Tuukka Rask
Encyclopedia
Tuukka Mikael Rask is a Finnish
professional ice hockey
goaltender
currently playing for the Boston Bruins
of the National Hockey League
(NHL). Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
by the Toronto Maple Leafs
. On June 24, 2006 his rights were traded to the Bruins in exchange for goaltender Andrew Raycroft
.
.
He then played in 26 games for the Tampere
-based Ilves Jr. in the Finnish Junior League. His goals against average
(GAA) was 1.86 with two shutouts and a .935 save percentage
. He was the top ranked European goaltender in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
.
Rask played his last European ice hockey season as the number one goaltender for the Ilves senior team in the top-flight SM-liiga
.
drafted Rask in the first round (21st overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
. Before playing a single regular season game for Toronto he was traded to the Boston Bruins
for former Calder Trophy winning goaltender Andrew Raycroft
. Toronto management had deemed Justin Pogge
their potential goaltender of the future, and Rask became expendable.
, and was in attendance to observe the Providence Bruins
's 2006–07 playoff run for the American Hockey League
(AHL)'s Calder Cup
championship. The Providence team did not make it past the second round of the Calder Cup against the Manchester Monarchs
, but Rask practiced with the Providence team briefly.
On 5 November 2007, Rask was called up from Providence to the Boston Bruins for the first time. Just two weeks later, on 20 November, he recorded his first NHL win, a 4–2 victory on the road against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On 3 October 2008, the Bruins assigned Rask to the Providence Bruins. Rask had the best save percentage (.952) among the goalies in pre-season play, followed by teammates Manny Fernandez (.875) and Tim Thomas
(.869), and Kevin Regan (.857), but the team decided to go with the two veteran goaltenders, Thomas and Fernandez, for the 2008–09 season.
With nagging back spasms keeping Fernandez from play shortly after the All-Star Game
break, Rask was once again called up to serve as a second goaltender, and on 31 January 2009 he played his first (and only) game with the Bruins in the 2008–09 season, and earned his first ever NHL shutout, a 1–0 home effort against the New York Rangers
, with Marc Savard
scoring the only Bruins goal.
Not long after the beginning of the 2009–10 season
, Rask, who had been named the backup goaltender to Thomas, signed a two-year extension to his contract with the Bruins on 5 November 2009 that will have him under contract through the 2011–12 season.
In the 2009-10 regular season, Rask was the only goalie with a goals against average less than 2.00 and the only goalie with a save percentage over .930. Although he was the only qualifying rookie in NHL history to lead the league with a sub-2.00 goals against average as well as lead the league in save percentage, he was not named as a finalist for the rookie of the year award
, despite having supplanted the Vezina Trophy
winner Thomas as the starter. In the 2010-11 NHL season, Thomas returned to form, making Rask once again the backup, but he won the Stanley Cup
with Boston, becoming only the second Finnish goaltender to do so, after Chicago's
Antti Niemi
the previous year.
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 Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL). Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
2005 NHL Entry Draft
The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft.As a lockout cancelled the games of the 2004–05 NHL season, the draft order was determined by lottery on July 22, 2005. Teams were assigned 1 to 3 balls based on their playoff appearances and first overall draft picks from the past three years...
by 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...
. On June 24, 2006 his rights were traded to the Bruins in exchange for goaltender Andrew Raycroft
Andrew Raycroft
Andrew Joseph Ernest Raycroft is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League . Originally drafted by the Boston Bruins 135th overall in 1998, he won the Calder Trophy with the club in 2004 as rookie of the year...
.
Finland
Rask started his career in the youth teams of his hometown club SaPKoSaPKo
Savonlinnan Pallokerho is an ice hockey team from Savonlinna, Finland, playing in the Mestis league. It plays its home matches in Talvisalon jäähalli.The sports club Savonlinnan Pallokerho was founded in 1929...
.
He then played in 26 games for the Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
-based Ilves Jr. in the Finnish Junior League. His goals against average
Goals against average
Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender....
(GAA) was 1.86 with two shutouts and a .935 save percentage
Save percentage
Save percentage is an ice hockey and lacrosse statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal a goaltender stops...
. He was the top ranked European goaltender in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
2005 NHL Entry Draft
The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft.As a lockout cancelled the games of the 2004–05 NHL season, the draft order was determined by lottery on July 22, 2005. Teams were assigned 1 to 3 balls based on their playoff appearances and first overall draft picks from the past three years...
.
Rask played his last European ice hockey season as the number one goaltender for the Ilves senior team in the top-flight 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...
.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple LeafsToronto 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...
drafted Rask in the first round (21st overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
2005 NHL Entry Draft
The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft.As a lockout cancelled the games of the 2004–05 NHL season, the draft order was determined by lottery on July 22, 2005. Teams were assigned 1 to 3 balls based on their playoff appearances and first overall draft picks from the past three years...
. Before playing a single regular season game for Toronto he was traded to the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
for former Calder Trophy winning goaltender Andrew Raycroft
Andrew Raycroft
Andrew Joseph Ernest Raycroft is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League . Originally drafted by the Boston Bruins 135th overall in 1998, he won the Calder Trophy with the club in 2004 as rookie of the year...
. Toronto management had deemed Justin Pogge
Justin Pogge
Justin Pogge is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League. The Pirates are the top affiliate of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes...
their potential goaltender of the future, and Rask became expendable.
Boston Bruins
On 5 May 2007, Rask signed a three-year contract with the Boston BruinsBoston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
, and was in attendance to observe the Providence Bruins
Providence Bruins
The Providence Bruins are an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the primary development team for the NHL's Boston Bruins. They play in Providence, Rhode Island at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.-History:...
's 2006–07 playoff run for the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
(AHL)'s Calder Cup
Calder Cup
The Calder Cup is awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League. The trophy is the world's second oldest continuous professional ice hockey championship, having first been awarded in 1937 following the 1936-37 AHL season, and continuously being awarded every year.The cup...
championship. The Providence team did not make it past the second round of the Calder Cup against the Manchester Monarchs
Manchester Monarchs
The Manchester Monarchs are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League . They play in Manchester, New Hampshire at the Verizon Wireless Arena. They have been the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings since 2001.-History:...
, but Rask practiced with the Providence team briefly.
On 5 November 2007, Rask was called up from Providence to the Boston Bruins for the first time. Just two weeks later, on 20 November, he recorded his first NHL win, a 4–2 victory on the road against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On 3 October 2008, the Bruins assigned Rask to the Providence Bruins. Rask had the best save percentage (.952) among the goalies in pre-season play, followed by teammates Manny Fernandez (.875) and Tim Thomas
Tim Thomas (ice hockey)
Timothy James Thomas, Jr. is an American professional ice hockey goaltender with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League . Raised in Davison, MI, Thomas played college hockey for the University of Vermont for four years, from 1993–1997, during which he was drafted 217th overall by the...
(.869), and Kevin Regan (.857), but the team decided to go with the two veteran goaltenders, Thomas and Fernandez, for the 2008–09 season.
With nagging back spasms keeping Fernandez from play shortly after the All-Star Game
57th National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 57th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, home of the Montreal Canadiens, in conjunction with the Montreal Canadiens centennial celebrations. The game was held between two teams, each representing a conference of the National Hockey League...
break, Rask was once again called up to serve as a second goaltender, and on 31 January 2009 he played his first (and only) game with the Bruins in the 2008–09 season, and earned his first ever NHL shutout, a 1–0 home effort against the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, with Marc Savard
Marc Savard
Marc Savard is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently under contract to the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League , but who has not played since late in the season because of post-concussion syndrome...
scoring the only Bruins goal.
Not long after the beginning of the 2009–10 season
2009–10 NHL season
The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation of the National Hockey League , and the 100th season since the founding of the predecessor National Hockey Association . It ran from October 1, 2009, including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the 2010...
, Rask, who had been named the backup goaltender to Thomas, signed a two-year extension to his contract with the Bruins on 5 November 2009 that will have him under contract through the 2011–12 season.
In the 2009-10 regular season, Rask was the only goalie with a goals against average less than 2.00 and the only goalie with a save percentage over .930. Although he was the only qualifying rookie in NHL history to lead the league with a sub-2.00 goals against average as well as lead the league in save percentage, he was not named as a finalist for the rookie of the year award
Calder Memorial Trophy
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League." The Rookie of the Year trophy has been awarded 79 times since its creation for the 1936–37 NHL season...
, despite having supplanted the Vezina Trophy
Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the 30 General Managers of the teams in the National Hockey League vote to determine the goaltender who was the most valuable to his team...
winner Thomas as the starter. In the 2010-11 NHL season, Thomas returned to form, making Rask once again the backup, but he won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
with Boston, becoming only the second Finnish goaltender to do so, after Chicago's
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...
Antti Niemi
Antti Niemi (ice hockey)
Antti Niemi is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. During the 2009–10 NHL season as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, he became the first Finnish goaltender to win the Stanley Cup.-Playing career:Niemi...
the previous year.
Regular season
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | W | L | T | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA Goals against average Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender.... |
SV% Save percentage Save percentage is an ice hockey and lacrosse statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal a goaltender stops... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | 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... |
FNL 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... |
4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 202 | 15 | 0 | 4.46 | .875 |
| 2005–06 | Ilves | FNL | 30 | 12 | 7 | 8 | — | 1724 | 60 | 2 | 2.09 | .926 |
| 2006–07 | Ilves | FNL | 49 | 18 | 18 | 10 | — | 2872 | 114 | 3 | 2.38 | .928 |
| 2007–08 2007–08 AHL season The 2007–08 AHL season is the 72nd season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Chicago Wolves won their second Calder Cup, defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Calder Cup Final.-Team changes:... |
Providence Bruins Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the primary development team for the NHL's Boston Bruins. They play in Providence, Rhode Island at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.-History:... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
45 | 27 | 13 | — | 2 | 2570 | 100 | 1 | 2.33 | .905 |
| 2007–08 | Boston Bruins Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the... |
NHL | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 184 | 10 | 0 | 3.25 | .886 |
| 2008–09 2008–09 AHL season The 2008–09 AHL season is the 73rd season of the American Hockey League. 29 teams each played 80 games in the regular season, which ran from October 8 until April 12.-Team and NHL affiliation changes:... |
Providence Bruins | AHL | 57 | 33 | 20 | — | 4 | 3340 | 139 | 4 | 2.50 | .915 |
| 2008–09 2008–09 NHL season The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation of the National Hockey League . It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the season, following three seasons where teams only played against two divisions in the... |
Boston Bruins | NHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 60 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 1.000 |
| 2009–10 2009–10 NHL season The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation of the National Hockey League , and the 100th season since the founding of the predecessor National Hockey Association . It ran from October 1, 2009, including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the 2010... |
Boston Bruins | NHL | 45 | 22 | 12 | — | 5 | 2562 | 84 | 5 | 1.97 | .931 |
| 2010–11 2010–11 NHL season The 2010–11 NHL season was the 94th season of operation of the National Hockey League . It was the fourth consecutive season that opened in Europe with NHL Premiere . A record three events were scheduled, all in previous NHL Premiere cities: Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Prague, Czech... |
Boston Bruins | NHL | 29 | 11 | 14 | — | 2 | 1594 | 71 | 2 | 2.67 | .918 |
| NHL totals | 79 | 36 | 27 | — | 8 | 4401 | 165 | 8 | 2.25 | .925 | ||
Playoffs
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Ilves | FNL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 180 | 7 | 0 | 2.33 | .924 |
| 2007 | Ilves | FNL | 7 | 2 | 5 | 397 | 20 | 0 | 3.02 | .924 |
| 2008 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs The 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 16, 2008. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals. The conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the Calder Cup... |
Providence Bruins | AHL | 10 | 6 | 4 | 605 | 22 | 2 | 2.18 | .908 |
| 2009 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs The 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 15, 2009. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals. The conference champions then played a best-of-seven series for the... |
Providence Bruins | AHL | 16 | 9 | 7 | 977 | 36 | 0 | 2.21 | .930 |
| 2010 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 14, 2010, after the 2009–10 NHL regular season. The Finals ended on June 9, 2010, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to two to win their fourth championship and their first since 1961... |
Boston Bruins | NHL | 13 | 7 | 6 | 829 | 36 | 0 | 2.61 | .910 |