Jani Lajunen (born 16 June 1990) is a Finnish professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
forward who is currently playing with
Örebro HK
Örebro HK is a Swedish ice hockey club located in Örebro. The team is currently playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserien), the top tier of Swedish ice hockey, since the 2013–14 season. The team's home arena is Behrn Are ...
of the
Swedish Hockey League
The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...
(SHL). He was selected by the
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...
in the 7th round (201st overall) of the
2008 NHL Entry Draft
The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...
.
Playing career
Having made his debut in
SM-liiga
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
in 2008, he made quick progress and became one of the key players with
Espoo Blues
The Espoo Blues were an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga. They played in Espoo, Finland, at the Espoo Metro Areena. The club went bankrupt at the end of the 2015–16 Liiga season.
History
The club was established in February 1984 as Kiekko-Espoo ...
.
He was selected to the Finnish national team for the
2011 IIHF World Championship
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''E ...
. At the age of 20 he scored his first national team goal against
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
in the quarterfinals at his second game of the tournament. Lajunen also scored a goal in the semifinals against
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
Team Finland went all the way to the final game and swept Sweden 6–1, winning Finland's second IIHF World Championship gold medal to date.
19 February 2013, Lajunen was traded by the Predators to the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...
for fellow minor leaguer
Scott Ford. He then played for
Växjö Lakers
Växjö Lakers Hockey Club (often referred to as the Växjö Lakers or VLH) is a Swedish ice hockey club from Växjö in Sweden. The club plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserien), the top-level league of Swedish ice hockey, and ...
of the
Swedish Hockey League
The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...
for two seasons before returning to Finland in joining
Tappara
Tappara (; Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. They play at ''Tampere Deck Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 18 Finnish league championships (1959, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, ...
on a two-year deal, commencing from the
2015–16 season.
On 5 May 2017 Lajunen agreed to a two-year contract with
HC Lugano
Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships.
History
The founding of HC Lugano took ...
of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(NL). On December 24, 2018, Lajunen was signed to an early two-year contract extension by Lugano through to the end of the 2020–21 season.
On 20 May 2021, Lajunen left the Swiss National League as a free agent after four seasons and returned to the SHL, in agreeing to a two-year contract with Örebro HK.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
1990 births
Living people
Espoo Blues players
HC Lugano players
Milwaukee Admirals players
Nashville Predators draft picks
Örebro HK players
Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players
Tappara players
Växjö Lakers players
Finnish ice hockey centres
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden
Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Sportspeople from Espoo
Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Olympic ice hockey players of Finland
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