All-Tournament Team 2010