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

player. He played in 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 ...

for 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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

and

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

, and for

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 ...

in the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

. Internationally, he played for the

Sweden men's national ice hockey team The Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called " Big Six", the unofficial group of the six ...

and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Jönsson was drafted by the

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

in a player exchange which brought highly popular former

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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

, where he started his career, during the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, 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 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. 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 The 1999–2000 NHL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, 28 teams each played 82 games. This was the first season played in which teams were awarded a point for ...

, 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 () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

where

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

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 Jörgen is a village in the municipality of Tieschen in the ''Bezirk'' of Südoststeiermark in the Federal State of Styria in Austria. Its population was 159 in 2016. Jörgen is known for its fine white wines. Next to the more common white wi ...

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 of

. 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 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 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. * Gold medal at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, 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 held i ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. * 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 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. * Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. * Bronze medal at the

World Cup of Hockey The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996 World Cup of Hockey, 1996, it is the successor to the Canada Cup, which was held every three to five years from 1976 Canada Cup, 1976 to 1991 Canada Cup, 1991 ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. * Played in the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game () is an exhibition ice hockey tournament that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. The ga ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. * Silver medal at the World Championship in

. * Awarded Elitserien Guldpucken (Swedish Player of the Year) in

. * Winter Olympic's Best Defenceman in 2006. * Gold medal at the World Championship in

. * Named to the World Championship All-Star Team in 2009. * Member of

Hall of Fame. * Inducted into the player category of the IIHF Hall of Fame during the medal ceremony of the 2024 IIHF World Championship.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsson, Kenny 1974 births Living people 21st-century Swedish sportsmen Ice hockey people from Skåne County Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics New York Islanders players NHL first-round draft picks Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in ice hockey Rögle BK players Sportspeople from Ängelholm St. John's Maple Leafs players Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Swedish ice hockey defencemen Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players