About Antero Niittymäki
Antero Pertti Elias Niittymäki (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈɑntero ˈniːtːymæki]; born June 18, 1980) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for TPS of the SM-liiga (Finnish elite league). He additionally played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, while playing for Team Finland, he was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the entire ice hockey tournament. Partway through his four-year junior career with TPS in the junior SM-liiga, Niittymäki was selected by the Flyers 168th overall in the 1998 NHL entry draft. He continued to play in Finland with TPS for his first year out of the junior leagues, and he won the Finnish elite league's Rookie of the Year trophy. After two more seasons with TPS, Niittymäki moved to North America to join the Philadelphia Phantoms in the American Hockey League (AHL). When the Phantoms won the AHL Calder Cup championship, he was named the MVP of the playoffs. He then played four seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers before signing as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning. One year later, he signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks, but he did not play many games for them over the next two years due to hip injuries. He played his final season with his youth team TPS, and he announced his retirement in 2013. In 2000, he won the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy for Rookie of the Year, and led TPS to their second straight SM-liiga championship. The Phantoms won the Calder Cup in 2005 after sweeping the Chicago Wolves.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.