Janne Pesonen

Janne Pesonen
230px Janne Pesonen in white away jersey of Kärpät
Born	(1982-05-11) 11 May 1982 Suomussalmi, Finland
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shoots	Left
KHL team Former teams	Skellefteå AIK Pittsburgh Penguins Kärpät Hokki HIFK Ak Bars Kazan
National team	Finland
NHL Draft	269th overall, 2004 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Playing career	2001–present
Medal record World Championships 2011 Slovakia

Janne Tapani Pesonen (born 11 May 1982) is a Finnish professional ice hockey winger currently playing for Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League.

Career

Pesonen began his career with Hokki in 1998, playing in the second-highest division of hockey in Finland, the Mestis.

Kärpät

He then played for Kärpät in the Finnish top division, the SM-liiga, from 2001–02 and 2003–08. After his first season with Kärpät he returned to Hokki for one season in 2002–03. He returned to Kärpät in 2003–04 and won the SM-liiga Rookie of the Year award, helping Kärpät to their first Finnish championship since 1981. His five seasons with Kärpät from 2003–08 saw Pesonen win four Finnish championships in total, in 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008. He won the Jari Kurri trophy, which is annually awarded the playoff MVP, in 2007. He had his best season in 2007–08 when he led the SM-liiga in goals, points, and plus-minus, winning the Aarne Honkavaara, Veli-Pekka Ketola, and Matti Keinonen trophies, respectively, for his efforts. That season he tallied 34 goals and 44 assists for a total 78 points in only 56 games played.

Pittsburgh Penguins

On 7 July 2008, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they signed Pesonen to a one-year contract. After 3 preseason games in which he tallied 1 goal and 1 assist, Pesonen was sent to the Penguins' AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, on 8 October 2008. Pesonen would show his ability to adapt to the North American style of hockey by scoring 9 pts in his first seven games, scoring two goals and garnering seven assists. On 31 October, Pesonen was recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he made his NHL debut on 1 November against the St. Louis Blues. Pesonen's stay with the Penguins was brief, and he was returned to the AHL after seven games. On 16 March, Pesonen set a new record for points in a single season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Baby Penguins, passing up Toby Petersen's 67-point season of 2000–01. At season's end, Pesonen finished with 82 points, fourth in the AHL in scoring and the highest point total by a Finn in AHL history.

Ak Bars Kazan

After one season in North America, Pesonen opted to return to Europe and signed with Russian club Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League on 4 August 2009. He left Kazan after two seasons for a try-out contract with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 11 August 2011. He was released from the Jets on 2 October, after failing to get an extended offer.

After a year in Finland playing for HIFK, Pesonen announced he had signed a one-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan.

Awards

• American Hockey League
  • Second All-Star Team – 2008–09
• Kontinental Hockey League
  • Gagarin Cup Champion – 2009–10
• SM-liiga
  • All-Star Team – 2006–07, 2007–08
  • Best Player in Playoffs (Jari Kurri Award) – 2006–07
  • Best Plus–Minus (Matti Keinonen Trophy) – 2007–08
  • Bronze Medal – 2005–06
  • Champion – 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08
  • Most Assists by Rookie – 2003–04
  • Most Game-Winning Goals – 2007–08
  • Most Goals (Aarne Honkavaara Trophy) – 2007–08
  • Most Goals by Rookie – 2003–04
  • Most Points (Veli-Pekka Ketola Trophy) – 2007–08
  • Most Points by Rookie – 2003–04
  • Most Power Play Goals – 2007–08
  • Most Shorthanded Goals – 2007–08
  • Player of the Month – 2007–08
  • Rookie of the Year – 2003–04
• World Championship
  • Gold Medal – 2011

Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	Hokki Kajaani	Suomi-sarja		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Karpat Oulu U18	SM-liiga U18		33	6	12	18	30		3	0	1	1	0
2000–01	Karpat Oulu Jr.	SM-liiga Jr		41	9	22	31	18		6	1	1	2	0
2001–02	Karpat Oulu Jr.	SM-liiga Jr		42	12	19	31	18		3	2	0	2	2
2001–02	Karpat Oulu	SM-liiga		9	2	0	2	0		1	0	0	0	0
2002–03	Hokki Kajaani	Mestis		40	15	21	36	62		3	2	0	2	4
2003–04	Karpat Oulu	SM-liiga		56	17	13	30	28		15	1	1	2	4
2004–05	Karpat Oulu	SM-liiga		55	11	18	29	42		12	2	0	2	0
2005–06	Karpat Oulu	SM-liiga		53	8	14	22	34		11	4	0	4	8
2006–07	Karpat Oulu	SM-liiga		56	22	33	55	38		9	4	3	7	10
2007–08	Karpat Oulu	SM-liiga		56	34	44	78	58		14	7	9	16	10
2008–09	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		7	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		70	32	50	82	33		5	1	5	6	0
2009–10	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		42	14	11	25	12		8	1	0	1	4
2010–11	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		46	14	13	27	28		8	3	1	4	4
2011–12	Hifk Helsinki	SM-liiga		38	13	15	28	18		4	0	1	1	0
2012–13	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		45	17	10	27	42		18	4	8	12	28
2013–14	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		48	16	6	22	18		6	1	2	3	6
NHL Totals				7	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
KHL Totals				181	61	40	101	100		40	9	11	20	42
SM-liiga Totals				323	107	137	244	220		66	18	14	32	32

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	Finland	WC-A		9	2	5	7	4
2012	Finland	WC-A	4th	9	1	2	3	2
2013	Finland	WC-A	4th	9	2	6	8	27

External links

• Janne Pesonen profile at Eurohockey.com
• Janne Pesonen's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Miika Wiikman

Winner of the Jari Kurri trophy 2006–07

Succeeded by Tuomas Tarkki