Vesa Erik Hämäläinen ( Finnish. Vesa Erik Hämäläinen , born April 20, 1965 in Rauma ) is a Finnish professional hockey player who played as a defender, now an assistant to the head coach of the Lucco team. Bronze medalist of the 1994 Olympic Games, 1995 world champion.
 Eric Hämäläinen | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Eric Hämäläinen at his 1001th farewell match | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | defender | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Growth | 187 cm | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 91 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Grab | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Citizenship |  Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 20, 1965 (54 years old) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Career | 1982-2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NHL draft | NHL Draft 1985 : Round 10, No. 197, Detroit Red Wings | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Gaming career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International medals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Content
Player Career
Club
A pupil of the hockey school of the club " Lucco ", in his composition began his career, playing from 1982 to 1988 for his composition in the championship of Finland. In 1985, Hämäläinen got to the NHL Draft and at number 197 in the 10th round he was selected by the Detroit Red Wings team, but Eric has not left the ocean throughout his career.
In the 1987/1988 season, Hämäläinen won his first award, becoming the silver medalist of the Finnish championship with Lucco, after the season he moved to the KalPa team, in which he played until 1992. In the 1990/1991 season, he won the second silver medal of the Finnish championship in his career, in the 1992/1993 season he moved to the Jokerit club, in which he won three awards in 1993: the prize of the most useful player in the Finnish championship, the prize of the best defender and the top scorer in goals in the numerical majority (10 goals). In 1994, Hämäläinen as part of the Jokerit managed to win the first and only national title. A year later, Eric and his team reached the final of the European Hockey League Cup, where his team defeated Turku 3–2 and won the Cup.
In the summer of 1995, Hämäläinen left the team and went to play in Sweden in the AIK team, where he spent three years. On his return from Sweden, Eric again performed in his native club “Lucco”, but could no longer achieve his former successes. Hämäläinen spent the 2001/2002 season at the Swiss Langnau club, but then returned back to Lucco. In 2008, he spent his 1001st career match, which was his last: at the end of the game, Eric announced the completion of his 26-year player career.
Team
As part of the Finnish national team, Hämäläinen participated in the 1994 Winter Olympics, at which he won a bronze medal, and also at four world championships from 1992 to 1995: in 1992 and 1994 he became a silver medalist, and in 1995 a world champion. As part of the youth national team of Finland, he participated in the 1984 youth world championships (silver medalist) and 1985; as part of the junior team, he played at the 1983 European championships (silver medalist).
Coach Career
Since 2008, Eric has been an assistant to the head coach of the Lucco club.
Achievements
In clubs
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Team
- 1983: silver medalist of the European Youth Championship
- 1984: silver medalist at the World Youth Championships
- 1992: silver medalist at the World Cup
- 1994: silver medalist at the World Cup
- 1994: Olympic bronze medalist
- 1995: world champion
Literature
- Hockey. Big Encyclopedia. - 2 tons .. - M .: Terra-Sport, Olympia Press, 2006.
Links
- Eric Hämäläinen - statistics on The Internet Hockey Database
- Eric Hämäläinen - statistics on European Ice Hockey Online AB (English)
- Eric Hämäläinen - statistics on Eliteprospects.com
- Eric Hämäläinen - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com