Nikolas Matinpalo

Nikolas Matinpalo
Born (1998-10-05) 5 October 1998 (age 27)
Espoo, Finland
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Ottawa Senators
Ilves
Ässät
National team  Finland
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2018–present

Nikolas Matinpalo (born 5 October 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1]

Playing career

Finland

Matinpalo made his Liiga debut with Ilves during the 2018–19 season.[2] He made 30 appearances for Ilves in the regular season, scoring two goals and four assists for six points.[3] He also appeared in two games for KooVee Tampere of Mestis going scoreless.[3] Ilves beat SaiPa in the qualifying round of the playoffs, but were eliminated by Oulun Kärpät in the quarterfinals.[4] Matinpalo made seven playoff appearances, going scoreless.[3] He returned to Ilves for the 2019–20 season and played in 33 games registering one assist.[3] He also spent 13 games with KooVoo Tampere of Mestis, tallying one goal and three points.[3] However, on 13 March 2020, the remainder of the season and playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

He began the 2020–21 season with Ilves and made 11 appearances, going scoreless. He also played one game for KooVoo Tampere.[3] On 24 January 2021, Matinpalo was traded to Ässät for Niklas Peltomäki.[6] In 30 games with Ässät to finish the season, he marked one goal and three points.[3] In the 2021–22 season, he marked four goals and eight assists in 50 games in his first full season in Liiga.[3] On 20 April 2022, it was announced that Matinpalo had signed a one-year extension to remain with Ässät.[7] In his final year with the team in 2022–23, he set new career highs with 51 appearances, with seven goals and 16 points.[3] Ässät knocked off TPS in the qualifying round to advance to the quarterfinals. There they faced Ilves, who eliminated them.[8] In eight playoff games, Matinpalo tallied four assists.[3]

Ottawa Senators

Matinpalo was signed as an undrafted free agent to a one-year, entry-level contract by the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 26 May 2023.[9] He attended the 2023 Senators training camp but did not make the team. He was assigned to Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Belleville Senators, to begin the 2023–24 season.[10] After injuries to Thomas Chabot and Erik Brännström, Matinpalo was recalled by Ottawa on 28 October.[11] He played in his first NHL game the same day, a 5–2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.[12] He was returned to Belleville after four games with Ottawa on 10 November.[13] Matinpalo spent the rest of the season with Belleville, playing in 67 games, scoring four goals and 14 points.[3] Belleville made the playoffs and faced the Toronto Marlies in the first round, who they beat. The Senators then went against the Cleveland Monsters in the second round, who eliminated them.[14] In seven playoff games, Matinpalo went scoreless.[3]

On 20 June 2024, Matinpalo signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Ottawa.[15] He passed through waivers, going unclaimed, and was assigned to Belleville to start the 2024–25 season.[16] He was recalled to Ottawa on 28 December as an injury replacement for Artem Zub.[17] He made his season debut on 29 December in a 3–1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.[18] He was briefly returned to Belleville on 3 January 2025 before being recalled again on 7 January.[18][19] He made 24 appearances for Belleville, tallying two goals and eight points.[3] He recorded his first NHL point on 13 March, assisting on Tyler Kleven's goal in a 6–3 win over the Boston Bruins.[20] He recorded his first NHL goal in a 4–0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on 6 April.[21] The Senators qualified for the playoffs, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round. He made his playoff debut on 20 April.[22] The Senators were eliminated in six games in their best-of-seven series.[23] In the series, Matinpalo went scoreless.[3]

On 5 May 2025, Matinpalo signed a two-year, one-way contract extension with Ottawa.[24]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2026 Milano Cortina

Matinpalo represented Finland during the 2023 IIHF World Championship.[25] The team finished seventh in the tournament.[26] In February 2025, Matinpalo was called up to Finland's roster replacing defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen during the Four Nations Face-Off.[27] In January 2026, he was named to Finland roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics and won a bronze medal.[28][29]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016–17 Blues Jr. A 33 1 6 7 37 2 0 1 1 0
2017–18 Blues Jr. A 52 7 14 21 59 4 0 0 0 2
2018–19 Ilves Liiga 30 2 4 6 10 7 0 0 0 4
2018–19 KOOVEE Mestis 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Ilves Liiga 33 0 1 1 47 — — — — —
2019–20 KOOVEE Mestis 13 1 2 3 10 — — — — —
2020–21 Ilves Liiga 11 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2020–21 KOOVEE Mestis 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Ässät Liiga 30 1 2 3 18 — — — — —
2021–22 Ässät Liiga 50 4 4 8 20 — — — — —
2022–23 Ässät Liiga 51 7 9 16 20 8 0 4 4 4
2023–24 Belleville Senators AHL 67 4 10 14 26 7 0 0 0 4
2023–24 Ottawa Senators NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2024–25 Belleville Senators AHL 24 2 6 8 10 — — — — —
2024–25 Ottawa Senators NHL 41 1 3 4 20 6 0 0 0 2
Liiga totals 205 14 20 34 121 15 0 4 4 8
NHL totals 45 1 3 4 20 6 0 0 0 2

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2023 Finland WC 7th 8 1 2 3 0
2025 Finland 4NF 4th 3 0 0 0 2
2025 Finland WC 7th 8 1 1 2 4
2026 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 1 0 1 0
Senior totals 24 3 3 6 6

References

  1. ^ Tiira, Jaakko (25 May 2023). "Nyt tärähti! Leijonien komeetta solmi NHL-sopimuksen kesken MM-turnauksen". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Tilastot #52 Matinpalo, Nikolas". Liiga. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Nikolas Matinpalo". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Schedule – 2018–2019 Playoffs". Liiga. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Liiga-kausi päättyy välittömästi – Suomen mestaruus jää jakamatta" [The Liiga season ends immediately – the Finnish championship will not be named] (in Finnish). Liiga. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  6. ^ Lahtinen, Matias (24 January 2021). "Ilves ja Ässät vaihtoivat nuoria puolustajia − Matinpalo ja Peltomäki uusiin joukkueisiin" [Ilves and Ässät swap young defensemen − Matinpalo and Peltomäki to new teams]. Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  7. ^ Westerlund, Jenna (20 April 2022). "Nikolas Matinpalo jatkaa Ässissä yksivuotisella sopimuksella" [Nikolas Matinpalo continues with Ässät with a one-year contract]. Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Schedule – 2022–2023 Playoffs". Liiga. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Sens ink defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo to a one-year, entry-level contract". Ottawa Senators. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023 – via NHL.com.
  10. ^ "Ottawa Senators assign eight players to Belleville Sens". Belleville Senators. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Senators recall Tyler Kleven, Nikolas Matinpalo, place Thomas Chabot on LTIR". Sportsnet. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  12. ^ Baines, Tim (28 October 2023). "Joonas Korpisalso stands tall, Ottawa Senators make most of chances in win over Pittsburgh Penguins". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Senators' Nikolas Matinpalo: Returned to AHL". CBS Sports. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  14. ^ Chaimovitch 2025, p. 291.
  15. ^ D'Amico, Sydney (20 June 2024). "Matinpalo back for more". Ottawa Senators. Retrieved 20 June 2024 – via NHL.com.
  16. ^ Pronman, Corey; Dayal, Harman (4 October 2024). "NHL waiver tracker: Best players on the wire throughout 2024-25 preseason". The Athletic. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  17. ^ McGoey, Steven (28 December 2024). "Ottawa Senators Recall Nikolas Matinpalo From Belleville Senators". The Hockey News. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  18. ^ a b "Senators recall trio of players from Belleville". Ottawa Senators. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2026 – via NHL.com.
  19. ^ "Senators' Nikolas Matinpalo: Reassigned to AHL". CBS Sports. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  20. ^ Fraser, Callum (13 March 2025). "Senators score 4 in 1st, defeat Bruins for 5th win in row". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  21. ^ "Senators beat Blue Jackets 4-0 to move to brink of 1st playoff spot since 2017". ESPN. Associated Press. 6 April 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  22. ^ Warne, Steve (20 April 2025). "Ottawa Senators Fall 6-2 In Toronto In First Playoff Game In 8 Years: What Went Wrong?". The Hockey News. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  23. ^ "Nylander scores twice as Maple Leafs eliminate Senators to advance to second round". TSN. The Canadian Press. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  24. ^ "Senators sign defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo to two-year, one-way contract extension". Ottawa Senators. 5 May 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025 – via NHL.com.
  25. ^ Garrioch, Bruce (25 May 2023). "Senators sign free agent defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo to one-year deal". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  26. ^ "Final". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  27. ^ "Nikolas Matinpalo replaces injured Rasmus Ristolainen on Team Finland". Sportsnet. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  28. ^ Wilimek, Andrew (2 January 2026). "Sanderson and Matinpalo named to Olympic rosters". Ottawa Senators. Retrieved 9 January 2026 – via NHL.com.
  29. ^ "Finland defeats Slovakia to win bronze medal in Olympic men's hockey". Sportsnet. 21 February 2026. Retrieved 21 February 2026.

Bibliography

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolas_Matinpalo