Kenny Per Anders Jönsson (born October 6, 1974) is a Swedish former 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 h ...

player.

Playing career

Jönsson was drafted by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

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 Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa ...

back to Toronto. Jönsson then spent the remainder of his NHL career with the Islanders. After playing with the Swedish second division team

Rögle BK Rögle BK (Rögle Bandyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Ängelholm that has been playing in the SHL since the 2015–16 season. Rögle has previously played in the SHL (previously named Elitserien) in 1992–1996, 2008–20 ...

, 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 2005–06 season. Jönsson played with the Islanders from 1996 through 2004. Fans and journalists considered Jönsson 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. During the 1999–2000 NHL season, Jönsson was named captain of the Islanders. After a season and a half, he stepped down and ultimately was succeeded by Michael Peca. He was voted Best Defender of the Tournament at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

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 is also a well-known Swedish ice hockey player; the two were briefly teammates in the 1999-2000 NHL season. During IHWC 2006 World Championship, with brother Jörgen initially sidelined by injury, he was named captain of the Swedish national team.

Coaching career

Prior to the 2010–11 season, Jönsson signed as an assistant

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. However, after the end of the season, it was announced that he would leave Rögle as an assistant coach. Jönsson is currently assistant coach for Helsingborgs Hockey Club, educating the defense players.

Awards

Elitserien Rookie of the Year SHL Rookie of the Year ( sv, Årets Rookie) is an annual award in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), presented by Svenska Spel since the 1989–90 season. Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, ...

in 1993. * Elitserien Junior of the Year in 1994. * Junior World Championship's Best Defenceman in 1994. * Named to the Junior World Championship All-Star Team in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

. * Gold medal at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

and 2006. * Bronze medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and 2009. * Named to the

NHL All-Rookie Team The NHL All-Rookie Team is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from the best rookies in the National Hockey League at each position for the season just concluded based on their performance in that year. The team was first named a ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

. * Bronze medal at the

World Cup of Hockey The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996, it is the successor to the Canada Cup, which was held every 3 to 5 years from 1976 to 1991 and was the first international hockey championship to allow natio ...

in 1996. * Played in the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

. * Silver medal at the World Championship in 2004. * Awarded Elitserien

Guldpucken Guldpucken (''The Golden Puck'') is awarded annually to the ice hockey player of the year in Sweden. It is similar to the NHL's Hart Memorial Trophy. Normally it goes to a player in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top-level ice hockey leagu ...

(Swedish Player of the Year) in 2006. * Winter Olympic's Best Defenceman in 2006. * Gold medal at the World Championship in 2006. * Named to the World Championship All-Star Team in 2009. * Member of New York Islanders Hall of Fame.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsson, Kenny 1974 births Living people Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Islanders players Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in ice hockey People from Ängelholm Municipality Rögle BK players St. John's Maple Leafs players Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Swedish ice hockey defencemen Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Sportspeople from Skåne County