Americans Choose Defenseman in CHL Import Draft

Posted: Jun 30, 2015 6:11 PM EST Updated: Jun 30, 2015 6:11 PM EST

by Tri-City Americans Media RelationsKENNEWICK, WA – Tri-City Americans’ Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced Tuesday that the club has selected Juuso Valimaki with their pick (14th overall) in today’s 2015 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.“We are excited to draft Jusso, he is an elite 1998 defenseman who has played as an underage for Finland at the World Championships,” Tory said. “We look forward to Juuso joining our team and being a major contributor.”

Valimaki, a 6’2, 194 lb. defenseman of Nokia, Finland, played for Ilves Tampere of the Finnish Junior A-league last season, appearing in 44 games and collecting five goals, 20 points and 20 penalty minutes.  Valimaki appeared in 10 post-season games, picking up a goal, 4 points and 6 penalty minutes. He played for Finland in the Ivan Hlinka Tournament in 2014 and the U-18 World Championships in 2015 as an underage.

Juuso Valimaki Stats
Season             Team                           GP       G          A          PTS      +/-        PIM
2014-15             Ilves Tampere              44         5         15        20         22         20

Intl-Jr                  Finland U17                3          0          2          2             1          0
WJC                    Finland U18                7          0          1          1             5          6

Intl-Jr                  Finland U18               23         0          5          5          7          8