Marko Anttila

Medal record
Representing Finland
Ice hockey
Olympic Games
World Championships

Marko Anttila
Marko Anttila
	Marko Anttila in 2016
Born	27 May 1985 (age 39); Lempäälä, Finland
Height	6 ft 8 in (203 cm)
Weight	229 lb (104 kg; 16 st 5 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Right
Liiga team; Former teams	Oulun Kärpät; HC TPS; Metallurg Novokuznetsk; Örebro HK; Jokerit; Ilves
National team	Finland
NHL draft	260th overall, 2004; Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career	2003–present

Marko Anttila (born 27 May 1985) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for Oulun Kärpät in the Finnish Liiga. Anttila was selected by Chicago Blackhawks in the 9th round (260th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. His nickname among his teammates is "Stretch" ("Stretsi" in Finnish), which was given to him by Steve Kariya due to his large physical stature, but among the Finnish fans, he is more commonly known as "Mörkö".^[1]

Playing career

Marko Anttila played his first senior-level ice hockey games during the 2003–04 season. Anttila's first team was his hometown team Lempäälän Kisa of Lempäälä.

Anttila scored 38 points in 22 Suomi-sarja regular season games during his debut season. Though playing at the 3rd highest level in Finland, Anttila was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft while he was playing for LeKi. It is believed^{[by whom?]} that Anttila's connections with Chicago's scout for Finland, Sakari Pietilä, was the reason why he was drafted. His large size (over 6'8 ft tall) combined with his hard slap shot was the most convincing factors that influenced Sakari Pietilä to suggest him to the Blackhawks.^{[citation needed]}

After being drafted while playing for a small town's team, Anttila soon was reckoned as a player to invest in. Marko Anttila was contracted by Ilves in 2004. Anttila struggled during his first season in SM-liiga but soon got the hang of playing at higher levels.

In 2007–08, Anttila scored his SM-liiga career-high when he racked up 23 points in 56 games, and he was selected to play for the Finnish National team during the European Hockey Tour.

On 26 April 2011, Anttila made a one-year contract with TPS. In June 2013, it was announced that Anttila would join Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the KHL.

After parts of three seasons with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League, Anttila returned to the KHL, linking up on a one-year deal with Finnish-based club Jokerit on 20 April 2016.^[2]

During the 2016–17 season, having added a physical presence to the checking lines, Anttila agreed to a two-year contract extension to remain with Jokerit on 8 January 2017.^[3]

Anttila remained with Jokerit for six years before the club's withdrawal to the KHL before the playoffs in the 2021–22 season due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He subsequently joined his original Finnish club, Ilves of the Liiga, on 28 February 2022, for the remainder of the campaign.^[4]

On 16 June 2022, it was announced that Anttila has signed for Oulun Kärpät for the 2022–23 season.

International play

In 2019, Anttila served as captain when Finland won their third gold medal in the Ice Hockey World Championships. He scored the only goal in the semi-final game against Russia. In the final against Canada, he scored two goals, including the game-winning goal leading Finland to a 3–1 victory.^[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002–03	LeKi	FIN.2 U18	11	17	8	25	41	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	LeKi	FIN.3 U20	12	11	11	22	26	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	LeKi	FIN.4	22	19	19	38	30	—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Ilves	Jr. A	27	14	6	20	44	9	5	7	12	14
2004–05	Ilves	SM-l	28	2	1	3	10	3	0	0	0	0
2005–06	Ilves	Jr. A	10	4	2	6	6	2	1	1	2	4
2005–06	Ilves	SM-l	50	4	3	7	46	4	0	0	0	0
2006–07	Ilves	SM-l	53	2	2	4	34	7	1	0	1	8
2007–08	Ilves	SM-l	56	14	9	23	90	9	2	2	4	4
2008–09	Ilves	SM-l	58	8	14	22	69	3	0	0	0	2
2009–10	Ilves	SM-l	57	8	18	26	52	—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Ilves	SM-l	33	5	8	13	26	6	2	1	3	4
2011–12	TPS	SM-l	59	14	22	36	36	2	0	1	1	4
2012–13	TPS	SM-l	60	17	24	41	68	—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Metallurg Novokuznetsk	KHL	16	2	4	6	10	—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Ariada Volzhsk	VHL	6	2	3	5	6	—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Örebro HK	SHL	22	13	7	20	30	—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Örebro HK	SHL	52	14	6	20	16	6	0	1	1	8
2015–16	Örebro HK	SHL	49	8	6	14	28	2	1	1	2	35
2016–17	Jokerit	KHL	56	7	9	16	41	4	0	1	1	2
2017–18	Jokerit	KHL	52	8	8	16	26	10	1	1	2	10
2018–19	Jokerit	KHL	38	11	4	15	21	6	1	2	3	2
2019–20	Jokerit	KHL	61	11	7	18	14	6	2	2	4	4
2020–21	Jokerit	KHL	57	8	6	14	44	4	0	0	0	14
2021–22	Jokerit	KHL	40	6	5	11	17	—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Ilves	Liiga	10	2	1	3	4	14	1	2	3	4
2022–23	Kärpät	Liiga	58	13	4	17	18	3	0	1	1	2
2023–24	Kärpät	Liiga	60	13	14	27	22	12	0	2	2	10
Liiga totals			577	102	120	222	475	68	6	11	17	40
KHL totals			320	53	43	96	173	30	4	6	10	32

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013	Finland	WC	4th	7	0	1	1	2
2018	Finland	OG	6th	3	0	1	1	2
2018	Finland	WC	5th	8	2	2	4	2
2019	Finland	WC		10	4	0	4	4
2021	Finland	WC		10	0	3	3	4
2022	Finland	OG		5	2	1	3	0
2022	Finland	WC		10	2	3	5	6
2023	Finland	WC	7th	8	2	1	3	2
Senior totals				61	12	12	24	22