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1981
ENTRY DRAFT
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QUE | STL | TOR
VAN | WAS | WIN


 
OTHER YEARS
1963 | 1974 | 1986 | 1997
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1967 | 1978 | 1990 | 2001
1968 | 1979 | 1991 | 2002
1969 | 1980 | 1992 | 2003
1970 | 1982 | 1993 | 2004
1971 | 1983 | 1994 | 2005
1972 | 1984 | 1995 |
1973 | 1985 | 1996 |

 

1981 NHL DRAFT PICK
Hannu Virta
Selected in second round
No. 38 overall by Buffalo Sabres

Born March 22, 1963
Position: Defense
Height: 6-0   Weight: 175
BEFORE THE DRAFT
Last Team: Turku TPS (Finland)                         
Birthplace: Turku, Finland
Hometown: Turku, Finland
PRE-DRAFT STATISTICS
Year TeamLeague GPG ATP PIM
1978-79 Turku TPSFinland Jr. 221 910 6
1979-80 Turku TPSFinland Jr. ---- ---- --
1980-81 Turku TPSFinland Jr. 2922 2244 55
  Turku TPSFinland 10 11 0

PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
European Junior Championships:
1981 (fourth place)
European Junior Championships All-Star First Team: 1981
Miscellaneous: Suspended by Finland's SM-Liiga for part of 1980-81 season due to his overly rough play.
NHL CAREER
Debut: March 30, 1982 (Buffalo at Quebec)
Numbers:  23, 3 (Buffalo)
Stanley Cup: Never won.  Playing Status: Retired 1998
CAREER NHL STATISTICS
Years TeamsGP GA TPPIM
1982-1986 Buffalo245 25101 12666
CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS
Years TeamsGP GA TPPIM
1982-1984 Buffalo17 13 46

NHL AWARDS AND HONORS
Miscellaneous:
Had assist in his first NHL game and was named game's No. 3 star. ... Was first European player to earn full-time roster spot with Buffalo. ... Missed part of 1982-83 season with groin injury, suffered during Buffalo's Feb. 12, 1983, game at Calgary. ... Missed parts of 1983-84 season with hand injury, suffered in November 1983, and with stretched knee ligaments, an injury suffered in January 1984. ... Missed part of 1985-86 season with knee injury, suffered during Buffalo's Jan. 27, 1986, game at Montreal. ... Was represented by agent Bob Beale during his NHL playing days. ... Played out option with Buffalo in 1985-86 and became a restricted free agent, but chose to return to Finland and complete his military obligation rather than continue NHL career because he was unhappy with the Sabres.
NON-NHL CAREER
Post-Draft Teams: Turku TPS (Finland); Zurich (Switzerland)
Olympics: 1994 (bronze medal)
Canada Cup: 1987 (sixth place)
World Cup of Hockey: 1996 (fifth place)
World Championships: 1987 (fifth place), 1989 (fifth place), 1991 (fifth place), 1994 (silver medal), 1995 (gold medal), 1996 (fifth place), 1997 (fifth place), 2003 (5-8 place) (as assistant coach)
World Junior Championships: 1982 (bronze medal)
NON-NHL AWARDS AND HONORS
Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame:
Inducted 2003
Finland Championship: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1999 (assistant coach), 2000 (assistant coach), 2001 (assistant coach) (Turku TPS)
Finland Rautakallio Trophy (Best Defenseman): 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91 (Turku TPS)
Finland Wasama Trophy (Rookie of Year): 1981-82 (Turku TPS)
Finland All-Star First Team: 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92 (Turku TPS)
Coaching Career: Named Turku TPS (Finland) assistant coach prior to 1998-99 season and remained in that position until April 14, 2003. ... Named Espoo (Finland) co-head coach on April 14,2003, and remained in that position into 2003-04 season.
Miscellaneous: Spoke no English when he arrived in Buffalo in 1982. ... Shared apartment with Buffalo teammates Mike Moller during 1982-83 season and with Dave Andreychuk during 1983-84 season.

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SNAPSHOT '81
Total Selected: 211
Forwards: 119
Defense: 67
Goaltenders: 25
Major Junior: 122
Tier II/Jr. B: 10/4
College Players: 21
High School: 18
Canadian: 139
Euro-Canadian: 3
USA Citizens: 37
U.S.-Born: 36
European: 32
Reached NHL: 114
Stanley Cup: 17
Hall of Fame: 2
All-Star Game: 14
Year-end All-Star: 7
Olympians: 30
Picks Traded: 38
 
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