Patrik Laine
Finnish right winger, second overall pick in 2016 NHL draft.
Patrik Laine (born 19 April 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey right winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. His most recent NHL team was the Montreal Canadiens. He was picked second overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2016 NHL entry draft, and has also suited up for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Laine started playing hockey at age four, originally as a goaltender. At his father’s suggestion, he permanently switched to forward as a youth. He left school at 16 to focus full-time on hockey.
He began his youth career with Ilves before moving to local rival Tappara. Laine made his Liiga debut at 16 during the 2014–15 season, playing six games and recording one point. The next season, he scored 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points in 46 games.
Before his draft year, most publications ranked Laine as the fourth-best prospect for the 2016 NHL entry draft. His stock rose after strong early play with Tappara and an impressive 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he scored eight goals in seven games. By January 2016, following a dominant performance at the World Juniors, he had climbed to second overall on most draft lists. McKeen’s Hockey even ranked him first overall that month. Bob McKenzie’s mid-season report called Laine the “clear consensus No. 2 choice” over fellow Finn Jesse Puljujärvi, with scouts citing his “dynamic” element and higher offensive ceiling as a pure goal scorer.
By February 2016, Laine was seen as a potential challenger for first overall, threatening the presumed top pick Auston Matthews. Several scouts admitted they had to think hard about their choice, with one saying, “in the end, we favoured the centre over the winger but I don’t think it’s a reach at all to see Laine going first overall.” In April, McKenzie reported that two of ten surveyed scouts would pick Laine over Matthews, while the rest needed to think long and hard. The National Post ran an article calling Laine the “NHL draft’s true No. 1.”
That same month, Laine finished his Tappara tenure with the team placing third in the Liiga standings. In the semifinal series against second-ranked Kärpät, he scored six goals in seven games, including three last-minute tying goals in games four, five, and six. Two of those came in the final minute of the third period; his Game six goal was scored at 19:59 with one second left.
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 1998-04-19
- Birth Place
- Tampere, Finland
- Height Ft
- 6
- Height In
- 4
- Weight Lb
- 208
- Position
- Right wing
- Shoots
- Right
- League
- NHL
- Team
- Free agent
- Former Teams
- Tappara / Winnipeg Jets / Columbus Blue Jackets / Montreal Canadiens
- Ntl Team
- FIN
- Draft
- 2nd overall
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Laine began playing hockey at four years old and was primarily a goaltender before permanently switching to forward as a youth at the advice of his father. At age 16, he left school to focus on hockey full-time. He started playing in Ilves but soon changed to local competitor Tappara, making his Liiga debut at age 16 during the 2014–15 season. The following season, he scored 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points in 46 games with Tappara.
Prior to his draft-eligible season, Laine was ranked as the fourth-best prospect entering the 2016 NHL entry draft. Due to strong play with Tappara and an impressive showing at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he scored eight goals in seven games, his ranking rose. After a dominant performance at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, he moved up to second overall on most draft lists by January 2016. Some scouts considered him a potential challenger for first overall, with one scout stating that 'Laine maybe is more of a pure goal scorer, a game-breaker with a little higher offensive ceiling.'
Laine's tenure with Tappara ended with a Liiga championship title. He played a pivotal role in the playoffs, scoring six goals in the semifinal series against Kärpät, including three last-minute goals to tie games. He broke Liiga's previous goal-scoring record of seven goals in a single rookie playoff campaign, finishing the post-season with ten goals and five assists in 18 games and receiving the Jari Kurri Trophy as playoff MVP.
Reader's Guide
Patrik Laine's significance stems from his elite goal-scoring ability, which made him a highly touted prospect and a dynamic NHL player. After being selected second overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2016, he quickly established himself as one of the league's premier young scorers. In his rookie season, he broke the Jets/Thrashers franchise record for most goals by a rookie with 36, and he became the first teenager in 30 years to score 80 total goals, surpassing Sidney Crosby's 75. He set an NHL record for the longest point streak by a teenager (14 games) and recorded multiple hat-tricks before his 20th birthday.
Laine's legacy includes several notable achievements: he became the youngest player born outside North America to score at least twice in one game, and later the youngest player in Jets franchise history and youngest Finnish player to score a playoff goal. He scored his 100th NHL goal as the fourth-youngest player in league history. His five-goal game against the St. Louis Blues in 2018 made him the sixth player in NHL history to score five goals on five shots, and the first since Wayne Gretzky in 1984. Despite a slow start to the 2018–19 season, he recorded multiple hat-tricks and continued to demonstrate his scoring prowess. Laine's career has been marked by both high offensive production and periods of injury, including a concussion in his rookie year that caused him to miss eight games.
Did You Know?
- Laine was primarily a goaltender before switching to forward at the advice of his father.
- He scored five goals on five shots in an 8–4 win over the St. Louis Blues, the first player to do so since Wayne Gretzky in 1984.
- Laine broke the Liiga rookie playoff goal-scoring record with eight goals in the 2016 postseason.
- He became the fourth-youngest player in NHL history to score 100 regular season goals.
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