Patrik Laine

Patrik Laine (born 19 April 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.

Laine made his Liiga debut at age 16 with Tappara during the 2014–15 season, logging six games and scoring one point.

However, he spent most of that season on loan with Leki of Mestis.

Laine began the 2015–16 season with Tappara, and over a span of 46 games with the club scored 17 goals and 16 assists for a total of 33 points.

Due to strong play with Tappara early in the season and an impressive showing at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships where he scored eight goals in seven games, Laine's ranking on most draft lists rose from the previous season, when he had been considered a mid-first-round prospect.

Laine's 2015–16 regular season campaign with Tappara ended in March 2016 with his team finishing third overall in the Liiga standings and thus qualifying for the subsequent post-season.

Laine played a pivotal role in the semifinal series against second-ranked Kärpät, scoring six goals in the seven-game series, including three last-minute goals to tie Games 4, 5, and 6; two of those goals occurred in the final minute of the third period of their respective games, with Laine's Game 6 goal being scored at 19:59 of the third period with one second remaining on the clock.

With his last-second tying goal in Game 6, his eighth of the playoffs, Laine broke Liiga's previous goal-scoring record of seven goals in a single rookie playoff campaign.

This was Laine's first ever game on Tappara's top line—for the first part of the 2015–16 campaign he had played with Jere Karjalainen, Veli-Matti Savinainen and Stephen Dixon, while for the majority of the season, he played on the team's second line with Arttu Ilomäki and Jukka Peltola.

For the first 15 games of the playoffs, his line featured Jan-Mikael Järvinen at centre with Peltola on right wing.

Laine formerly played in his native Finland with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga before he was taken with the second overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

Laine began playing hockey at four years old and he initially played every position.

His primary position was goaltender which was his favorite position and his best at the time.

Urged by his father, Laine permanently switched to forward when he was 12.

Laine left school at age 16 to focus full-time on hockey.

Laine started to play hockey in Ilves at age four, but soon changed to local competitor Tappara.

Prior to the start of his NHL draft season, Laine was ranked in numerous hockey publications as the fourth-best prospect in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

After a dominant performance at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he won a gold medal, was the third-leading scorer with 7 goals, 6 assist and 13 points in 7 games, and was named to the tournament all-star team, Laine began to receive greater attention from scouts and casual observers.

By January 2016, Laine had moved up the ranking on most lists to second overall.

McKeen's Hockey notably ranked Laine first overall on its January 2016 list.

According to hockey analyst Bob McKenzie's mid-season draft report, Laine had become the "clear consensus No. 2 choice" over fellow Finnish prospect Jesse Puljujärvi.

This was due to what scouts described as a "'dynamic' element", with one scout elaborating, "Laine maybe is more of a pure goal scorer, a game-breaker with a little higher offensive ceiling."

By February 2016, Laine was considered by some scouts, such as those from McKeen's and those represented in Bob McKenzie's report, to be a potential challenger for first overall at the 2016 NHL Draft, challenging the previous consensus choice, top-ranked prospect Auston Matthews.

When asked by McKenzie if Matthews was still the favorite to be selected first overall in the June 2016 draft, several scouts expressed they "had to think long and hard about it . . . Laine is right there".

One scout justified that "in the end, we favoured the centre over the winger but I don’t think it’s a reach at all to see Laine going first overall. A lot of our European scouts who see these guys think Laine is better".

In April 2016, McKenzie reported Laine had further closed the gap between himself and Matthews, with two of the ten NHL scouts surveyed by McKenzie reporting they would choose Laine ahead of Matthews.

The other scouts in McKenzie's April report, meanwhile, stated they needed to think "long and hard about their decision" to rank Matthews ahead of Laine.

The National Post, meanwhile, published an article with a headline proclaiming Laine to be the "NHL draft's true No. 1".

Laine and Tappara consequently defeated Kärpät and advanced to the 2016 Liiga Finals.

Trailing 2–1 in the Liiga Finals series against HIFK, Tappara coach Jussi Tapola moved Laine to the team's first line with Jani Lajunen and leading scorer Kristian Kuusela for Game 4, where Laine recorded a goal and two assists to lead his team to a 2–2 series tie.

Laine scored once more in the series-clinching match, as Tappara defeated HIFK in six games to win the 2016 Liiga championship title.

He was consequently awarded the Jari Kurri Trophy as Liiga's 2016 playoff MVP, finishing the post-season with 10 goals and 5 assists for 15 points in 18 games.

Laine was selected with the second overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

On 3 July 2016, he agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with Winnipeg, signalling the start to his North American career.

On 13 October 2016, Laine made his debut in the NHL when he played in the Jets' season-opening game against the Carolina Hurricanes in which Laine got a goal and an assist.

On 19 October 2016, Laine scored his first hat-trick in a 5–4 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, becoming, at 18 years, 183 days old, the youngest player born outside North America to score at least twice in one game in NHL history.

On 8 November 2016, Laine got his second NHL hat-trick.

On 7 January 2017, Buffalo Sabres defenceman Jake McCabe hit Laine while he was receiving a pass.

As a result, Laine suffered a concussion and missed eight games.

This record was bested by fellow Finn Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who, at 18 years, 118 days old, scored twice against the Washington Capitals on 1 November 2018.