Ville Nieminen
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Ice Hockey | ||
 |
2006 | Ice Hockey |
Ville Nieminen (born April 6, 1977 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL.
Nieminen started his professional hockey career in Tappara in the Finnish SM-liiga, in the 1994-95 season. He was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche as their third-round pick, #78 overall, in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Nieminen spent three seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, and moved to the NHL and won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2001.
Known for his non-stop motor and aggressive in-your-face style of play, Nieminen is an annoying opponent in rink. He is often referred to as a "poor mans Esa Tikkanen". Nieminen has a relaxed personality outside the rink and his odd sense of humour is his trademark.
Nieminen has played for several teams in the NHL, and spent the 2004-05 lockout season playing for his home team, Tappara. He has signed with the New York Rangers for the 2005-06 NHL season.
He has represented Finland in international play at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and when he was unable to compete at the 2005 IIHF World Championships, he provided commentary on Finnish television with fellow NHL player Tuomo Ruutu. Ville is a popular color commentator due to his sense of humor and knowledge of the game.
Nieminen was named to play for Finland in the 2006 Turin Olympics, to replace the Philadelphia Flyers' Sami Kapanen, who is injured. He was traded to San Jose on March 8, 2006.
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1994-95 | Tappara | SM-liiga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | Tappara | SM-liiga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | Tappara | SM-liiga | 49 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 120 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1997-98 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 74 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 85 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 67 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 127 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1999-00 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 74 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 54 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1999-00 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 28 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 50 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 38 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 20 | ||
| 2001-02 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 53 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 75 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 93 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 60 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 19 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 55 | ||
| 2004-05 | Tappara | SM-liiga | 26 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 2005-06 | New York Rangers | NHL | 35 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 43 | |||||||
| NHL Totals | 306 | 44 | 59 | 103 | 270 | 47 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 75 | ||||
International play
- Played for Team Finland in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Finland | WCH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- 1977 births
- Living people
- Finnish Stanley Cup winners
- Finnish ice hockey players
- Colorado Avalanche players
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Calgary Flames players
- New York Rangers players
- Hershey Bears players
- Stanley Cup Champions
- Hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Winter Olympics medalists