Kristian Näkyvä (born 18 November 1990) is a 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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who currently plays for

Timrå IK Timrå IK is a professional Swedish ice hockey team based in Timrå, north of Sundsvall. It competes in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), which is the top-tier league in Sweden, since being promoted by winning 2021 SHL qualifiers. Previous sea ...

of the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL).

Playing career

Undrafted, Näkyvä played as a youth within the

Espoo Blues Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish professional ice hockey club founded in 2018 as a continuation of the Kiekko-Espoo team originally founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Liiga, where they were promoted for the 2024–25 Liiga season, 20 ...

organization. He made his professional debut in the 2008–09 with the Blues with 2 assists in 6 games. After three seasons with the Blues, Näkyvä signed with rivals JYP in search of regular playing time at the Liiga level on 18 May 2011. Näkyvä established himself within the blueline of JYP and after three seasons in which he won a Championship in 2012 and found a place in the international squad he opted to leave his native Finland and signed a three-year contract with

Luleå HF Luleå Hockeyförening, also known as Luleå Hockey, is a professional ice hockey club from Luleå, Sweden. The club has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden, since the 1984–85 season. They are ...

of the

on 9 June 2014. In his debut season in Sweden in the 2014–15 season, Näkyvä was an instant success in co-leading the league in goals from the blueline with 10 and finishing 5th in scoring with 29 points. Näkyvä's performances gained NHL interest, and after just one season with Luleå, he cut short his contract with the club to sign a one-year entry-level contract with the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

on 24 April 2015. In the 2015–16 season, Näkyvä was assigned to the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

with affiliate, the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team based in Milwaukee. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. They play their homes games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther ...

. Unable to earn a recall to the Predators, Näkyvä appeared in 69 games for 10 points. On 18 May 2016, Näkyvä opted to leave the Predators organization after one season to return to Sweden in signing a two-year contract with Linköping HC of the SHL.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakyva, Kristian 1990 births Living people 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Espoo Blues players Finnish ice hockey defencemen HC Davos players Ice hockey people from Helsinki JYP Jyväskylä players Kiekko-Vantaa players Linköping HC players Luleå HF players Milwaukee Admirals players Timrå IK players TuTo players Örebro HK players