Marko Jantunen

Marko Jantunen
Born	February 14, 1971 (1971-02-14) (age 40) Lahti, FIN
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Left
SM-liiga team Former teams	Pelicans KalPa TPS Jokerit Frölunda HC (Elitserien) Farjestads BK (Elitserien) Timra IK (Elitserien) Calgary Flames
NHL Draft	239th overall, 1991 Calgary Flames
Playing career	1990–present

Marko Jantunen (born February 14, 1971) is a Finnish ice hockey forward. He was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft as their 11th round pick, 239th overall.

Playing career

Jantunen began his career in Kiekko-Reipas (later Hockey-Reipas) in 1988, and played there for four seasons. For the 1992–93 season he transferred to KalPa, and in 1993–94 he played for TPS, where he won his first SM-liiga medal, a silver one. He won the Aarne Honkavaara trophy for most regular season goals in the league that season; Jantunen played on TPS's first line with future NHL trophy winners Jere Lehtinen and Saku Koivu.

His career in the Swedish Elitserien started in 1994, when he began his first season with Frölunda HC. Jantunen stayed with Frölunda for five seasons, broken by a short visit to the NHL (see below). In 1999 he transferred to Färjestads BK, where he played for four seasons, until 2003.

He won a silver medal in 1995–96 with Frölunda, and two silver medals and the Elitserien championship in 2001–2002 with Färjestad. During his 374-game tenure in Sweden Jantunen recorded a total of 123 goals and 137 assists.

In April 2003 Jantunen signed a three-year contract with Jokerit, where he was named assistant captain and led the club in scoring with 19 goals during the regular season. He was a team second in overall points, after Glen Metropolit, with 40 points. This total ranked him sixteenth in overall scoring in the league.

In the 2004–05 season Jantunen won the silver medal with Jokerit. He scored 16 goals during the regular season, sharing the Jokerit top goal scorer title with Glen Metropolit and Toni Dahlman. He was second in overall points in the team with 24 assists, again after Glen Metropolit. He scored two short-handed goals in the playoffs.

A foot injury in August 2005 sidelined Jantunen until November. When he returned to action he was named the captain. The spell was however short, as in December he was stripped of his captaincy, and finally in January 2006 Jantunen was released from his contract for disciplinary reasons. He subsequently signed with Timrå IK in the Swedish Elitserien for the remainder of the season.

After the spell with Timrå, Jantunen finally made the long-awaited return home by signing a two-year contract with Lahti Pelicans in April 2006. During the regular season 2006–07 he recorded 41 points in 56 games, which made him the leading scorer of Pelicans (tied with Matias Loppi).

NHL career

Jantunen played three games for the Calgary Flames in 1996–97, scoring no points. He also played 23 games for the Saint John Flames in the AHL, scoring 8 goals and 16 assists.

International play

Jantunen has represented Finland at the under-20's World Championships in 1991, as well as in the 1997 IIHF world championships. During his time in TPS, he played in the European Championships and won the gold medal in 1994; he also won a bronze medal in the EHL for Frölunda in 1997.

Awards

• Aarne Honkavaara trophy for most goals scored during regular season play - 1994

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1988–89	Kiekkoreipas	1. divisioona		35	2	17	19	24		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Hockey Reipas	1. divisioona		31	11	19	30	20		4	1	2	3	6
1990–91	Hockey Reipas	SM-liiga		39	9	20	29	20		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Hockey Reipas	SM-liiga		42	10	14	24	46		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Kalpa	SM-liiga		48	21	27	48	63		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	TPS	SM-liiga		48	29	29	58	22		11	2	6	8	12
1994–95	Västra Frölunda HC	Elitserien		22	15	8	23	22		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Västra Frölunda HC	Elitserien		40	17	14	31	66		13	8	8	16	10
1996–97	Saint John Flames	AHL		23	8	16	24	18		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Calgary Flames	NHL		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Västra Frölunda HC	Elitserien		13	4	7	11	16		3	2	0	2	16
1997–98	Västra Frölunda HC	Elitserien		43	14	20	34	61		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Västra Frölunda HC	Elitserien		47	12	21	33	57		4	4	0	4	4
1999–00	Färjestads BK	Elitserien		50	18	18	36	36		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Färjestads BK	Elitserien		48	20	16	36	60		14	4	5	9	40
2001–02	Färjestads BK	Elitserien		50	12	5	17	32		10	3	6	9	2
2002–03	Färjestads BK	Elitserien		50	10	24	34	42		14	3	1	4	6
2003–04	Jokerit	SM-liiga		51	19	21	40	18		5	0	0	0	2
2004–05	Jokerit	SM-liiga		56	16	24	40	20		12	6	7	13	2
2005–06	Jokerit	SM-liiga		16	3	5	8	14		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Timrå IK	Elitserien		11	2	4	6	4		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Pelicans	SM-liiga		56	12	29	41	30		6	1	2	3	2
2007-08	Pelicans	SM-liiga		56	18	24	42	30		6	6	3	9	2
2008–09	Pelicans	SM-liiga		53	16	29	45	40		10	2	2	4	2
NHL totals				3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—

References

• Pelicans official website
• Marko Jantunen's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• SM-liiga official website

Preceded by Tomas Kapusta	Winner of the Aarne Honkavaara trophy 1993–94	Succeeded by Kai Nurminen
Preceded by Petri Varis	Jokerit captains November 2005 - December 2005	Succeeded by Petri Varis

Persondata
Name	Jantunen, Marko
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 14, 1971
Place of birth	Lahti, FIN
Date of death
Place of death