Ville Pokka
Pokka in 2015
Born (1994-06-03) June 3, 1994
Tornio, Finland
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
SHL team
Former teams		 Färjestad BK
Oulun Kärpät
Rockford IceHogs
Belleville Senators
Avangard Omsk
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 34th overall, 2012
New York Islanders
Playing career 2010–present

Ville Pokka (born June 3, 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman, who currently plays for Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Playing career

Pokka played with Kärpät in the SM-Liiga during the 2010–11 season.[1] He was drafted 23rd overall by Avangard Omsk in the 2012 KHL Junior Draft and 34th overall by the New York Islanders in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

On May 28, 2014, Pokka was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Islanders.[2]

Prior to the 2014–15 season, on October 4, 2014, Pokka was traded, along with T. J. Brennan and Anders Nilsson by the Islanders to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Nick Leddy and Kent Simpson.[3] He was then directly assigned to Blackhawks American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.[4]

After three seasons with the organization (all of which were spent with the IceHogs), the Blackhawks re-signed Pokka to a one-year, $650,000 contract extension on June 27, 2017.[5]

In the 2017–18 season, Pokka was familiarly reassigned to the IceHogs. On December 13, 2017, Pokka was recalled by the Blackhawks however remained a healthy scratch before returning to Rockford on December 18. After posting 22 points in 46 games, Pokka was traded by the Blackhawks to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Chris DiDomenico on February 15, 2018.[6] Pokka joined the Senators AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, and continued to provide offense from the blueline with 3 goals and 11 points in 23 games to end the season.

As an impending restricted free agent with the Senators, Pokka opted to leave North America by agreeing to a one-year contract with his Russian KHL draft club, Avangard Omsk, on May 8, 2018.[7]

In March 2022, Pokka left Avangard Omsk during playoffs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[8][9] As a free agent in the off-season, Pokka signed a one-year contract in moving to Sweden with Färjestad BK of the SHL, on 5 June 2022.[10]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Kärpät FIN U18 20 0 5 5 10 5 0 0 0 4
2010–11 Kärpät FIN U18 3 0 2 2 0 9 0 7 7 8
2010–11 Kärpät Jr.A 32 6 15 21 16 — — — — —
2010–11 Kärpät SM-l 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Kiekko–Laser Mestis 3 0 3 3 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Kärpät Jr. A 4 3 4 7 2 — — — — —
2011–12 Kärpät SM-l 35 0 3 3 12 9 0 3 3 2
2012–13 Kärpät Jr. A 3 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2012–13 Kärpät SM-l 47 6 6 12 8 3 0 2 2 0
2013–14 Kärpät Liiga 54 6 21 27 16 16 2 9 11 10
2014–15 Rockford IceHogs AHL 68 8 22 30 16 8 0 3 3 0
2015–16 Rockford IceHogs AHL 76 10 35 45 24 3 0 1 1 0
2016–17 Rockford IceHogs AHL 76 6 24 30 35 — — — — —
2017–18 Rockford IceHogs AHL 46 4 18 22 20 — — — — —
2017–18 Belleville Senators AHL 23 3 8 11 8 — — — — —
2018–19 Avangard Omsk KHL 61 7 10 17 8 19 2 1 3 6
2019–20 Avangard Omsk KHL 62 1 12 13 18 6 1 1 2 0
2020–21 Avangard Omsk KHL 31 4 9 13 8 24 1 4 5 10
2021–22 Avangard Omsk KHL 39 3 8 11 16 2 0 1 1 2
2022–23 Färjestad BK SHL 49 4 18 22 45 — — — — —
Liiga totals 138 12 30 42 38 28 2 14 16 12
KHL totals 193 15 39 54 50 51 4 7 11 18
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2022 Beijing
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Finland
Silver medal – second place2016 Russia
Silver medal – second place2021 Latvia
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Malmö

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Finland U17 7th 5 1 0 1 4
2011 Finland WJC18 5th 6 0 0 0 2
2011 Finland IH18 4th 5 2 3 5 2
2012 Finland WJC 4th 7 1 3 4 4
2012 Finland WJC18 4th 7 1 5 6 4
2013 Finland WJC 7th 6 2 4 6 2
2014 Finland WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 1 3 4 4
2016 Finland WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 0 2 2 0
2016 Finland WCH 8th 3 0 0 0 0
2018 Finland WC 5th 8 0 0 0 0
2021 Finland WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 0 2 2 4
2022 Finland OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 1 2 3 0
2022 Finland WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 0 2 2 0
Junior totals 43 8 18 26 22
Senior totals 45 1 8 9 4

Awards and honors

Award Year
Liiga
Matti Keinonen Trophy 2014
Kanada-malja (Oulun Kärpät) 2014
AHL
All-Rookie Team 2015
KHL
Gagarin Cup (Avangard Omsk) 2021 [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Kärpät team statistics". Eliteprospects.com. 2011-04-15. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
  2. ↑ "Pokka agrees to entry-level contract". New York Islanders. 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  3. ↑ "Blackhawks acquire prospects from Islanders for Leddy". Chicago Blackhawks. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  4. ↑ "Islanders acquire Nick Leddy in trade with Blackhawks". National Hockey League. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  5. ↑ "Blackhawks sign defenseman Ville Pokka to one-year deal". The Athletic. 2017-06-27. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  6. ↑ "Senators acquire defenceman Ville Pokka from Chicago for Chris DiDomenico". National Hockey League. February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Finnish national defenseman Ville Pokka joins Avangard" (in Russian). Avangard Omsk. 2018-05-08. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  8. ↑ "Suomalaiskiekkoilijoiden joukkopako KHL:stä jatkuu – lähde: Pokka ja Kaski jättävät seuransa, myös Tuohimaa pois Venäjältä". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Ville Pokka and Oliwer Kaski leave Avangard". Avangard Omsk. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Double gold medalist signs for Färjestad BK" (in Swedish). Färjestad BK. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Avangard is crowned 2021 Gagarin Cup Champions" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
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