Hannu Toivonen

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size=
team = Ilves Tampere
former_teams = St. Louis Blues
Boston Bruins
league = Finnish SM-liiga
position = Goaltender
catches = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 197
nickname =
nationality = FIN
birth_date = birth date and age|1984|5|18
birth_place = Kalvola, FIN
draft = 29th overall
draft_year = 2002
draft_team = Boston Bruins
career_start = 2002

Hannu Toivonen (born May 18, 1984 in Kalvola, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for the Ilves Tampere of the Finnish SM-liiga.

Playing career

Pre-NHL

Toivonen started his pro career with HPK in the Finnish SM-liiga. He was drafted by the Boston Bruins of the NHL in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, and moved to the Providence Bruins of the AHL in 2003.

The NHL

With Andrew Raycroft sitting out due to a contract dispute, Toivonen started the 2005–06 NHL season as the Bruins' backup goaltender. He made his NHL debut on October 8, 2005 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, coming away with an overtime win. He holds the distinction of allowing the first goal of Sidney Crosby's career in that game. On December 1, 2005, he recorded his first NHL shutout, blanking the Ottawa Senators. Toivonen was 9–5–4 with a 2.63 GAA and a .914 SV% before suffering a high ankle sprain in January that effectively ended his season.

At the beginning of the 2006–07 NHL season, Toivonen and fellow team-mate and goaltender Tim Thomas were competing for the starter spot. After a rough start at the beginning of the season, Toivonen was sent down to Providence and was replaced by Brian Finley on November 7, 2006, officially making Tim Thomas the starting goaltender for Boston. Over the course of the next couple months, he was repeatedly recalled to Boston and sent back down to Providence. On April 2, he was recalled to Boston for the last two away games, then sent back to Providence on April 6.

On April 26, 2007, Toivonen signed a one-year contract extension with the Boston Bruins. [Bruins Website [http://www.bostonbruins.com/pressbox/pressreleases.asp?ID=2009] ]

On July 23, 2007, Toivonen was traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Carl Soderberg. On November 17, 2007, Toivonen recorded his first shutout shootout against the Predators. Upon being traded to the Blues, Hannu was reunited with former Bruins teammates Brad Boyes, Ryan Glenn, Yan Stastny and Derek Gustafson.Toivonen was assigned to the Peoria Rivermen, the Blues' AHL affiliate, on February 11, 2008. [Blues Website [http://blues.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=353129] ]

Career statistics

Regular season

*"Beginning in the 2004–05 AHL season and the 2005–06 NHL Season, regular season games could no longer end in a tie and a new record called "OTL - Overtime Loss" was introduced.

References

External links

*
*
* [http://www.nhlfinns.com/players.aspx?pid=124 Hannu Toivonen] on nhlfinns.com

Persondata
NAME = Toivonen, Hannu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Finnish ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH = 18 May 1984
PLACE OF BIRTH = Kalvola, Finland
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =