Ville

There are always a few players that for some reason or another leave a lasting impression with me.  Many started in the AHL.  Many are former Hershey Bears.  Especially the guys from the mid to late 90's.  Ville Nieminen was one of those guys.  There is more likely a direct relation to the type of player they were and my fondness for them.

Nieminen started his professional career in Hershey.  In fact Hershey is the only AHL team he ever played for during parts of four seasons.  He isn't your average Fin.  Nieminen is what you could call a bit aggressive with his play.  He plays the body and enjoys the physical side of the game.  I wouldn't qualify him as a fighter.  In the 369 games I tracked for him since the 01-02 season I had him in three fights.  Take into consideration he received five game misconducts in the same span.

In his second AHL season Nieminen recorded 127 penalty minutes while also putting home 24 goals.  Nieminen would move on quickly to the NHL where he played for seven different teams in his career.  He managed 48 career goals, played in a Stanley Cup Finals, where he ended the playoffs with 55 penalty minutes before moving on to Europe.  Since returning to Europe he has had two 20+ goal seasons and three 100+ penalty minutes seasons.  Not bad for a shorter and less physical European game.  Last year at 35 he led his team in scoring, finished second in penalty minutes and had the most penalty minutes of any player in the playoffs.

This year he is back again with his hometown Taparra team, where he has consistently returned at various times in his career, as the captain.  No matter the age Ville knows only one way to play.




Two game suspension for Nieminen and he was ejected from this game.

I might not statistically follow all the leagues, but I got you covered.