Goalie Antero Niittymaki continues playing in Finland despite putting career on hold citing health reasons
Health is always top priority for any hockey player and for goaltender, Antero Niittymaki, it was something that had affected his ability to continue playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) and certainly hampered his performance.
But now, luckily the goalie has found another gig and that is in Finland, which came after the goalie thought about retiring, but smart consultation saved the veteran goalie from Turku, Finland, from leaving the game early.
His hip was the centre of the issue as he had an artificial joint replacement, which many medical physicians at the time, termed it to be a career ending problem for the goalie, but luckily, Niittymaki has bounced back.
Monday, August 20, 2012, was the date that Niittymaki signed his one-year contract with TPS Turku in native land, Finland, and will see how next seasons goes for the goaltender. It will definitely be a benchmark in seeing if the goalie can continue performing like he did in the NHL or not.
"It feels good to come back to TPS," a team released statement of the goalie read. "The club made it possible to put this in place over the summer, and we came to terms very quickly on the contract."
There were some ups and downs in Niittymaki’s career, but those who knew him playing with Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks, can testify to one thing and that is the goalie is not a quitter.
"There's no explanation for it. It's just one of those things, and I never think about it," Niittymaki said. "My team has played good and I've probably had some good luck, too."
Niittymaki was drafted as the 168th overall back in round-six of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by Philadelphia Flyers and participated in five straight seasons before joining Tampa Bay Lightning in 2009-2010 and San Jose Sharks the following season.
In total, the veteran net minder has 234 games played under his belt for 95 wins and 86 losses along with an accumulated .902 save percentage and 2.95 goals-against average.
Seeing him play next year should be exciting and maybe even a gateway back into the major league.
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