Jori Lehterä

Jori Jonatan Lehterä[1] (born 23 December 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player currently playing for Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). A centreman, he was selected by the St. Louis 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.

Jori Lehterä
Lehterä with Tappara in 2008
Born (1987-12-23) 23 December 1987
Lempäälä, Finland
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams		 Spartak Moscow
Jokerit
Tappara
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Sibir Novosibirsk
St. Louis Blues
Philadelphia Flyers
SKA Saint Petersburg
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 65th overall, 2008
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 2006–present
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Finland
Winter Olympics
2014 Sochi
World Championships
2014 Belarus

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,[2] but could not play due to an injury. In April 2007, he signed a three-year contract with Tappara.[3]

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.[4][5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] He was named the NHL's First Star of the Week for 10–17 November after posting four goals and two assists in three games for St. Louis.[9]

He was traded by the Blues along with a first-round pick (27th overall) and conditional first-round pick in 2018 to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Brayden Schenn, at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft on June 23, 2017.[10]

He signed a one-year contract with the KHL's SKA Saint Petersburg on 6 June 2019.[11] In the 2019–20 season, Lehterä posted 15 goals and 30 points in his return to the KHL before the season was abruptly ended due to COVID-19.

As a free agent at the conclusion of his contract, Lehterä opted to continue in the KHL, agreeing to a one-year deal with Spartak Moscow on 12 May 2020.[12]

Personal

Lehterä's uncle, Tero Lehterä, was a member of Finland's 1995 Ice Hockey World Championships gold medal team.

In September 2018, police in Finland announced that they had conducted a raid on his home, resulting in several arrests and the seizure of cocaine. Lehtera was not home at the time, but police believe that he is involved in a distribution ring with about twenty other people.[13] On 1 January 2019, it was reported that Lehtera was not involved in the distribution part of the ring; just purchasing and possessing.[14]

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
2016–17 St. Louis Blues NHL 64 7 15 22 34 8 1 3 4 4
2017–18 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 62 3 5 8 14 6 0 2 2 0
2018–19 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 27 1 2 3 33 — — — — —
2018–19 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 5 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
2019–20 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 51 15 15 30 26 — — — — —
KHL totals 229 70 113 183 142 31 0 11 11 16
NHL totals 307 34 77 111 167 39 4 13 17 14

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

Awards and honours
Award Year
Liiga
Runners-up 2006-07
Third place 2007-08
Golden Helmet 2010
Lasse Oksanen Award 2010
Veli-Pekka Ketola Award 2010
KHL
All-Star Game 2013, 2014

References
  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20160310094007/http://www.urheilukouluntuki.fi/?p=2107
  2. Suomen nuorten MM-leiriryhmä nimetty – uutiset – Maajoukkue – www.jatkoaika.com
  3. Lehterä ja Salmela Tapparaan – uutiset – SM-liiga – www.jatkoaika.com
  4. Jori Lehterä lainasopimuksella rapakon taakse | Jääkiekko | Iltalehti.fi
  5. "Tapparan Jori Lehterä runkosarjan paras pelaaja" (in Finnish). Liiga. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  6. "Blues sign forward Lehtera to two-year contract". NHL.com. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  7. Mahiban, Dhiren (24 August 2014). "Looking to make the leap: Jori Lehtera". NBC Sports. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  8. "Blues sign Lehtera to 2-year contract". St. Louis Blues. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  9. The Canadian Press (17 November 2014). "Lehtera, Price, Forsberg named NHL's three stars of the week". CBC. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  10. "Blues acquire Schenn from Flyers". St. Louis Blues. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  11. "Йори Лехтеря – в СКА!" (in Russian). SKA St. Petersburg. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  12. "Jori Lehtera moves to Spartak" (in Russian). Spartak Moscow. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  13. "Report: Former Blues Forward Implicated in Finnish Cocaine Ring". KMOX-AM. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  14. "Flyers' Jori Lehtera accused of buying cocaine". ESPN. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
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