Jarmo Myllys


Jarmo Pentti Kalevi Myllys is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars as their ninth-round pick, #172 overall, in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the goalkeeping coach for Austrian hockey team EC KAC of the EBEL. His jersey number, #35, was retired in Luleå in 2011.

Playing career

Early career

Myllys was born in Savonlinna, and started playing ice hockey for the local team Savonlinnan Pallokerho or SaPKo. He played his first adult season in SaPko, but moved to Tampere for SM-Liiga games in Ilves. Myllys spent a total of three seasons with Ilves, then moved to Rauman Lukko where he stayed for two seasons before moving to the NHL.

NHL career

Myllys gained a spot in the Minnesota North Stars lineup. He played 6 NHL games in the 1988–1989 season but spent most of the year with the North Stars' farmteam, Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL. In his 3 seasons with North Stars Myllys never played more than 10 games in a season. He spent most of these seasons in the IHL. When the San Jose Sharks were formed in 1991 Myllys moved to San Jose along with several North Stars players in the Dispersal Draft. Myllys played 27 games with the Sharks during the 1991–1992 season. This was his last season in the NHL, as Myllys returned to Finland in 1992.

Return from the NHL

In 1992 Myllys joined the 1 Divisioona team KooKoo, which located in Kouvola. After one season with KooKoo Myllys went to Lukko and stayed there for the 1993–1994 season. After his second season since his return in Finland, Myllys signed to Swedish Elitserien team Luleå HF.
Myllys established himself as a star in Sweden, staying with Luleå for 7 seasons. During that time Myllys won several awards and played twice in the Elitserien all-star game. Myllys also scored two goals in two Elitserien games, which is a rare feat for a goaltender. Myllys returned to Finland in 2001, however.
Jarmo Myllys was signed by Espoo Blues in 2001. He played with the Blues for 2 seasons with little success. After his time with the Blues, Myllys moved to near his birthplace in order to play with SaiPa and played there for the 2003–2004 season. Myllys played in Elitserien with HV71 in the playoffs, then returned to SaiPa for his final season. Myllys retired from professional ice hockey after the 2004–2005 season.

International play

Aside from his great success on club level, Myllys was also an accomplished goaltender in international competitions. Myllys made a total of 188 appearances for Finnish national ice hockey team.
Altogether, Myllys competed in 7 World Championships Tournaments, 3 Olympic Tournaments and 2 World Cups. Myllys had his finest hour in the 1995 World Championship tournament as Finland won its first ever World Championship by defeating Sweden 4–1, with Ville Peltonen scoring a hat-trick who played alongside future NHL stars Saku Koivu and Jere Lehtinen. Myllys played a big part in the match and nearly kept his net empty, but a small mistake cost him a shutout.
Overall Jarmo Myllys is one of the most accomplished goaltenders in Finnish Hockey history.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs