Roope Talaja

Roope Talaja
Born	(1988-08-02) August 2, 1988 (age 36) Kuopio, Finland
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Left
Liiga team Former teams	Espoo Blues HIFK
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2008–present

Roope Talaja (born August 2, 1988) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He currently plays for Porin Ässät in the Finnish Liiga.

Talaja has played as a junior for the Blues, before making his professional debut in the Mestis with Kiekko-Vantaa. After making his debut on loan to HIFK in the 2009–10 season, he returned to the Blues to play in his first full SM-liiga season.^[1]

On May 3, 2012, Talaja agree to a two-year contract with HIFK.^[2] After an unproductive second season with HIFK in 2013–14, in which he totaled just two goals in 31 games, Talaja made a third return to the Espoo Blues in agreeing to a two-year contract on April 4, 2014.^[3]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	Kiekko-Vantaa	Mestis		23	2	2	4	30		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Kiekko-Vantaa	Mestis		39	17	9	26	50		5	0	1	1	14
2009–10	Kiekko-Vantaa	Mestis		34	11	17	28	53		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	HIFK	SM-l		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Blues	SM-l		40	2	3	5	95		18	2	1	3	22
2010–11	Mikkelin Jukurit	Mestis		1	2	1	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Blues	SM-l		58	18	8	26	55		16	4	2	6	18
2012–13	HIFK	SM-l		57	12	12	24	24		7	0	2	2	2
2013–14	HIFK	Liiga		31	2	5	7	8		2	0	0	0	0
Liiga totals				188	34	29	63	182		43	6	5	11	42

References

1. "Blues' 2010-11 Roster". hockeydb.com. January 2, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
2. "Talaja among new faces" (in Finnish). HIFK. May 3, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
3. "Talaja to return to the Blueshirts". Espoo Blues. April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2014.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database