Joni Pitkänen (born 19 September 1983) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and Carolina Hurricanes.
| Joni Pitkänen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Pitkänen with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2009 | |||
| Born |
19 September 1983 Oulu, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Oulun Kärpät Philadelphia Flyers Edmonton Oilers Carolina Hurricanes | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL draft |
4th overall, 2002 Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Playing career | 2000–2016 | ||
Playing career
editPitkänen started his pro hockey career in the Kärpät organization in the Finnish SM-liiga. After three seasons there he crossed the Atlantic to play for the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft with their first round draft pick (fourth overall). After a good opening season that saw Pitkänen cement his place on the team lineup, he played for the Philadelphia Phantoms during the 2004–05 NHL lockout when the team won the Calder Cup. When the NHL resumed in 2005, Pitkänen returned to the Flyers and became the team's top-scoring defenseman, recording 46 points in 58 games. However, he was hampered by injuries during the second half of the season.
When Pitkänen came to the United States to play for the Philadelphia Flyers, he hardly spoke a word of English, so teammate and fellow Finn Sami Kapanen translated for him, and eventually taught him English.
On 14 July 2006, Pitkänen signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Philadelphia.[1] A key member of the Flyers' powerplay unit, Pitkänen was tied for second in powerplay scoring in 2006–07 with 1+17=18 and led Philadelphia in powerplay assists. During his rookie season, Pitkänen was ranked second among NHL rookies in powerplay points (5+12=17) and powerplay assists. The 23-year-old defenseman led in ice time in each of the last two seasons with Philadelphia.
Pitkänen was ranked among the NHL’s top 25 defensemen in scoring in each of the first two seasons following the 2004–05 NHL lockout. His 43 points in 2006–07 ranked him 22nd, while his career-high 13+33=46 in 2005–06 placed him 19th. He was also among the 2006–07 NHL blueline leaders in assists (16th) and ice time (20th with 24:32 minutes per-game).
On 1 July 2007, Pitkänen was traded to the Edmonton Oilers along with Geoff Sanderson and a third round draft choice in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul. On 20 July 2007, Pitkänen signed a one-year contract with the Oilers. With the Oilers, Pitkänen scored 8+18=26 in 63 games.
On 1 July 2008, Pitkänen was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Erik Cole.[2] On 2 July 2008, Pitkänen signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes as a restricted free agent.[3]
On April 2, 2013, during a contest with the Washington Capitals, Pitkänen suffered an injury to his heel following a race to reach an iced puck.[4] The following year the NHL would change the icing rules to use hybrid icing to help avoid similar incidents.[5]
The injury he received caused Pitkänen to miss entire 2013-14 season, his last under contract to the Hurricanes.[6]
In early December 2014 it was reported that Pitkänen had started light training with Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga, skating for the first time since his injury.[7]
On February 5, 2016, it was announced that Pitkänen had signed a deal with Oulun Kärpät for the rest of the season. He played his first game in almost three years on February 6 against KalPa.[8] On February 25, 2016, Pitkänen announced he would retire once more from ice-hockey after playing three games with Oulun Kärpät.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–2000 | Kärpät | FIN U18 | 36 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Kärpät | FIN U20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Kärpät | FIN U20 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Kärpät | SM-l | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Kärpät | FIN U20 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Kärpät | SM-l | 49 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 65 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2002–03 | Kärpät | SM-l | 35 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 71 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 44 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Philadelphia Phantoms | AHL | 76 | 6 | 35 | 41 | 105 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | ||
| 2005–06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 58 | 13 | 33 | 46 | 78 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 77 | 4 | 39 | 43 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 63 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 71 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 58 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 16 | ||
| 2009–10 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 71 | 6 | 40 | 46 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 72 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 30 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 22 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Kärpät | Liiga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 108 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 115 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||||
| NHL totals | 535 | 57 | 225 | 282 | 484 | 39 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 24 | ||||
International
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Representing Finland
| ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
2010 Vancouver | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| |
2002 Pardubice | |
| |
2003 Nova Scotia | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Finland | U18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2002 | Finland | WJC | 
|
7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2003 | Finland | WJC |
|
7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Finland | OG |
|
5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 29 | |
| Junior totals | 18 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 29 | ||||
Awards
edit- 2003–04: All-Rookie Team (NHL)
- 2003–04: Played in the YoungStars Game (NHL)
- 2004–05: Calder Cup (Philadelphia Phantoms)
- 2005–06: Barry Ashbee Trophy (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 2005–06: Pelle Lindbergh Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers)
References
edit- ^ "Defensman Pitkanen re-signs for one year with Flyers". ESPN.com. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ "Oilers bring in Cole, Brule with pair of trades". TSN. 1 July 2008.
- ^ "Canes Sign Defenseman Joni Pitkanen". Carolina Hurricanes. 2 July 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011.
- ^ Brehm, Mike. "Hurricanes' Joni Pitkanen breaks heel on icing call". USA Today Sports. USA Today.
- ^ Stubits, Brian (30 September 2013). "Hybrid icing approved by players, will be in effect for 2013-14 season". CBS Sports. CBS. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "joni Pitkanen hopes to resume career". National Hockey League. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ "Miltä paluu luistimille on tuntunut pitkän tauon jälkeen, Joni Pitkänen?, (How is the return to the skates after such a long pause, Joni Pitkänen?)". Kaleva.fi. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ "Joni Pitkänen tekee paluun lauantaina - "Haluan pelata CHL:n loppuottelussa", (Joni Pitkänen returns on saturday - "I want to play in the CHL final")". Kaleva.fi. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
External links
edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database