Kenny Jönsson

Kenny Per Anders Jönsson (born October 6, 1974) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey player.

Kenny Jönsson
Born (1974-10-06) October 6, 1974
Ängelholm, Sweden
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
New York Islanders
Rögle BK (SEL)
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 12th overall, 1993
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 19912009
Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
1994 Lillehammer Ice hockey
2006 Turin Ice hockey

Playing career

Jönsson was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs 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 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, 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.[1] 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 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 of Rögle BK. However, after the end of the season, it was announced that he would leave Rögle as an assistant coach.[2] Jönsson is currently assistant coach for Helsingborgs Hockey Club, educating the defense players.[3]

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 and 1994.
  • Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 1994 and 2006.
  • Bronze medal at the World Championships in 1994 and 2009.
  • Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1995.
  • Bronze medal at the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.
  • Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1999.
  • Silver medal at the World Championship in 2004.
  • Awarded Elitserien Guldpucken (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.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92Rögle BKSWE II30411152450000
1992–93Rögle BKJ20212325
1992–93Rögle BKSEL393101342
1993–94Rögle BKSEL36413174031122
1994–95Rögle BKSEL831420
1994–95St. John's Maple LeafsAHL102572
1994–95Toronto Maple LeafsNHL392791640000
1995–96Toronto Maple LeafsNHL504222622
1995–96New York IslandersNHL1604410
1996–97New York IslandersNHL813182124
1997–98New York IslandersNHL8114264058
1998–99New York IslandersNHL638182634
1999–2000New York IslandersNHL651242532
2000–01New York IslandersNHL658212930
2001–02New York IslandersNHL761022322651234
2002–03New York IslandersNHL71818262450110
2003–04New York IslandersNHL79524292250002
2004–05Rögle BKSWE II1137101220002
2005–06Rögle BKSWE II296121855
2006–07Rögle BKSWE II144172112
2007–08Rögle BKSWE II3412284026
2008–09Rögle BKSEL476243026
SEL totals 130 16 48 64 128 3 1 1 2 2
NHL totals 686 63 204 267 298 19 1 3 4 6

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1992 Sweden EJC 6 1 2 3 10
1993 Sweden WJC 7 2 3 5 14
1994 Sweden WJC 7 3 5 8 8
1994 Sweden OLY 3 1 0 1 0
1994 Sweden WC 7 0 1 1 6
1996 Sweden WC 6 0 1 1 8
1996 Sweden WCH 1 0 0 0 4
2002 Sweden OLY 3 1 0 1 2
2005 Sweden WC 6 2 2 4 0
2006 Sweden OLY 8 0 4 4 0
2006 Sweden WC 9 3 3 6 6
2007 Sweden WC 7 1 0 1 4
2008 Sweden WC 5 2 4 6 2
2009 Sweden WC 9 3 4 7 2
Junior totals 20 6 10 16 32
Senior totals 64 13 19 32 38

See also

References

  1. Samuelson, Karl (2002). "No respect: we give our props to the NHL's 10 most underrated players, starting with New Jersey's unheralded Patrik Elias". Hockey Digest. Archived from the original on 2006-03-21.
  2. "Hellkvist fortsätter som huvudtränare i Rögle" (in Swedish). Rögle BK. 2011-04-21. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05.
  3. "Kenny Jönsson förstärker HHC" (in Swedish). hd.se. 2015-08-04.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Grant Marshall
Toronto Maple Leafs first round draft pick
1993
Succeeded by
Landon Wilson
Preceded by
Henrik Lundqvist
Golden Puck
2006
Succeeded by
Per Svartvadet
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Trevor Linden
New York Islanders captain
19992000
Succeeded by
Michael Peca
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