Kevin Kantee (born January 29, 1984) is an American born Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks as their sixth-round pick, #188 overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He played for Jokerit, TPS, Ilves and JYP in the Finnish SM-liiga 2003-2010, and transferred to HDD Olimpija Ljubljana in the Austrian Hockey League for the 2010-2011 season.[1] He is currently signed with HC Valpellice in the Italian Serie A.[2]
| Kevin Kantee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | January 29, 1984 Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S. | ||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb; 14 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Serie A team Former teams | HC Valpellice AUT HDD Olimpija Ljubljana SM-liiga JYP Ilves TPS Jokerit | ||
| NHL draft | 188th overall, 2002 Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| Playing career | 2003–2012 | ||
Kantee was born to Finnish parents in Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S., and holds dual citizenship of Finland and the U.S.[3][4]
In an incident on October 27, 2007, Kantee was attacked by Ässät defenceman Matt Nickerson in the locker room corridor in the Ässät arena after an Ilves-Ässät game. Nickerson was already serving a prior suspension, and was suspended for five more games as a result of the incident.[5]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–2000 | Jokerit | FIN U18 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Jokerit | FIN U18 | 34 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Jokerit | FIN U18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Jokerit | FIN U20 | 34 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Jokerit | FIN U20 | 34 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 34 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | ||
| 2003–04 | Jokerit | FIN U20 | 26 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Jokerit | SM-liiga | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04 | Suomi U20 | Mestis | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Jokerit | FIN U20 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Jokerit | SM-liiga | 46 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Jokerit | SM-liiga | 45 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Jokerit | SM-liiga | 41 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | TPS | SM-liiga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Ilves | SM-liiga | 55 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Ilves | SM-liiga | 57 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | JYP | SM-liiga | 29 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | D Team | Mestis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | HDD Olimpija Ljubljana | AUT | 47 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | HDD Olimpija Ljubljana | SVN | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2011–12 | HC Valpellice | ITA | 35 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| SM-liiga totals | 303 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 134 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Finland | WJC18 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | |||