Joni Pitkänen
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| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 213 lb (97 kg) |
| NHL Team | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Nationality |  Finland |
| Born | September 19, 1983, Oulu, FIN |
| NHL Draft | 4th overall, 2002 Philadelphia Flyers |
| Pro Career | 2000 – present |
Joni Pitkänen (born September 19, 1983 in Oulu, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman with the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
Pitkänen started his pro hockey career in the Kärpät organisation in the Finnish SM-liiga, and after three seasons there he crossed the Atlantic to play for the Philadelphia Flyers. 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 defensemen, recording 46 points in 58 games. However, he was hampered by injuries the second half of the season.
When Joni Pitkänen came to the United States to play for 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 July 14, 2006 Joni signed a 1 year contract with Philadelphia for $2 million dollars for one season.[1]
[edit] Awards
- 2003-04: All-Rookie Team (NHL)
- 2003-04: Played in the Young Stars Game (NHL)
- 2004-05: Calder Cup Philadelphia Phantoms
- 2005-06: Barry Ashbee Trophy (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 2005-06: Pelle Lindbergh Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers)
[edit] Records
- Scored 1st NHL goal on October 8, 2004.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998-99 | Kärpät | SM-l Jr. | 30 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1999-2000 | Kärpät | SM-l Jr. | 38 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2000-01 | Kärpät | SM-l Jr. | 24 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 77 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2000-01 | Kärpät | SM-l | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2001-02 | Kärpät | SM-l | - | - | - | - | - | 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 | ||
| NHL totals | 129 | 21 | 52 | 73 | 122 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | ||||
[edit] International play
- Played for Finland in the 2003 World Junior Championships (bronze medal)
- Played for Finland at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- Was selected to play for the Finland during the 2006 Winter Olympics but withdrew due to injury.
[edit] External links
- Joni Pitkänen on Internet Hockey Database
- Joni Pitkänen on nhlfinns.com
- [2] Phantoms Profile
- [3] Flyers profile
