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Niinimaa, Janne

NHL, the National Hockey League is a premier professional North American Sports League played in indoor stadiums. It’s divided into two conferences, each comprising of three divisions of ice hockey teams.

Ville Nieminen is NHL player who is currently playing with Dallas Stars team on Defenseman position. He was born on May 22, 1975 in Raahe, Finland. His height is six foot one inches and weight is 220 pounds.

Janne Niinimaa played domestically with Karpat Oulu and Jokerit in Helsinki. He represented Finland at the World Junior Championships in 1992, 1994 and 1995. He excelled at the European Junior Championships in 1993 where he was named the top defenceman and an all-star. During the 1993 NHL Entry Draft he was chosen 36th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. The slick defender also represented his country at the 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2002 World Championships. He also played two games at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

Niinamaa made an impressive NHL debut in 1996-97 by scoring 44 points in the regular season followed by 13 points in 19 post-season games as the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup finals. His offensive flash and poise led to him being voted on to the league's All-Rookie Team. The fast-skating approach of Edmonton and the wide-open style of the Western Conference suited the young Finn. Niinimaa became the quarterback of the team's power-play and logged the most ice time of any defenceman on the team. He scored 33 points in 1999-00 then improved to 46 points the next year which placed him third in team scoring.

Niinimaa continued his strong play in 2001-02 notching 44 points and was a member of Finland's 2002 Winter Olympic Team before he was dealt to the New York Islanders at the March trading deadline in 2003. Upon his arrival with the Islanders, Niinimaa continued to be an offensive force from the blueline, reaching the 300-point plateau in 2003-04 and representing his homeland for the fifth and sixth times at the World Championships in 2003 and 2004. His regular season total statistics included 637 GP games played, 51 G goals, 249 A assists, 300 pts points and 611 PIM, penalty minutes.

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