Mika Noronen

Mika Noronen (born June 17, 1979) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for the LeKi of the Mestis, the second-tier ice hockey league in Finland.[1] He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks

Mika Noronen
Born (1979-06-17) June 17, 1979
Tampere, Finland
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Tappara
Buffalo Sabres
HPK
Vancouver Canucks
Ak Bars Kazan
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Linköpings HC
JYP Jyväskylä
HIFK
Lukko
HC Davos
EHC München
Malmö Redhawks
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 21st overall, 1997
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2000–2016

Playing career

Noronen was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft with pick number 21. In his native Finland, he has played for Tappara and HPK in the SM-liiga. He has also played for the Rochester Americans in the AHL.

While with the Rochester Americans, he gained some notoriety in a 2002 game against the Syracuse Crunch. A Crunch forward fired a slap shot past Noronen which hit the cross bar and bounced away. However, the goal judge signaled it was a goal. Play was stopped and the goal was counted. Noronen proceeded to spray the contents of his water bottle on the glass and wipe it away, pretending to clean the glass for the goal judge.[2]

At the trade deadline in the 2005–06 season, Noronen was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. On March 14, 2006, Noronen played his first game as a Vancouver Canuck, allowing five goals in a 5–0 loss to the Nashville Predators.

Noronen was the first Finnish goaltender to be credited with a goal in the National Hockey League, a rare feat in itself. He was also the first Buffalo Sabres goaltender to accomplish the feat when he was the last Buffalo player to touch the puck before it entered the opponent's empty net on a delayed penalty on February 14, 2004.[3]

In August 2006, Noronen opted to sign with Russian Hockey Super League team AK Bars Kazan rather than serving as back up to Roberto Luongo, making Noronen an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Then he joined Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the RSL. In January 2009 Noronen joined Linköpings HC of Elitserien. Noronen returned to Finland for the 2009-10 season. He began the season by signing a short-term contract with JYP Jyväskylä. After the contract had expired, he signed a contract with HIFK Helsinki.

Awards and honours
Award Year
AHL
All-Rookie Team 2000
Second All-Star Team 2000, 2001
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award 2000
Hap Holmes Memorial Award (with Tom Askey) 2001
All-Star Game 2002 [4]

References
  1. "Mika Noronen". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  2. "Video of Noronen Cleaning the Glass". YouTube. 2002-01-04. Retrieved 2006-12-04.
  3. "Associated Prees recap of Noronen goal". Yahoo! Sports. 2004-02-14. Archived from the original on 2005-04-22. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  4. "Canadian All-Stars 13, Planet USA All-Stars 11". American Hockey League. 2002-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Erik Rasmussen		 Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick
1997		 Succeeded by
Dmitri Kalinin
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