Marko Anttila
Marko Anttila in 2016
Born (1985-05-27) 27 May 1985
Lempäälä, Finland
Height 6 ft 8 in (203 cm)
Weight 229 lb (104 kg; 16 st 5 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
Liiga team
Former teams		 Oulun Kärpät
HC TPS
Metallurg Novokuznetsk
Örebro HK
Jokerit
Ilves
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 260th overall, 2004
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2003–present

Marko Anttila (born 27 May 1985) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for Oulun Kärpät in the Finnish Liiga. Anttila was selected by Chicago Blackhawks in the 9th round (260th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. His nickname among his teammates is "Stretch" ("Stretsi" in Finnish), which was given to him by Steve Kariya due to his large physical stature, but among the Finnish fans, he is more commonly known as "Mörkö".[1]

Playing career

Marko Anttila played his first senior-level ice hockey games during the 2003–04 season. Anttila's first team was his hometown team Lempäälän Kisa of Lempäälä.

Marko Anttila

Anttila scored 38 points in 22 Suomi-sarja regular season games during his debut season. Though playing at the 3rd highest level in Finland, Anttila was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft while he was playing for LeKi. It is believed that Anttila's connections with Chicago's scout for Finland, Sakari Pietilä, was the reason why he was drafted. His large size (over 6'8 ft tall) combined with his hard slap shot was the most convincing factors that influenced Sakari Pietilä to suggest him to the Blackhawks.

After being drafted while playing for a small town's team, Anttila soon was reckoned as a player to invest in. Marko Anttila was contracted by Ilves in 2004. Anttila struggled during his first season in SM-liiga but soon got the hang of playing at higher levels.

In 2007–08, Anttila scored his SM-liiga career-high when he racked up 23 points in 56 games, and he was selected to play for the Finnish National team during the European Hockey Tour.

On 26 April 2011, Anttila made a one-year contract with TPS. In June 2013, it was announced that Anttila would join Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the KHL.

After parts of three seasons with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League, Anttila returned to the KHL, linking up on a one-year deal with Finnish-based club Jokerit on 20 April 2016.[2]

During the 2016–17 season, having added a physical presence to the checking lines, Anttila agreed to a two-year contract extension to remain with Jokerit on 8 January 2017.[3]

Anttila remained with Jokerit for six years before the club's withdrawal to the KHL before the playoffs in the 2021–22 season due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He subsequently joined his original Finnish club, Ilves of the Liiga, on 28 February 2022, for the remainder of the campaign.[4]

On 16 June 2022, it was announced that Anttila has signed for Oulun Kärpät for the 2022–23 season.

International play

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2022 Beijing
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2019 Slovakia
Gold medal – first place2022 Finland
Silver medal – second place2021 Latvia

In 2019, Anttila served as captain when Finland won their third gold medal in the Ice Hockey World Championships. He scored the only goal in the semi-final game against Russia. In the final against Canada, he scored two goals, including the game-winning goal leading Finland to a 3–1 victory.[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 LeKi FIN.2 U18 11 17 8 25 41 — — — — —
2003–04 LeKi FIN.3 U20 12 11 11 22 26 — — — — —
2003–04 LeKi FIN.4 22 19 19 38 30 — — — — —
2004–05 Ilves Jr. A 27 14 6 20 44 9 5 7 12 14
2004–05 Ilves SM-l 28 2 1 3 10 3 0 0 0 0
2005–06 Ilves Jr. A 10 4 2 6 6 2 1 1 2 4
2005–06 Ilves SM-l 50 4 3 7 46 4 0 0 0 0
2006–07 Ilves SM-l 53 2 2 4 34 7 1 0 1 8
2007–08 Ilves SM-l 56 14 9 23 90 9 2 2 4 4
2008–09 Ilves SM-l 58 8 14 22 69 3 0 0 0 2
2009–10 Ilves SM-l 57 8 18 26 52 — — — — —
2010–11 Ilves SM-l 33 5 8 13 26 6 2 1 3 4
2011–12 TPS SM-l 59 14 22 36 36 2 0 1 1 4
2012–13 TPS SM-l 60 17 24 41 68 — — — — —
2013–14 Metallurg Novokuznetsk KHL 16 2 4 6 10 — — — — —
2013–14 Ariada Volzhsk VHL 6 2 3 5 6 — — — — —
2013–14 Örebro HK SHL 22 13 7 20 30 — — — — —
2014–15 Örebro HK SHL 52 14 6 20 16 6 0 1 1 8
2015–16 Örebro HK SHL 49 8 6 14 28 2 1 1 2 35
2016–17 Jokerit KHL 56 7 9 16 41 4 0 1 1 2
2017–18 Jokerit KHL 52 8 8 16 26 10 1 1 2 10
2018–19 Jokerit KHL 38 11 4 15 21 6 1 2 3 2
2019–20 Jokerit KHL 61 11 7 18 14 6 2 2 4 4
2020–21 Jokerit KHL 57 8 6 14 44 4 0 0 0 14
2021–22 Jokerit KHL 40 6 5 11 17 — — — — —
2021–22 Ilves Liiga 10 2 1 3 4 14 1 2 3 4
2022–23 Kärpät Liiga 58 13 4 17 18 3 0 1 1 2
Liiga totals 517 89 106 195 453 56 6 9 15 30
KHL totals 320 53 43 96 173 30 4 6 10 32

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Finland WC 4th 7 0 1 1 2
2018 Finland OG 6th 3 0 1 1 2
2018 Finland WC 5th 8 2 2 4 2
2019 Finland WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 4 0 4 4
2021 Finland WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 0 3 3 4
2022 Finland OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 2 1 3 0
2022 Finland WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 2 3 5 6
2023 Finland WC 7th 8 2 1 3 2
Senior totals 61 12 12 24 22

Awards and honours

Award Year
Liiga
Bronze medal 2021–22

References

  1. ↑ "IIHF - Nothing like the third time".
  2. ↑ "Anttila and Marjamaki added to attack". jokerit.com (in Finnish). Jokerit. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Jokerit extend Anttila for two years". jokerit.com (in Finnish). Jokerit. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Marko Anttila signs with Ilves for remainder of season" (in Finnish). 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "Finland defeats Canada for Gold Medal at World Championship". tsn.ca. The Sports Network. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
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