Miika Wiikman (born October 17, 1984) is a Swedish-born Finnish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. He is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

having last played for Anglet Hormadi Élite of the

Ligue Magnus The Ligue Magnus, currently known as Synerglace Ligue Magnus for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's division of the French ice hockey pyramid, established in 1906. The league operated under a variety of names before taking that of its champio ...

Playing career

Wiikman started his junior career in Sweden with HV71 before moving to HPK in Finland, with whom he won the

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

championship in 2006 and was a recipient of the Jari Kurri trophy as the Playoff MVP. He signed an AHL contract with the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the PeoplesBank Arena. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. ...

on June 4, 2007. Miika started the 2007–08 season splitting playing time with Al Montoya. After the latter's trade to the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

organization, Wiikman became Hartford's primary goaltender, finishing the season with a 21-8-3 record, during which he was awarded Player of the Week on January 27, 2008. On April 24, 2008, he signed an

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

entry-level contract with the Rangers. He opened the 2009–10 season again with Hartford before he was reassigned to the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. On March 3, 2010, Wiikman was traded by the Rangers to the Phoenix Coyotes for Anders Eriksson. He was then assigned to AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

for the remainder of the season. On April 26, 2010, Wiikman returned to the Finland's SM-liiga, signing a one-year contract with Lukko for the 2010-11 season. On the June 21, 2015, Wiikman continued his journeyman career in moving to England, to play for the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite ice hockey league. Wiikman departed Nottingham in April 2017, following two years with the team. In September 2017, Wiikman signed with

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

new-boys Milton Keynes Lightning as short-term injury cover following an injury to their number one netminder in pre-season. In August 2018, Wiikman signed for fellow EIHL side Coventry Blaze after it was confirmed that incumbent netminder Kevin Nastiuk was not returning to the club. Wiikman, a dual citizen, has played on the Finnish national team and the Swedish national junior team.

Career statistics

Awards

*2002-03

J20 SuperElit J20 Nationell is a junior ice hockey league composed of 20 teams in Sweden. Previously known as the J20 SuperElit, it is the highest-level junior ice hockey league in Sweden. The teams are divided in two groups, or divisions, ''Norra'' (North) ...

SM-silver Medal *2003-04 Finland2 (

Mestis Mestis (from , meaning 'Championship series', stylized as MEST1S) is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division ...

) Rookie of the Year *2005-06 Jari Kurri trophy - awarded to the best player in the Finnish

playoffs. *2005-06

Champion

References

External links

* 1984 births Living people Anglet Hormadi Élite players HC '05 Banská Bystrica players Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010) players Coventry Blaze players Finnish ice hockey goaltenders Hartford Wolf Pack players HDD Olimpija Ljubljana players HPK players Ilves players Jokerit players Kiekko-Vantaa players Kokkolan Hermes players Lukko players Milton Keynes Lightning players Nottingham Panthers players Oulun Kärpät players Sportspeople from Mariestad SaiPa players San Antonio Rampage players Swedish ice hockey goaltenders TuTo players Ice hockey people from Västra Götaland County Swedish expatriate sportspeople in France Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in France Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in England Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 21st-century Finnish sportsmen {{Finland-icehockey-goaltender-stub