Kenny Jönsson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Defense |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Swe-2 Team F. Teams |
Rögle BK St. John's Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs New York Islanders |
| Nationality |  Sweden |
| Born | October 6, 1974, Ängelholm, SWE |
| NHL Draft | 12th overall, 1993 Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Pro Career | 1991 – present |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Ice hockey | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1994 Lillehammer | Ice hockey | |
| Gold | 2006 Turin | Ice hockey | |
Kenny Jönsson, in North America often called Kenny Jonsson, (born October 6, 1974 in Ängelholm) is a Swedish ice hockey player playing for Rögle BK in the Swedish tier two league HockeyAllsvenskan.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
Jönsson was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1st round as the 12th overall selection in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. After playing with the Toronto club during the 1994-95 lockout shortened season, he was traded midway through the 1995-96 season to the New York Islanders in a player exchange which brought highly popular former captain Wendel Clark back to Toronto. Jönsson has spent most of his career as a professional player with the Islanders. After playing with the Swedish second division team Rögle BK, where he started his career, during the 2004-05 NHL lockout, he announced in the summer of 2005 that he was staying with the club for the 2005-2006 season.
Jonsson played with the Islanders from 1996 through 2004. Fans and journalists considered Jonsson one of the most underrated defensemen in the league during his time in the NHL. He played good positional defense and had sound offensive skills as well, but his quiet demeanor and low-key playing style kept him below the radar of some observers.[1]
He was voted Best Defender of the Tournament at the 2006 Winter Olympics where Sweden won the gold medal. This was quite surprising considering he had spent a season in the Swedish second division, while most of the other players played in the NHL.
His brother Jörgen Jönsson is also a well-known Swedish ice hockey player.
During IHWC 2006 World Championship, with brother Jörgen initially sidlined by injury, he was named captain of the Swedish national team.
[edit] Awards
- Elitserien Rookie of the Year in 1993.
- Named to the Junior World Championship All-Star Team in 1993 and 1994.
- Elitserien Junior of the Year in 1994.
- Junior World Championship's Best defenceman in 1994.
- Bronze medal at the World Championships in 1994.
- Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 1994 and 2006.
- Named to the NHL All-Rookie team in 1995.
- Bronze medal at the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.
- Played in the NHL All-Star game in 1999.
- Silver medal at the World Championship in 2004.
- Winter Olympic's Best defenceman in 2006.
- Awarded Elitserien Guldpucken (Swedish Player of the Year) in 2006.
- Gold Medal at the World Championship in 2006.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Kenny Jonsson NHL Hockey at CBS SportsLine.com. CBS SportsLine.com. Retrieved on September 6, 2005.
- Han nobbar 30 miljoner (Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved on September 1, 2005.
| Preceded by Henrik Lundqvist |
Golden Puck 2006 |
Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by Trevor Linden |
New York Islanders captains 1999-2000 |
Succeeded by Michael Peca |
Categories: 1974 births | Living people | National Hockey League first round draft picks | Rögle BK players | New York Islanders players | Swedish ice hockey players | Toronto Maple Leafs players | Hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics | Hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics | Winter Olympics medalists | Olympic gold medalists for Sweden | Olympic competitors for Sweden
