Minttu Tuominen

Minnamari "Minttu" Tuominen (Chinese: 托米宁; pinyin: Tuōmǐníng; born 26 June 1990) is a Finnish ice hockey player. She plays in the Auroraliiga (called Naisten Liiga until 2024) with Kiekko-Espoo. A member of the Finnish national ice hockey team since 2008, she has earned medals at three Winter Olympic Games and five IIHF Women's World Championships.^[1][2][3]

Minttu Tuominen
Tuominen with the Metropolitan Riveters in 2022
Born	(1990-06-26) 26 June 1990 (age 34) Helsinki, Finland
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	71 kg (157 lb; 11 st 3 lb)
Position	Defense
Shoots	Right
Auroraliiga team Former teams	Kiekko-Espoo Shenzhen KRS Metropolitan Riveters KRS Vanke Rays Ohio State Buckeyes Linköping HC Espoo Blues
National team	Finland
Playing career	2006–present
Medal record Olympic Games 2010 Vancouver Ice hockey 2018 Pyeongchang Ice hockey 2022 Beijing Ice hockey World Championships 2019 Finland 2011 Switzerland 2015 Sweden 2017 United States 2021 Canada Universiade 2009 Harbin Ice hockey

Playing career

Finland

Tuominen played for the Espoo Blues Naiset in the Naisten SM-sarja (NSMs; rebranded as Naisten Liiga in 2017) and attended Makelanrinne Sports High School in Helsinki. At Makelanrinne, she captained the ice hockey team after being named one of the school's top athletes of 2007 and 2008.^[4] As a member of the Espoo Blues, she won the Finnish Championship three times (2007, 2008, 2009). One of her teammates with the Espoo Blues was Emma Terho (née Laaksonen).

Ohio State Buckeyes

Milestones at Ohio State include:

• First goal: 3 October 2009, at Boston University
• First assist: 2 October 2009, at Boston University

PHF

Tuominen signed with the Metropolitan Riveters of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) for the 2022–23 season, during which she served as an alternate captain. She played on the first defensive pairing alongside Anna Kilponen and scored nine goals on the season, the second-most goals scored in a season by a defenseman in league history. As the backbone of the first power play unit she scored six power play goals, setting a league record.

She re-signed with the club for the 2023–24 season in May 2023.^[5] The PHF was bought out and dissolved in late June 2023 and her contract was terminated, prompting her return to Finland.

Tuominen was selected in the fourteenth round, 84th overall by PWHL Minnesota in the 2023 PWHL Draft. She was the second Finnish player to be drafted into the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), following Susanna Tapani, who was also selected by Minnesota.^[6]

In August 2023, she signed with Kiekko-Espoo for the 2023–24 Naisten Liiga season, but her contract included the option to leave the team during the season. At the time, it was speculated that the provision was in place to allow Tuominen to play in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), a new North American league that replaced the PHF and began its first season in January 2024.^[7] Rather than joining the PWHL, Tuominen left Kiekko-Espoo mid-season for several months to join Shenzhen KRS for the inaugural season of the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League (WCIHL). After winning the 2024 WCIHL championship with Shenzhen KRS, she returned to Kiekko-Espoo for the remainder of the Naisten Liiga regular season and playoffs.

International play

As a junior player with the Finnish national under-18 team, Tuominen participated in the 2008 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship.

Tuominen made her debut with the Finnish national team in 2008, appearing in a series against Sweden in September, the 2008 Four Nations Cup in November, and helping Finland win the Euro Hockey Tour in December.

She was a member of the bronze medal-winning Finnish team at the 2009 Winter Universiade in Harbin, China and played at the 2009 MLP Nations Cup in Ravensburg, Germany. Tuominen won a bronze medal at the 2010 Four Nations Cup in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Her first major International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament with the Finnish national team was the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where she won her first Olympic bronze medal. At the 2011 IIHF Women's World Championship, she recorded her first point at a major IIHF tournament – the primary assist on Annina Rajahuhta's goal against Kazakhstan in the preliminary round – and her first major tournament goal, scoring twice against Russia in the bronze medal game, which Finland ultimately won in overtime.

Having established herself as a core player on the national team, Tuominen went on to play at the subsequent seven IIHF Women's World Championships, winning a silver medal in 2019 and bronze medals in 2015, 2017, and 2021. She was selected as a top-three player for Finland by the coaches at the 2015 tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2003–04	KS Noux	N. Suomi-sarja		5	1	0	1	2		–	–	–	–	—
2004–05	KS Noux	Naisten I-div.		8	3	1	4	2		–	–	–	–	—
2005–06	KS Noux	Naisten I-div.		11	4	6	10	6		–	–	–	–	—
2006–07	Espoo Blues	NSMs		17	5	2	7	0		7	0	1	1	4
2007–08	Espoo Blues	NSMs		11	4	3	7	0		9	0	4	4	0
2008–09	Espoo Blues	NSMs		22	14	21	35	6		6	2	3	5	4
2009–10	Ohio State Buckeyes	NCAA		23	6	5	11	8		–	–	–	–	—
2010–11	Ohio State Buckeyes	NCAA		32	2	8	10	10		–	–	–	–	—
2011–12	Ohio State Buckeyes	NCAA		32	2	7	9	22		–	–	–	–	—
2012–13	Ohio State Buckeyes	NCAA		37	6	13	19	22		–	–	–	–	—
2013–14	Espoo Blues	NSMs		24	11	20	31	24		8	5	9	14	6
2014–15	Espoo Blues	NSMs		26	17	32	49	40		3	2	4	6	4
2015–16	Espoo Blues	NSMs		28	13	45	58	16		6	4	3	7	8
2016–17	Linköping HC	SDHL		32	17	9	26	20		5	1	0	1	4
2017–18	Espoo Blues	NSML		20	12	11	23	10		10	2	5	7	12
2018–19	Espoo Blues	NSML		30	13	50	63	18		6	3	4	7	6
2019–20	Kiekko-Espoo	NSML		30	19	21	40	14		6	3	13	16	4
2020–21	KRS Vanke Rays	ZhHL		24	5	13	18	14		5	0	0	0	4
2021–22	Kiekko-Espoo	NSML		15	3	13	16	2		–	–	–	–	—
2021–22	KRS Vanke Rays	ZhHL		12	2	4	6	10		8	0	6	6	12
2022–23	Metropolitan Riveters	PHF		24	9	5	14	10		–	–	–	–	—
2023–24	Shenzhen KRS	WCIHL
2023–24	Kiekko-Espoo	NSML		18	5	26	31	4		9	2	8	10	6
NCAA totals				124	16	33	49	62		–	–	–	–	–
Naisten Liiga totals				223	111	218	329	130		61	21	46	67	48
ZhHL totals				36	7	17	24	24		13	0	6	6	16

Sources: ^[8]

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008	Finland	WC18	6th		5	0	2	2	4
2009	Finland	Uni			7	2	6	8	2
2010	Finland	OG			5	0	0	0	0
2011	Finland	WC			6	2	2	4	10
2012	Finland	WC	4th		6	0	0	0	4
2013	Finland	WC	4th		6	0	0	0	2
2014	Finland	OG	5th		6	0	1	1	6
2015	Finland	WC			6	1	2	3	2
2016	Finland	WC	4th		6	0	1	1	6
2017	Finland	WC			6	0	3	3	2
2018	Finland	OG			6	1	2	3	2
2019	Finland	WC			7	1	1	2	4
2021	Finland	WC			7	1	0	1	6
2022	Finland	OG			7	2	1	3	2
Senior totals					74	8	13	21	46

Sources: ^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

See also

• List of Olympic women's ice hockey players for Finland
• List of Finnish women in North American collegiate ice hockey

References

1. "Две россиянки, трое призёров ЧМ-2021: «КРС Ванке Рэйз» обновили состав". Женская хоккейная лига (in Russian). 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
2. "Minttu Tuominen "C" #15". Kiekko-Espoo Naiset (in Finnish). 20 November 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
3. "Archived copy" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "15 Minttu Tuominen". Ohio State Buckeyes. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
5. Kass, Matthew (11 May 2023). "Metropolitan Riveters Announce Re-Signing of Amanda Pelkey, Minttu Tuominen". Metropolitan Riveters (Press release). Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
6. Seppä, Lassi (19 September 2023). "Minttu Tuomiselle PWHL-varaus tilaisuuden loppuhetkillä". Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
7. "Minttu Tuominen palaa kotiin". Kiekko-Espoo Naiset (Press release) (in Finnish). 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
8. "Ohio State Buckeyes Women's Hockey 2009–2010 Statistics: Overall". USCHO.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
9. "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B : Schedule and Results : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics". Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
10. "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B : Schedule and Results : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics". Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
11. "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B : Schedule and Results : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics". Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
12. "Women's Play-offs Semifinals : Schedule and Results : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics". Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
13. "Women's Bronze Medal Game : Schedule and Results : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics". Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
14. "Archived copy" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Minttu Tuominen at Olympedia (archive)
• Minttu Tuominen at Olympics.com
• Minttu Tuominen at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)