Pekka Rinne
Number: 35
Height: 6' 5"
Weight: 204
Catches: Left
Born: November 3, 1982
Birthplace: Kempele, Finland
Drafted: NSH/ 2004 NHL Entry Draft
Round 8th 258th Overall
Background
Nickname: Peks
Hobbies include: tennis and reading.
Favorite Musicians: Neil Young and The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Favorite Nashville Restaurant: Samurai Sushi
Favorite Vacation Destination: Greece
His most memorable hockey moments include winning a pair of Finnish League titles 2004-05 and playing in the Calder Cup final 2006. His favorite player growing up was Patrick Roy. If he could pick two people to play round of golf with it would be Tarja Halonen ( The President of Finland) and his Dad. He has two sisters , including his twin.
Pekka Rinne's Career Information:
Career Notes/Amateur: Helped Karpat Oulu capture Finnish Elite League championships in 2004 and 2005. Formed Karpat's goaltending tandem with current Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom for both of those teams... Appeared in eight games with Hokki Kajaani (Finland-2) in 2003-2004.
2005-2006: Posted a win in his first NHL start on December 15 vs. Chicago Blackhawks. Recalled to Nashville twice in 2005-2006 (December 14-18 and April 3-May 1)... Backstopped Milwaukee (AHL) to the 2006 AHL Calder Cup Finals, earning 10 post season wins while posting three playoff shutouts.. Tied for second in the AHL in wins (30)... Tied for fourth in the AHL in appearances (51) and fifth in minutes (2,960)... Posted a 5-2 record in AHL shootouts.
2006-2007: Tied for sixth in the AHL in both goals-against average (2.34) and save percentage (.920)... Returned to action on January 19 after undergoing preseason shoulder surgery.
2007-2008: Recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) by Nashville on March 22, and appeared in his third career NHL game in the regular season finale on April 4 at Chicago... Led the AHL in wins (36), appearances (65) and minutes played (3,840)... The victory total tied an Admirals franchise record. Also ranked second in the league in saves (1,563), shots against (1,721) and tied for fourth in shutouts (5)... Played for the PlanetUSA All-Stars at the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic... Claimed the RBK XPulse Top Goaltender Award at the 2008 CCM All-Star Skills Competition... Won nine consecutive starts from March 1- April 11 with a (1.79) goals-against average and a (.932) save percentage.
2008-2009: Tied for fourth among NHL goaltenders in shutouts with a franchise record (7)... Ranked sixth among league netminders in goals-against average (2.38) and tied for nineth in save percentage (.917)... Finished fourth in voting for the Calder Trophy.. Became the eighth rookie goalie to win 29-or-more games in a season. Second rookie goaltender in the NHL's modern era (joining Tony Esposito in 1969-1970, four shutouts) to record three 1-0 shutouts in a season.. Finished second in the league in shootout save percentage (.792, 19-of-24 attempts stopped) among goalies facing at least 15 attempts, posting a 5-2 record... Posted an 18-1-2 record when receiving three or more goals in offensive support.. Named February Rookie of the month after going 9-2-1, tied for the most wins in the NHL for the month. His (1.72) goals-against average and (.944) save percentage also ranked among the league leaders for the month... Made a career high (46) saves on February 10 vs. Detroit Red Wings, including (25) in the first period--- the second highest single-period total by a netminder in franchise history... The eighth player in franchise history to appear in the YoungStars Game during 2009 All-Star Weekend... The first rookie netminder to record three shutouts in a single month (December) since Buffalo's Martin Biron in January 2000... Earned NHL First Star of the Week honors for the week of December 7 after posting two shutouts and allowing only two goals in 83 shots in three starts... Went 3-0-0, and the neither of the two goals allowed were at even strength... Started six of Finland's seven games at the 2009 World Championships in Switzerland... Voted one of Finland's three best players of the tournament... Ranked third at the World Championships in goals-against average (1.93) and sixth in save percentage (.926).
2009-2010: Set career highs in games played (58) and wins (32)... Tied a career high and franchise record in shutouts (7), ranking third in the league... Became the second goalie in club history to record (30) wins in a season (Thomas Vokoun), moving into third on the franchise's all-time wins list (62)... Posted a 12-4-1 record (second-most wins), a 1.96 goals-against average (third in the NHL), a .932 save percentage (tied for third) and four shutouts (first) after the Olympic break... Posted four shutouts in a nine-game span from March 12-27, helping him move into second on the franchise's all-time shutout list (14)... All of his shutouts have come since December 1, 2008, most in the league in that span... Nashville has scored two-or-fewer goals in 12 of the 14 whitewashes... One of only two league goaltenders to face at least 25 shootout attempts and record a .750-or-better save percentage... Posted a 149:04 shutout streak from March 16-21, secong-longest in franchise history... Named First Star of the Week on March 22 after going 4-0-0 with a (1.22) goals-against average, a (.958) save percentage and two shutouts for the week... Named the NHL's Third Star of the Week on March 15 after going 2-0-0 with a (1.44) goals-against average and a (.943) save percentage... In his 100th NHL appearance on March 12 at Anaheim, he stopped all 31 shots he faced in a 1-0 shutout... Named the NHL's Second Star of the Week for the period ending November 1 after going 3-0-0 with a (.76) goals-against average and a (.968) save percentage... Named one of Finland's three best players at the 2010 World Championships after ranking sixth in the tournament in goals-against average (1.68) and 10th in save percentage (.929)...
Playoffs--- Played all six of the team's postseason contests... Won his playoff debut in Game One, stopping 25-of-26 shots to record the first road win in the franchise's history... Stopped 82 of the first 86 shots he saw in the WCQ vs Chicago, including 64-of-66 shots at even strength.
Career Notes:
2011 Vezina Trophy Runner-up
Credits Pesapallo (Finnish baseball) with improving his hand-eye coordination growing up.
Participated in a Science of Hockey video shoot for NBC Scholastic at the 2011 Player Media Tour in New York City. The lessons he was involved in will be distributed to hundreds of schools across the United States.
Titles Won: 2004 and 2005 Finnish Elite League titles
Posted 29 wins in 2008-2009, tied with (Andrew Raycroft) for the eighth-most wins by a rookie netminder in NHL history.
Pekka had his jersey taken aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-133 on February 24, 2011 as a personal item of Col. Tim Kopra.
Pekka has earned NHL Three Stars of the Week honors more than any other player in team history.
Pekka was voted Nashville's Best Pro Athlete by the Tennessean's Toast of Music City 2011, beating out Chris Johnson and Cortland Finnegan.
"Predators goalie Pekka Rinne stopped the competition as the best local pro athlete." Sanford Myers, the Tennessean
Credit: Information Courtesy of NashvillePredators.com
