Juha Petteri Ylönen (born February 13, 1972) is a Finnish former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He was selected by the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) in the fifth round, 91st overall, of the 1991 NHL entry draft. He played for the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

, and

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

in the NHL. In international play, he won a bronze medal with

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

's national team at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. His son, Jesse, is also an NHL player.

Playing career

Ylönen played five seasons in Finland's

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

before coming to North America to play. He joined the

(NHL)'s

(which Winnipeg had become after relocation) organization for the 1996–97 season, appearing in two games that season. he had the best production of his career that season for the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL)

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

, scoring 61 points in 70 games and adding 21 points in the playoffs. He then played four full seasons with the Coyotes until he was traded prior to the 2001–02 season to the

in exchange for forward Todd Warriner. Ylönen played 65 games for the Lightning that season, but was dealt to the

at the trade deadline in exchange for forward André Roy and a pick in the 2002 NHL entry draft. After the 2001–02 season, Ylönen left the NHL and returned to Finland to play. In his NHL career, Ylönen appeared in 341 games. He scored 26 goals and added 76 assists. He also appeared in 15

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

playoff games, recording seven assists. He played two seasons for the

Espoo Blues Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish professional ice hockey club founded in 2018 as a continuation of the Kiekko-Espoo team originally founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Liiga, where they were promoted for the 2024–25 Liiga season, 20 ...

, with the last being the 2003–04 season.

International play

Ylönen won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

as a member of the Finnish team at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

Personal life

His son, Jesse, was selected in the second round, 35th overall, by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

in the 2018 NHL entry draft, and plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ylonen, Juha 1972 births Espoo Blues players Finnish ice hockey centres HPK players Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Jokerit players Living people Olympic bronze medalists for Finland Olympic ice hockey players for Finland Ottawa Senators players Ice hockey people from Helsinki Phoenix Coyotes players Springfield Falcons players Tampa Bay Lightning players Olympic medalists in ice hockey Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) draft picks 21st-century Finnish sportsmen