Mikko Mäkelä
Mikko Matti Mäkelä ( born February 26, 1965 in Tampere, Finland ) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey player who from 1985 to 1997 for the New York Islanders, the Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and Los Angeles Kings, Düsseldorf EC played in the DEL. He won at the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994 and the bronze medal at the Ice Hockey World Championship 1992 in Prague the silver medal.
Career
Mäkelä began his professional career in 1983 at the Finnish first division club Ilves Tampere. During the NHL Entry Draft in 1983, the New York Islanders ensured the transfer of rights to him and pulled him in the fourth round at 65th overall position. He joined the 1985/86 season with the Islanders and played there until the end of 1989. Then he was released to the Los Angeles Kings. After his contract was not renewed in Los Angeles, he joined in the summer of 1990 to the Buffalo Sabres. After a season in Buffalo, he returned to Finland.
It was followed by two years at TPS Turku, before he then moved to Malmö IF in the Swedish Elitserien. The 1994/95 season began with the Tampere Ilves, but then switched back to the National Hockey League. This time, the Boston Bruins were the team he played there but only eleven games and spent the playoffs when the Bruins farm team, the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League.
His next stop was Germany. Here he spent two years playing for the Düsseldorf EC from the 1995/96 season and has been with DEG German masters. Again he moved to Sweden, this time to Södertälje SK. Again he only stayed a year and then went to the end of his career back to Finland, where he played his final season in 1998/99 at Tappara Tampere. In 2002, he took over the coaching job in Canada the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Canadian junior Western Hockey League, but was released already during the season from the service.