Toni Rajala (born March 29, 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for

EHC Biel EHC Biel-Bienne is a professional ice hockey club based in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and plays in the National League (NL). Since the city of Biel is completely bilingual, alongside the German name EHC Biel (Abbr: EHCB) the tea ...

of the National League (NL). He was drafted 101st overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the

2009 NHL Entry Draft The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th Entry Draft. It was held on June 26–27, 2009, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Draft was part of the Montreal Canadiens' centennial celebrations. National Hockey League teams took turns select ...

Playing career

Rajala began playing junior hockey with the Ilves Tampere system in 2005–06. By 2007–08, he had worked his way up to the Junior A level of the SM-Liiga, tallying 35 points in 33 games. Rajala turned pro with Ilves Tampere in 2008–09, tallying 5 points in 21 games during his professional rookie season in the SM-Liiga. Rajala was selected in the first round of the 2009 CHL Import Draft (14th overall) by the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He joined the Wheat Kings for the 2009–10 WHL season. On July 16, 2009, Rajala signed a two-way contract with the Edmonton Oilers. With the impending

2012–13 NHL lockout The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barga ...

, The Oilers directly assigned him to the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League on September 15, 2012. On August 25, 2013, with the prospects of another season in the American minor leagues, Rajala opted to be mutually released from his contract with the Oilers and later returned to Europe to sign a one-year contract with Swedish Hockey League club, HV71 on October 15, 2013.

International play

Rajala debuted internationally for Finland at the

2008 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Kazan, Russia. The championships began on April 13, 2008, and finished on April 23, 2008. Games were played at TatNeft Arena and Arena Kazan in Kazan. Canada defeated Russia 8–0 in the final to c ...

, recording 5 points in 6 games as Finland placed sixth. The following year, he was named to Finland's under-20 team for the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and managed 3 points in 6 games; Finland finished in seventh place. Later that year, in April 2009, Rajala competed for Finland at the

2009 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. The championships ran from April 9 to April 19, 2009. Games were played at the Urban Plains Center in Fargo and the Moorhead Sports Cen ...

in the United States. He led the tournament in scoring with ten goals and nine assists and broke the previous point record held by Alexander Ovechkin. Rajala was selected as the best forward in the tournament, and was named to the tournament All-Star Team, helping Finland to a bronze medal. Rajala also represented Finland at the 2010 World Junior Championships, which were held in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajala, Toni 1991 births Living people People from Parkano EHC Biel players Brandon Wheat Kings players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Färjestad BK players Finnish ice hockey right wingers HV71 players Ilves players Luleå HF players Oklahoma City Barons players Stockton Thunder players HC Yugra players Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of Finland Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Finland Olympic medalists in ice hockey Sportspeople from Pirkanmaa