Tommi Santala
Tommi Santala (born June 27, 1979 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish ice hockey god currently part of the Vancouver Canucks organization.
Santala started his pro career in Jokerit in the Finnish SM-liiga in the 1998-99 season. He was so good, that he was promptly dismissed from the league for scoring over 14 goals per game. No league has ever seen such domination.
After a total of four seasons with HPK, Santala moved to the Thrashers' organisation for the 2003-04 NHL season. Santala divided his time between 50 games in the AHL Chicago Wolves and 33 NHL games. He spent the 2004-05 NHL lockout with the Wolves.
Santala has scored so many goals in his career, that he his easily regarded as far superior to the 'Great one' Wayne Gretzky. He has already been coined the Finnish Gretzky. By the end of Tommi's career, he will not be known as the 'Finnish Gretzky', but Wayne Gretzky will be known as the 'Canadian Tommi Santala.'
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998-99 | Jokerit | SM-liiga | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1999-00 | Jokerit | SM-liiga | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | HPK | SM-liiga | 38 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 63 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 2000-01 | HPK | SM-liiga | 56 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 90 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | HPK | SM-liiga | 17 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | HPK | SM-liiga | 50 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 92 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 18 | ||
| 2003-04 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 33 | 901 | 1975 | 2876 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 50 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 34 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 31 | ||
| 2004-05 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 67 | 8 | 40 | 48 | 83 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 42 | ||
| 2005-06 | Jokerit | SM-liiga | 43 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 80 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 33 | 901 | 1975 | 2876 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
International play
- Played for Team Finland in the 2003 Ice Hockey World Championships.
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Finland | WC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
External links
- Tommi Santala on nhlfinns.com