Olli Malmivaara is a Finnish professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 defenceman

Defenceman (ice hockey)

Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...

. He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

 as their fourth-round pick, #117 overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft

2000 NHL Entry Draft

The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was held from June 24 to 25 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild...

. Malmivaara played junior hockey in Jokerit

Jokerit

Jokerit is an ice-hockey team from Helsinki, Finland, playing in the Finnish Elite League, SM-liiga. The team has won 6 league championships...

 and made his SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...

 debut there; in 2003 he signed with SaiPa

SaiPa

Saimaan Pallo is an ice hockey team in the Finnish SM-liiga. They play their home games at Kisapuisto in Lappeenranta, Finland.-History:The team's best achievement is from the 1965-1966 season, when they won bronze medals for placing third...

 and spent two years with that team. In 2006 he signed with the New Jersey Devils

New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

. Malmivaara was a physical defenceman in the Finnish league, where he racked up an average of over 100 penalty minutes a season. The Devils signed him looking for defensive depth in Lowell. He played his first NHL game on October 31, 2007 against the Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...

 in a 6–1 win where he played just over 10 minutes. He would only play one other game in the 2007–08 NHL season, dressing for seven and a half minutes against the Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 in a 3-2 win.

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