Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (born 9 March 1999) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life
Luukkonen was born in Espoo and he grew up in Hyvinkää. Luukkonen's father, Jari, is the Secretary General at the World Wildlife Fund-Finland. Luukkonen was named after former Finnish president Pehr Evind Svinhufvud's nickname. As a child, Luukkonen played soccer, floorball, and flute. He also played for the Hyvinkää Jää-Ahmoje junior squad. Luukkonen grew up idolizing Finnish goaltenders Miikka Kiprusoff and Tuukka Rask. Luukkonen has a fraternal twin, Jaakko, who played soccer before becoming an engineer. Luukkonen's older brother, Nuutti, was also a goaltender at the junior level, and went on to become a pilot.

Junior
Luukkonen has formerly played for HPK of Liiga, as well as HPK's U16, U18, and U20 teams, and for LeKi of Mestis on loan. After playing for HPK's U20 team, he was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, 54th overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He was also previously drafted in 2016 by Severstal Cherepovets of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), 122nd overall, but never played for them.

On 15 June 2018, Luukkonen agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres. Luukkonen was selected third overall by the Sudbury Wolves in the 2018 CHL Import Draft.

In the 2018–19 season, his first in North America playing major junior hockey, Luukkonen set the Sudbury Wolves franchise record for most wins in a regular season, and led the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in wins, save percentage, and shutouts. Luukkonen was the first European import player to win the Red Tilson Trophy as the league's most outstanding player. Rob Papineau, the Wolves general manager, said that Luukkonen told him he played much better once he felt like the Wolves were "[his] team. I'm the starter. This is my team". Luukkonen later said his time in Sudbury was "one of the best years of my hockey career" and "a special time for me", and he would later present Quentin Musty with a Wolves jersey when the latter was selected first overall in the 2021 OHL Draft.

Professional
On 12 April 2019, Luukkonen signed an amateur tryout contract with the Rochester Americans, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. On 14 April, Luukkonen made his professional ice hockey debut with Rochester, earning a victory in a 4–2 win over the Belleville Senators. Following the conclusion of the 2018–19 season, Luukkonen underwent successful hip surgery.

Following his return from hip surgery, Luukkonen spent the majority of the 2019–20 season with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL to return to form. Luukkonen would be the only member of the team who would ever make it to the NHL.Luukkonen was successful with the Cyclones, being named ECHL Goaltender of the Month for November 2019, and representing the team at the ECHL All-Star Game.

On 18 August 2020, Luukkonen agreed to return to the Finnish Liiga on loan from the Sabres with TPS for an initial period of 4–6 weeks due to the delayed 2020–21 North American season. He played 13 games for the team between October 2020 and January 2021 before returning to North America. On 23 April 2021, Luukkonen made his NHL debut and recorded his first NHL win in a 6–4 win over the Boston Bruins. Luukkonen would play 4 games for the Sabres in 2021.

Luukkonen spent most of the 2021–22 season with the Americans, but he was one of six goalies to play for the Sabres in the 2021–22 season. Luukkonen played well in limited ice time, but suffered an injury against the Boston Bruins. Luukkonen ended up posting solid numbers in 9 games played.

Luukkonen began the 2022–23 season with the Americans to ensure he could get ice time, before being called up due to an injury to Eric Comrie. During a road trip in December 2023, Luukkonen had "two stellar showings out west...he was decisive and showed off his athletic ability", including a 41-save performance against the Vegas Golden Knights where Tage Thompson said Luukkonen "won the game for us. He stood on his head all night." In January 2023, Luukkonen was named NHL Rookie of the Month with six wins in nine starts and a .907 save percentage for the month. Luukkonen would remain with the Sabres even after Comrie's return from injury, becoming part of a difficult three goaltender rotation with Comrie and veteran Craig Anderson. The Sabres defense struggled for most of the season, and by the time the defense began to improve at the end of the season, Luukkonen was the fourth goaltender behind the newly arrived rookie Devon Levi.

After the season, Luukkonen had surgery on his ankle. During the off-season in the spring of 2023, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams invited Luukkonen to his house to have dinner and watch the Stanley Cup playoffs. During the dinner, Adams discussed Luukkonen's progress, and expressed confidence in Luukkonen's future with the team. During the 2023 off-season, Luukkonen worked on his technique, including work on his stance and positioning – focusing on being less aggressive and sliding around less in the crease – as well as working with a mental coach.

Luukkonen started the 2023–24 season as the third goaltender on the Sabres roster, behind Comrie and Levi. Levi started the first four games of the season for the Sabres, but suffered a lower-body injury after the final start in that run. Luukkonen's first start of the season came on the second half of a back-to-back series on 24 October 2023, a 6–4 win against the Ottawa Senators. Luukkonen's next ice time would come in relief in the next game after Comrie was injured against the New Jersey Devils. Luukkonen started five out of the next seven games, with three wins, including his first career NHL shutout in a 4–0 win over the Colorado Avalanche on 29 October. Luukkonen would miss three games in December due to an illness severe enough to cause him to lose weight, and struggled on his return, losing his next three starts. However, Luukkonen entered the new year on a hot streak, including two consecutive shutouts on 15 and 18 January 2024 against the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks, becoming the first Sabres goaltender to accomplish that feat since Carter Hutton in 2019. Luukkonen recorded a 33-save shutout against the Los Angeles Kings on 13 February, becoming the first Sabres goaltender since Ryan Miller in 2011–12 to record four or more shutouts in one season. Luukkonen led the league in save percentage and goals against average from 1 January until 15 February, where he missed a game due to a lower-body injury. On 25 February, in a shootout victory against the Carolina Hurricanes, Luukkonen would become the first Sabre since Jhonas Enroth to make four saves and allow no goals in a shootout. Luukkonen notched a fifth shutout on 14 March, against the New York Islanders. He was considered "arguably the best goalie in the league for the last while" by teammates and media. Luukkonen was nominated by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association for the 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. Luukkonen's breakout season was widely considered to be a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing Sabres season, in which the Sabres' playoff drought hit an NHL longest 13 seasons. Luukkonen ascribed his improvement to a positive mindset as well as the positivity of fellow goaltender Eric Comrie, while former Sabres coach Don Granato credited Luukkonen's work with Craig Anderson as well as competing with Devon Levi. Luukkonen received two third place All-Star votes from the PWHA, but was not selected to the NHL All-Star team.

International play
Luukkonen played for Finland in the U18 and U20 World Junior Championships. He was first selected as the third goaltender for the U18 World Juniors in 2016, and although he was such a late selection that team items weren't customized with his name, he would step in as starter when Leevi Laakso got sick and led the team to a gold medal. Luukkonen would lead Finland to the U18 silver medal in 2017. He won the gold again at the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in a 3–2 victory over the United States national junior team and was named the media's pick for best goaltender of the tournament.

Personal life
Luukkonen's favorite goaltender is Pekka Rinne, and his 2023-24 "Buffalo Rage" mask was designed after Rinne's.