There’s a Valimaki on Finland’s Oympic Women’s Hockey Team

One is a 19-year-old Defenseman for the Tri-City Americans, the other a 27-year-old Center for the Finnish National Women's team. But are they related?

We were watching the U.S. women's Olympic first-round hockey match vs. Finland, and the last name of the Finnish players made us look close. Linda Valimaki is one of the goal scorers for the Finland squad, but apparently not related to the American's Juuso Valimaki.

They were born in two different cities, they're 8 years apart in age, and we didn't find any trace of them being related. While not being the equlivalent of a common name like Smith in the U.S., there are apparently about 1,933 people or families who share that name in Finland out of a population of 5.4 million people.  So, it's not common, but there are a number of them. We did a number of extensive searches, and apparently it's a coincidence.

It appears they are two people who are very good at hockey, and share the same last name. But then again, there's a ton of folks over there that are skilled at moving, shooting and stopping the puck.

Juuso was the 1st round #1 overall pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2017 NHL Draft, and it's believed he will be in the NHL come next season.  Linda Valimaki has been on the the Finnish Olympic team since 2010, and had an assist on their lone goal in the 3-1 loss to the U.S. in the opening round.