Sami Aittokallio is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 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...

 goaltender

Goaltender

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

 currently playing for the Ilves

Ilves

Ilves is a Finnish sports club nowadays mostly known for their youth work. The ice hockey team plays in the SM-liiga at the Tampereen jäähalli in Hakametsä...

 of the 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...

. He was selected in the fourth round, 107th overall by the Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...

 in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft

2010 NHL Entry Draft

The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial record of 11 American-trained players were selected in...

.

On April 12, 2010, Aittokallio signed a two-year contract extension to remain with Ilves, his original team as a youth.

International Play

Aittokallio was first selected to represent Finland at the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge

2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge

The 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge was an international ice hockey tournament held in Campbell River, Courtenay, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, and Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada between December 29, 2008 and January 4, 2009...

 tournament organised by Hockey Canada

Hockey Canada

Hockey Canada, formally known as the Canadian Hockey Association, is the national governing body of ice hockey in Canada and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Canada controls a vast majority of ice hockey in Canada, with a few exceptions...

. With an understrength team, Aittokallio mirrored the Finnish team and went winless in three games for the tournament to finish tenth out of ten. Touted for his hockey intelligence, good reflexes and athleticism, AittoKallio was selected to be first choice goaltender for Finland at the 2010 World Under-18 Championships

2010 IIHF World U18 Championships

The 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships was the 12th edition of the IIHF World U18 Championship. The tournament was held in Minsk and Babruysk, Belarus between April 13 and April 23, 2010. Tournament games were played at the Minsk Sports Palace in Minsk and the Babruysk Arena in Babruysk...

 in Minsk, Belarus. Sami, however, missed the tournament after suffering an ankle injury as Finland went on to defend their Bronze medal against Russia.

Aittokallio was selected to serve as the backup goaltender to Joni Ortio

Joni Ortio

Joni Ortio is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for the Abbotsford Heat – the American Hockey League affiliate of the Calgary Flames...

 for Finland at the 2011 World Junior Championships

2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships , was the 2011 edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was hosted by the United States. The games were played in Western New York, at HSBC Arena in Buffalo and Niagara...

. He made a solitary appearance in relief for Ortio, playing the third period of a 6-0 victory over Slovakia on December 31, 2010.

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2009 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge was an international ice hockey tournament held in Campbell River, Courtenay, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, and Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada between December 29, 2008 and January 4, 2009...	Finland	WJC17 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, originally known as the Quebec Esso Cup, is an international ice hockey tournament held annually in Canada. The tournament does not operate during years in which the Canada Winter Games are held. As such, the World Under-17 Challenge is held three out of every...		3	0	3	0	153	16	0	6.27	.792
2011 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships , was the 2011 edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was hosted by the United States. The games were played in Western New York, at HSBC Arena in Buffalo and Niagara...	Finland	WJC World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The International Ice Hockey Federation World Under 20 Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world...		1	0	0	0	20	0	0	0.00	1.000
Junior int'l totals				4	0	3	0	173	16	0	5.55	.812

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