Valtteri Filppula

Valtteri Filppula (born March 20, 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Detroit Red Wings with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2008.

Playing career

Filppula was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the third round, 95th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Filppula started his hockey career with the Jokerit organization, and secured his place in the SM-liiga team in the 2003–04 season as an offensive forward. He won the SM-liiga silver medal with Jokerit in 2005, and was set to become the team's number one center for the next season. However, Filppula moved to North America to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL), the top minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. He was selected to play for PlanetUSA in the 2005–06 AHL All-Star Game.

On December 15, 2005, Filppula made his NHL debut with the Red Wings, becoming the first Finnish player ever to play an NHL game for Detroit. He scored his first NHL goal on October 28, 2006, against former Red Wing goaltender Manny Legace in a game against the St. Louis Blues. He then scored his first playoff career goal in Game 1 of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Calgary Flames on April 12, 2007, his first post-season game.