Jori Lehterä
Jori Lehterä | |||
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Born |
Lempäälä, Finland | 23 December 1987||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
Weight | 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shoots | Left | ||
NHL team Former teams |
St. Louis Blues Jokerit Tappara Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Sibir Novosibirsk | ||
National team |
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NHL Draft |
65th overall, 2008 St. Louis Blues | ||
Playing career | 2006–present |
Jori Jonatan Lehterä (born 23 December 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player currently playing for the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League (NHL). A centreman, he was selected by the Blues in the third round, 65th overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He won a bronze medal with Finland at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Playing career
Lehterä dominated the Jokerit junior team in scoring, and earned himself a place on the team's SM-liiga roster in the fall of 2006. He was selected to represent Finland at the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships 2006 World Under-20's Championships in Sweden,[1] but could not play due to an injury. In April 2007, he signed a three-year contract with Tappara.[2]
Lehterä was drafted by the St. Louis Blues at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in the third round, 65th overall. He made the move to North America for the 2008–09 season to play for the Peoria Rivermen, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Blues. However, he played just seven games for Peoria, recording just one assist, before returning to Tappara in Finland to close out the season, where he was ultimately named the SM-liiga's Most Valuable Player (MVP) after scoring 19 goals and 50 assists for 69 points.[3][4]
After playing one season with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Lehterä moved to KHL rivals Sibir Novosibirsk from 2011–12 to 2013–14, the latter of which he scored 12 goals and 32 assists to lead the team in points, with 44.[5] After yearly consistent performances for Novosibirsk, he played for Finland at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where he scored one goal and three assists in four games for the bronze medal-winning Finns.[6]
On 1 July 2014, Lehterä signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the St. Louis Blues, the organization still retaining his NHL rights after initially drafting him in 2008.[7] He was named the NHL's First Star of the Week for 10–17 November after posting four goals and two assists in just three games for St. Louis.[8]
Personal
Lehterä's uncle, Tero Lehterä, was a member of Finland's 1995 Ice Hockey World Championships gold medal team.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
2006–07 | Jokerit | SM-l | 28 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2007–08 | Tappara | SM-l | 54 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
2008–09 | Tappara | SM-l | 58 | 9 | 38 | 47 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2008–09 | Peoria Rivermen | AHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
2009–10 | Tappara | SM-l | 57 | 19 | 50 | 69 | 58 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 8 | ||
2010–11 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | KHL | 53 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 38 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | ||
2011–12 | Sibir Novosibirsk | KHL | 25 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2012–13 | Sibir Novosibirsk | KHL | 52 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
2013–14 | Sibir Novosibirsk | KHL | 48 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | ||
2014–15 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 75 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
2015–16 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 79 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 38 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | ||
NHL totals | 154 | 23 | 55 | 78 | 86 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 10 |
Medal record | ||
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Ice hockey | ||
Representing ![]() | ||
Winter Olympics | ||
![]() | 2014 Sochi | |
World Championships | ||
![]() | 2014 Minsk |
International
Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Finland | WC | 6th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2014 | Finland | Oly | ![]() |
6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
2014 | Finland | WC | ![]() |
10 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 10 | |
2016 | Finland | WCH | 8th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
Senior totals | 24 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 12 |
References
- ↑ Suomen nuorten MM-leiriryhmä nimetty – uutiset – Maajoukkue – www.jatkoaika.com
- ↑ Lehterä ja Salmela Tapparaan – uutiset – SM-liiga – www.jatkoaika.com
- ↑ Jori Lehterä lainasopimuksella rapakon taakse | Jääkiekko | Iltalehti.fi
- ↑ "Tapparan Jori Lehterä runkosarjan paras pelaaja" (in Finnish). Liiga. 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- ↑ "Blues sign forward Lehtera to two-year contract". NHL.com. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
- ↑ Mahiban, Dhiren (2014-08-24). "Looking to make the leap: Jori Lehtera". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ↑ "Blues sign Lehtera to 2-year contract". St. Louis Blues. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
- ↑ The Canadian Press (2014-11-17). "Lehtera, Price, Forsberg named NHL's three stars of the week". CBC. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
External links
- Jori Lehterä's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
- Jori Lehterä's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Jatkoaika.com player profile (in Finnish)