Jani Lajunen

Jani Lajunen
Date of birth	June 16, 1990
place of birth	Espoo , Finland
size	185 cm
Weight	78 kg
position	striker
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	2008 , 7th round, 201st position Nashville Predators
Career stations
until 2006	Kiekko-Vantaa
2006-2011	Espoo Blues
2011-2013	Milwaukee Admirals
2013	Peoria Rivermen
2013-2015	Växjö Lakers Hockey
2015-2017	Tappara
since 2017	HC Lugano

Jani Lajunen (born June 16, 1990 in Espoo ) is a Finnish ice hockey player who has been under contract with HC Lugano in the Swiss National League since May 2017 . His older brother Ville is also a professional ice hockey player.

Career

Jani Lajunen began his career as a hockey player in the youth of the Finnish second division club Kiekko-Vantaa , for which he was active until 2006. He then moved to the junior division of the first division club Espoo Blues , for whose professional team he made his debut in the SM-liiga in the 2007/08 season . He remained pointless and punished. He was then selected in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in the seventh round as a total of 201st player by the Nashville Predators . First Lajunen continued to play for Espoo Blues in the SM-liiga, for which he scored two scorer points, including one goal, in 25 games in the 2008/09 season. In addition, the left-shooter was on the ice in two games for the Finnish U20 national team in the second-rate Mestis , in which he scored four points, including two goals.

For the 2011/12 season Lajunen was ordered by the Nashville Predators to North America, where he played for their farm team Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League . On February 19, 2013 he was transferred to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Scott Ford .

After his NHL entry contract expired in early summer 2013, Lajunen returned to Europe and was committed by Växjö Lakers Hockey from the Svenska Hockeyligan . In the 2014/15 season he won the Swedish championship with the team and then moved to Tappara in the Finnish Liiga in summer 2015 . With Tappara he was Finnish champion in 2016 and 2017 and was one of the leading figures in the master squad in both years. In May 2017 Lajunen was signed by HC Lugano due to the performance shown .

International

Lajunas in the jersey of the national team (2017)

For Finland , Lajunen took part at junior level in the U18 World Junior Championships in 2008 and the U20 World Junior Championships in 2009 and 2010 . At senior level, the striker represented his home country for the first time at the 2011 World Cup and secured the gold medal with Suomi . Lajunen had contributed to this success with two goals and one assist in four encounters. In 2016 and 2017 further participation in world championships followed.

Achievements and Awards

• 2011 gold medal at the world championship
• 2015 Swedish champion with the Växjö Lakers
• 2016 Finnish champion with Tappara Tampere
• 2016 silver medal at the world championship
• 2017 Finnish champion with Tappara Tampere

statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
SM-liiga main round	6th	249	47	60	107	124
SM-liiga playoffs	5	59	9	17th	26th	28
AHL regular season	2	134	7th	16	23	36
AHL playoffs	1	3	1	0	1	0

(Status: end of the 2016/17 season)

Web links

• Jani Lajunen at eurohockey.com
• Jani Lajunen at eliteprospects.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ World champion Lajunen for HC Lugano. In: fm1today.ch. May 11, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017 .