- Ville Nieminen
Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position =Left wing
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 1
weight_lb = 200
team =Tappara
former_teams =New York Rangers Calgary Flames Chicago Blackhawks Pittsburgh Penguins Colorado Avalanche
San Jose Sharks
St. Louis BluesMalmö Redhawks
league =SM-liiga
nationality = Finland
birth_date = Birth date and age|1977|4|6|mf=y
birth_place =Tampere ,Finland
career_start = 1999
draft = 78th overall
draft_year = 1997
draft_team =Colorado Avalanche
nickname = Duffy
Nimo / Nemo
Ville Nieminen (born
April 6 ,1977 inTampere ,Finland ) is a Finnish professionalice hockey forward forTappara and former for theMalmö Redhawks of theAllsvenskan (icehockey) in Sweden .Nieminen started his professional hockey career with
Tappara in the FinnishSM-liiga , in the 1994-95 season. He was drafted by theColorado Avalanche as their third-round pick, #78 overall, in the1997 NHL Entry Draft . Nieminen spent three seasons in the AHL with theHershey Bears , and moved to the NHL and won theStanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2001.Known for his non-stop motor and aggressive in-your-face style of play, Nieminen is an annoying opponent in the rink, whose style is heavily reminiscent of
Esa Tikkanen . Nieminen has a relaxed personality outside the rink and his odd sense of humour is his trademark.Nieminen has played for several teams in the NHL, and spent the 2004–05 lockout season playing for his home team, Tappara. He signed with the
New York Rangers for the2005–06 NHL season , and was traded to San Jose onMarch 8 ,2006 .He represented Finland in international play at the
2004 World Cup of Hockey , and when he was unable to compete at the 2005 IIHF World Championships, he provided commentary on Finnish television with fellow NHL playerTuomo Ruutu . Ville is a popular colour commentator due to his sense of humour and knowledge of the game.On February 27, 2007, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues. His contract expired in July, and he signed a two-year contract with the
Malmö Redhawks , then of the Swedish Allsvenskan [http://www.malmoredhawks.com/engines/page___2543.aspx] .Career statistics
"Stats as of
March 23 ,2008 "International play
*Played for Team Finland in the
2004 World Cup of Hockey .
*Silver medal at the2006 Winter Olympics .International statistics
External links
*hockeydb|30378
* [http://www.nhlfinns.com/players.aspx?pid=62 Ville Nieminen] on nhlfinns.com
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