Tuukka Mäntylä

Tuukka Mäntylä
Born	(1981-05-25) May 25, 1981 Tampere, Finland
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
Liiga team Former teams	Tappara Tampere Luleå HF Frölunda HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk Metallurg Novokuznetsk Amur Khabarovsk KHL Medveščak Zagreb
National team	Finland
NHL Draft	153rd overall, 2001 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	1999–present
Medal record World Championships 2014 Belarus

Tuukka Matias Mäntylä (born May 25, 1981) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays with Tappara Tampere of the Liiga. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 5th round (153rd overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

On April 7, 2009 he left Västra Frölunda of the Swedish Elite League and signed a contract in his homeland with Tappara, with whom he has spent most of his career.

In late October 2009, playing with Tampere Tappara, Mäntylä checked Helsinki IFK defenceman Mikko Kurvinen from behind into the boards, resulting in an injury that kept Kurvinen sidelined for six games. Mäntylä received a match penalty for the hit. In advance of Tappara's next visit to Helsinki on November 26, 2009, the IFK club ran a full-page ad in a Tampere newspaper that read: “Welcome to Helsinki, Tuukka”, and on the evening of the match between the two clubs the SM-liiga head office, which had previously approved the ad, announced it had given IFK a warning for “crossing the line of good taste”. Early in the first period of the November 26 game, with IFK head coach Kari Jalonen watching, IFK defenceman Ilari Melart mugged Mäntylä in the corner and a wrestling match ensued resulting in both players being ejected from the game.

External links

• Tuukka Mäntylä's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Tuukka Mäntylä profile at Eurohockey.com
• Tuukka Mäntylä's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Pekka Saravo	Captain of Tappara 2012–2013	Succeeded by Ville Nieminen