Olli Jokinen

Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen (born December 5, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player.

Jokinen began with his hometown team, KalPa, playing for the squad's under-18 and junior teams between 1994 and 1996.

He made his debut with the senior team in the SM-liiga in 1995–96, appearing in 15 games, scoring one goal and one assist.

Jokinen began his professional career in his native Finland in 1996 and in 1997 won the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy as SM-liiga rookie of the year.

He moved onto HIFK in 1996–97, where he played full-time with the senior squad.

He was the youngest player on the team, and in 50 games, scored 14 goals and 41 points.

He was recognized as the SM-liiga's rookie of the year, and was presented with the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy.

He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut.

He has also played for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues.

He began his professional career with KalPa and then HIFK of the Finnish SM-liiga.

Additionally, he played for EHC Kloten of Switzerland's National League A and Södertälje SK of Sweden's Elitserien.

He previously held the franchise records for most goals, assists, and points for the Florida Panthers.

The NHL's Central Scouting Bureau rated Jokinen as the top European prospect for the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.

He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings with the third overall selection, after Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

Jokinen began the 1997–98 season with the Kings, making his NHL debut on October 1, 1997, against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He was held pointless in eight games, however, and the Kings chose to return him to HIFK to complete the season.

Jokinen played 30 games with HIFK, scoring 39 points.

He added another nine points in nine playoff games as the team won the SM-liiga championship.

He won the Matti Keinonen and Jari Kurri trophies in 1998 as the most effective player of the regular season and most valuable player of the playoffs, respectively.

He moved to the NHL full-time in 1998–99 and played his best seasons with the Florida Panthers, with whom he served as captain from 2003 to 2008 and played in the 2003 All-Star Game.

He was an all-star and named best forward of the 1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, leading his nation to the gold medal.

He won the Matti Keinonen and Jari Kurri trophies in 1998 as the most effective player of the regular season and most valuable player of the playoffs, respectively.

He also scored the game-winning goal in game 3 in overtime vs Ilves to secure the championship for his team.

Returning to North America, Jokinen began the 1998–99 season with the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.

He earned a recall to Los Angeles after nine games, in which he scored nine points.

He recorded his first NHL point on November 5, 1998, with an assist in a game against the St. Louis Blues, then scored his first NHL goal five nights later against the Calgary Flames.

Jokinen was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for November, scoring eight points in 11 games.

He finished the season with 21 points in 66 games played.

Following the conclusion of the season, on June 20, 1999, Jokinen was traded to the New York Islanders, along with Josh Green, Mathieu Biron, and a first-round selection at that year's draft, in exchange for Žigmund Pálffy, Bryan Smolinski, Marcel Cousineau, and a fourth-round selection.

Jokinen was considered the central piece of the deal from New York's perspective, as they gave up their top player in Pálffy.

Jokinen played only one season on Long Island.

He appeared in all 82 games for the Islanders, scoring 21 points.

However, he was included in a trade at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, as he was packaged with goaltender Roberto Luongo and sent to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha on June 24, 2000.

In Florida, Jokinen initially did not get along with head coach Terry Murray, as the Panthers' bench boss criticized his play while leaving him out of the lineup for several December games during the 2000–01 season.

Though he appeared in 78 games for the Panthers, Jokinen's offensive totals fell to a career-low 16 points.

He has also won two silver and three bronze medals at the World Championships and played for the Finnish team that finished second to Canada at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

He is a four-time Olympian, winning a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and bronze at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Sochi, respectively.

Jokinen played an NHL record 799 games before making his first and only Stanley Cup playoff appearance in 2009 with the Flames (Since broken by Ron Hainsey in 2017 with 907 Games played).

In 2012, he played his 1,000th career NHL game.

Internationally, Jokinen has played for Finland on numerous occasions.