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• Antero Niittymaki was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers during the sixth round of the 1998 National Hockey League entry draft, but remained in his home country of Finland to hone his skills before joining the NHL for the 2002-2003 season.

• Fast Facts

  1. Birth date: June 18, 1980
  2. Birthplace: Turku, Finland
  3. Position: Goaltender
  4. Catches: Left
  5. Jersey number: 30
  6. Named the Most Valuable Player in the 2006 Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament

• AHL Career

  Niittymaki began his professional career with the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms and scored an empty net, shorthanded, unassisted game-winning goal in overtime on April 11, 2004. He was instrumental in the Phantom's Calder Cup win and received the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as tournament MVP.

• NHL Career

  Niittymaki played three NHL games in 2004 and then started as Philadelphia's backup goalie for the 2005-2006 season. He suffered a hip injury during training for the 2006-2007 season, but cortisone shots allowed him to take over from Robert Esche as starting goalie. Philadelphia acquired Martin Biron during the off season in 2006, relegating Niittymaki back to the position of backup goalie.

  On January 5, 2008, Niittymaki made 54 saves to set the Philadelphia Flyers' franchise record for most saves in a game.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Philadelphia Flyers | National Hockey League | Daniel Briere | [[ Simon Gagné]] | Denis Gautheir | Mike Knuble | Derian Hatcher | Jeff Carter | Joffrey Lupul

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