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| 1983 NHL DRAFT PICK |
 |
Esa Tikkanen
Selected in
fourth round
No. 80 overall by Edmonton Oilers
Born
January 25, 1965
 | Position:
Left Wing
Height: 6-1 Weight: 185
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Helsinki IFK (Finland)
Birthplace:
Helsinki, Finland
Hometown: Helsinki, FInland |
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 |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1981-82 |
Regina | SJHL |
59 | 38 |
37 | 75 |
216 | | |
Regina | WHL |
2 | 0 |
0 | 0 |
0 | | 1982-83 |
Helsinki IFK | Finland Jr. |
30 | 34 |
31 | 65 |
104 | | |
Helsinki IFK | Finland |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Finland Championship: 1983 (Helsinki IFK)
World Junior Championships: 1983 (sixth place)
European Junior
Championships: 1983 (silver medal)
Finland Junior-A Penalty-Minutes Leader: 1982-83 (104 PIM)
Miscellaneous: Spent entire 1982-83 regular season with Helsinki IFK
Junior-A team, but joined senior (men's) team during 1983 playoffs. ...
Worked as stick boy for Team Canada in 1982 World Championships, which were
played in his native Helsinki, Finland. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: May 23, 1985 (Edmonton at
Philadelphia) (playoff game)
Numbers: 14, 10 (Edmonton); 10
(N.Y. Rangers); 10 (St. Louis);
10 (New Jersey); 10 (Vancouver); 97, 10 (Florida); 11 (Washington)
Stanley Cup:
1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994.
Playing Status:
Retired April 19, 2001 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1985-1999 |
EDM, NYR, STL,
NJ, VAN, FLO, WAS | 877 |
244 | 386 |
630 | 1,077 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1985-1998 |
Edmonton, NYR,
STL, VAN, Wash. | 186 |
72 | 60 |
132 | 275 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Stanley Cup Finals (Lost): 1998 (Washington)
Edmonton Top Defensive Forward: 1988-89
NHL Records: Fastest two shorthanded goals by one player in one game
(12 seconds for Edmonton at Toronto on Nov. 12, 1988; goals at 10:44 and
10:56 of first period)
Edmonton Records: Fastest two shorthanded
goals by player in one game (12 seconds at Toronto on Nov. 12, 1988;
goals at 10:44 and 10:56 of first period), most overtime goals in
playoff year (2 in 1991)
Edmonton Points
Leader: 1990-91 (69)
Edmonton Playoffs Points
Leader: 1991 (20)
Edmonton Playoffs Goals
Leader: 1991 (12)
Edmonton Playoffs Penalty-Minutes
Leader: 1988 (72)
Miscellaneous: Joined Edmonton in May 1985 after competing for Finland at
1985 World Championships. ... Made his NHL debut for Edmonton in Game 2 of
the Stanley Cup Finals on May 23, 1985, at Philadelphia. ... Made his NHL
regular-season debut for Edmonton on Oct. 10, 1985, vs. Winnipeg. ... Missed
part of 1985-86 season with broken right foot, an injury suffered during
Edmonton's Dec. 10, 1985, game at St. Louis. He did not return to action
until Edmonton assigned him to Nova Scotia (AHL) in on Jan. 17, 1986. ...
Played on line with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri for Edmonton in 1986-87 and
1987-88. ... Missed part of 1986-87 season with severe cut on elbow that developed into
bursitis. The injury, suffered during Edmonton's Dec. 9, 1986, game at
Minnesota,
required surgery. ... Finished second in NHL with 27.0 shooting percentage
in 1986-87. ... Finished third in voting for left wing position in 1986-87
NHL postseason All-Star voting. ... Named NHL Player of Week for the week
ending Nov. 13, 1988. ... Missed part of 1988-89 season with
broken left wrist (scaphoid bone), an injury suffered in Edmonton's Jan. 10,
1989, game at Los Angeles. He did not return to action until Edmonton's Jan.
23, 1989, game vs. N.Y. Rangers. He re-aggravated the injury in Edmonton's Jan. 31, 1989, game at Vancouver and did not return to
action until Edmonton's Feb. 17, 1989, game vs. Washington. ... Had
Edmonton's longest point-scoring streak during 1988-89 season, scoring in 13
consecutive games from Feb. 17, 1989, to March 15, 1989. ... Led Edmonton
with eight shorthanded goals in 1988-89. ... Was runner-up to Guy Carbonneau
for 1988-89 Selke Trophy. ... Missed part of 1989-90 season with right knee
injury, suffered in Edmonton's Oct. 28, 1989, game at Quebec. ... Was
finalist for 1989-90 Selke Trophy. ... Missed start of Edmonton's 1990
training camp while recovering from off-season knee surgery, performed in
August 1990. ... Missed part of 1990-91 season with strained back muscles,
an injury suffered during Edmonton's March 28, 1991, game at Calgary. ...
Led Edmonton with 235 shots on goal in 1990-91. ... Became first player in
Edmonton history to lead team in scoring with fewer than 100 points when he
achieved feat with 69 points in 1990-91. ... Led NHL with two overtime goals
in 1991 playoffs. ... Was runner-up to Dirk Graham for 1990-91 Selke Trophy.
... Was represented by player agent Rich Winter during his playing days in
Edmonton. ... Played on line with Kelly Buchberger and Craig MacTavish for
Edmonton in 1991-92. ... Missed parts of 1991-92 season with sprained right wrist, an injury
suffered during Edmonton's Dec. 1, 1991, game vs. Vancouver and
re-aggravated during Edmonton's Dec. 20, 1991, game at Buffalo. ... Missed
nearly half of 1991-92 season with fractured left shoulder, an injury
suffered when he was checked into the boards in Edmonton's Jan. 4, 1992,
game at Calgary. The injury required two hours of surgery on Jan. 7, 1992,
and Tikkanen did not return to action until Edmonton's April 12, 1992, game
vs. San Jose. ... Missed parts of 1992-93 season with the flu, an illness
contracted in December 1992, and with infected elbow, an injury suffered in
February 1993. ... Missed part of 1993-94 season with bruised knee, suffered
in N.Y. Rangers' Jan. 14, 1994, game vs. Philadelphia.
... Sent by N.Y. Rangers with Doug Lidster to St. Louis in exchange for Petr
Nedved on July 24, 1994. The trade was made as compensation for St. Louis'
having signed former Rangers head coach Mike Keenan. ... Missed parts of
1995 season with shoulder injury, suffered in St. Louis' April 3, 1995,
game vs. Toronto, and with illness, contracted in late April 1995. ...
Missed remainder of 1995 regular season with leg injury, suffered in St.
Louis' morning skate prior to May 1, 1995, game at Anaheim. ... Runner-up to Ron Francis for 1995 Selke Trophy. ...
Missed part of 1995-96 season with knee injury, suffered in New Jersey's
Nov. 21, 1995, game at Florida. While he was out with the injury, he was
traded by to Vancouver for 1996 second-round pick
(Wesley Mason) on Nov. 23, 1995. He did not return to action until
Vancouver's Jan. 3, 1996, game vs. Florida. He scored two goals in that
game, his first in with Canucks. ... Signed
with Florida as a Group III unrestricted free agent on Sept. 5, 1997. ...
Missed part of 1997-98 season with broken left leg (fibula), suffered when he got stuck in a rut in the ice and crashed into corner
boards during Florida's Nov. 5, 1997, game vs. New Jersey. He did not return
to action until Florida's Jan. 1, 1998, game vs. New Jersey. ... Signed with N.Y. Rangers as a Group III unrestricted free agent on Oct. 9,
1998. ... Missed part of 1998-99 season with sprained ankle, an injury suffered
in N.Y. Rangers' Nov. 7, 1998, game at Toronto. ... Hampered by knee injury
throughout 1998-99 season. ... Turned down Edmonton offer to return to
Finland and play for Helsinki Jokerit in 1999-00. ... Played all three
forward positions at various points during his NHL career. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Helsinki IFK Jr., Helsinki IFK (Finland); Nova Scotia (AHL); Helsinki
Jokerit (Finland); Essen (Germany)
Olympics: 1998 (bronze medal)
NHL-USSR Rendez-vous Series: 1987
Canada Cup: 1987
(sixth place), 1991 (third place)
World Championships: 1985
(fifth place), 1989 (fifth place), 1993 (seventh place), 1996 (fifth place),
2000 (bronze medal)
World Junior Championships: 1984
(silver), 1985 (fourth)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame: Inducted 2004
Finnish Player of Year: 1990-91 (Edmonton)
World Junior Championships All-Star First Team: 1985
Finland World Jr. Championships MVP: 1984 (tri-winner)
Miscellaneous: Played on line with
Esa Keskinen and Mikko Makela for Finland at 1985 World Junior
Championships. ... Played on line with Mikko Makela and Raimo Helminen for
Finland at 1985 World Championships. ... Played for Helsinki IFK (Finland) during NHL lockout of 1994-95.
... Was active in charitable causes during his playing days, including work
with Edmonton School for the Deaf, Edmonton Uncles at Large and Vancouver's
Children's Hospital. ... Helsinki Jokerit (Finland) retired Tikkanen's No. 5
in special ceremony prior to its Sept. 13, 2001, season-opener vs. Tampere
Ilves.
Personal: Nicknamed "The Grate
One" for his notorious ability to irritate and annoy opponents with his
constant chatter on the ice. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE:
Edmonton traded Tikkanen to N.Y. Rangers in exchange for Doug Weight on
March 17, 1993. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '83 | | Total Selected: |
242 | | Forwards: |
134 | | Defense: |
86 | | Goaltenders: |
22 | | Major Junior: |
122 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
19/5 | | College Players: |
15 | | High School: |
47 |
| Canadian: |
148 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
0 | | USA Citizens: |
60 | | U.S.-Born: |
60 |
| European: |
34 |
| Reached NHL: |
113 |
| Stanley Cup: |
21 | | Hall of Fame: |
4 |
| All-Star Game: |
20 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
7 |
| Olympians: |
34 |
| Picks Traded: |
41 |
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