The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the organization has signed forward Joel Kiviranta to a one-year contract for the 2023-24 season.
Kiviranta, 27, signed a Professional Tryout contract (PTO) with the Avalanche ahead of their 2023 Training Camp and reported to the Colorado Eagles (AHL). The forward has recorded six points (2g/4a) in 10 games to begin the season, with his six points ranking tied for fourth on the club. Kiviranta entered 2023-24 with 28 points (16g/12a) in 163 career regular-season NHL games as well as 12 points (6g/6a) in 36 Stanley Cup Playoff games, all of which came playing for the Dallas Stars from 2019-23.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound left wing registered nine points (8g/1a) in 70 games for Dallas in 2022-23, with his eight goals marking a career-high. He added five points (1g/4a) in 15 postseason contests last year to help the Stars secure a Western Conference Final berth. Kiviranta’s first professional season in North America came in 2019-20 where he spent most of the year in Texas (AHL) but was added to the 2020 postseason roster and chipped in six points (5g/1a) over 14 games, including a hat trick in Game 7 of the Second Round against Colorado.
The Vantaa, Finland native signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent on May 31, 2019 after playing parts of six seasons for the SM-Liiga’s Jokerit (2013-14) and Vaasan Sport (2014-19) programs. He tallied 114 points (60g/54a) in 261 games in his Liiga career. On the international stage, Kiviranta captured a gold medal representing Finland at the 2019 World Championship and a bronze medal at the 2013 U-18 World Championship where he was teammates with Artturi Lehkonen.
