Kimmo Timonen

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size = 158px
team = Philadelphia Flyers
former_teams= Nashville Predators
league = NHL
position = Defense
shoots = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 10
weight_lb = 194
nationality = FIN
birth_date = birth date and age|1975|3|18
birth_place = Kuopio, FIN
draft = 250th overall
draft_year = 1993
draft_team = Los Angeles Kings
career_start = 1992

Kimmo Timonen (born March 18 1975, in Kuopio, Finland) is a professional ice hockey defenseman in the NHL. He currently plays for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Playing career

Timonen was the youngest player to represent Finland at the 1993 IIHF World Junior Championships at the age of 17. He recorded the second-highest shot total in the tournament with 44.

Timonen was drafted by the LA Kings in 1993 in the 10th round and 250th overall. After the draft, he continued to play in his native Finland for several years, first for KalPa and then later for TPS. In 1998, Timonen played on the bronze medal-winning Finnish Olympic team in Nagano. Shortly after the Olympics, he was traded, along with Jan Vopat, from the LA Kings to the Nashville Predators in agreement that Nashville would not select Garry Galley in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft.

During the 1998–99 NHL season, Timonen split time between the Predators and their IHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. The following year, he was promoted to a full time NHL player. He played the next four seasons for the Predators, steadily improving his offensive output, until the 2004–05 NHL lockout. During the lockout, Timonen played for his hometown team, KalPa, which he partly owns with former Philadelphia Flyer teammate Sami Kapanen. Timonen also persuaded his fellow teammate Adam Hall to play for KalPa for the duration of the lockout.

Timonen represented Finland at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and led his team in scoring with six points, the fifth-highest total overall in the tournament.

On October 3, 2006, Timonen was named the captain of the Nashville Predators for the 2006–07 season. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2611966 Preds name Timonen captain, send Radulov to AHL] ] That season proved to be a career year for Timonen with him registering career highs in both assists and total points.

Following the 2007 season, Timonen signed a six-year contract worth $37.8 million with the Philadelphia Flyers, which made him the highest paid Finn in the NHL. [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=211182&hubname=nhl Flyers acquire, sign Hartnell and Timonen] ] At the time, Timonen's younger brother Jussi Timonen was playing for the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the Flyers. However, Jussi was subsequently traded to the Dallas Stars. [ [http://flyers.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=346081&page=NewsPage&service=page Flyers trade Jussi Timonen to Dallas] ]

Timonen's and the Flyers' great run in this season's playoffs was put on hold after a visit to the doctor; Timonen got hit by a wrist shot at his foot on April 30, 2008, by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov. Timonen felt numbness in his foot as the week went along and thought it was nothing but a twisted nerve. After an MRI failed to reveal anything, Timonen had the foot examined at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. However on May 8, 2008, the doctor found a small blood clot in Timonen's foot. Timonen was sidelined indefinitely. After beating the Capitals 4-3, and the Canadiens 4-1, Timonen and the Flyers went on to play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals only to lose the series 4-1. [ [http://flyers.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=362913&page=NewsPage&service=page Timonen Out with Blood Clot] ]

Awards

*1997- Matti Keinonen trophy for best +/- in the SM-liiga
*2000- Named to the NHL All-Star team, but unable to play due to injury
*2004- Played in NHL All-Star game
*2005- Elected most valuable player in the Mestis playoffs
*2007- Played in NHL All Star Game
*2008- Named to the NHL All-Star team

Records

*Nashville Predators' franchise record for career assists (222)
*Nashville Predators' franchise record for career points (301)

Career statistics

International play

Played for Finland in:
*1993 World Junior Championships
*1994 World Junior Championships
*1995 World Junior Championships
*1996 World Championships
*1996 World Cup of Hockey
*1998 World Championships (silver medal)
*1998 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)
*1999 World Championships (silver medal)
*2001 World Championships (silver medal)
*2002 World Championships
*2002 Winter Olympics
*2003 World Championships
*2004 World Cup of Hockey (silver medal)
*2005 World Championships
*2006 Winter Olympics (silver medal)

International statistics

References

External links

* [http://www.nhlfinns.com/players.aspx?pid=90 Kimmo Timonen] on nhlfinns.com
*hockeydb|5406
* Meltzer, Bill [http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=331672 NHL.com article on Timonen's partial KalPa Kuopio ownership] Retrieved 07–11–07.