PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing Finland
Winter Olympics
World Championships

	Lehterä in 2016
Born	23 December 1987 (age 37); Lempäälä, Finland
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
Liiga team; Former teams	HIFK; Tappara; Jokerit; Lokomotiv Yaroslavl; Sibir Novosibirsk; St. Louis Blues; Philadelphia Flyers; SKA Saint Petersburg; Spartak Moscow
National team	Finland
NHL draft	65th overall, 2008; St. Louis Blues
Playing career	2006–present

Jori Jonatan Lehterä^[1] (born 23 December 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player currently playing for HIFK of the Liiga. 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.

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]

On 16 June 2022, Lehterä returned to play in Finnish Liiga for the first time in 12 years, agreeing to a one-year contract with former club and reigning champions, Tappara.^[13]

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. Lehterä was not home at the time, but police believed that he was involved in a distribution ring with about 20 other people.^[14] On 1 January 2019, it was reported that Lehterä was not involved in the distribution part of the ring; just purchasing and possessing.^[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2003–04	Jokerit	FIN U18	19	0	6	6	2	5	3	1	4	0
2004–05	Jokerit	FIN U18	30	13	37	50	24	7	6	5	11	2
2005–06	Jokerit	FIN U20	39	14	33	47	16	4	1	4	5	0
2006–07	Jokerit	FIN U20	24	18	48	66	20	5	1	7	8	2
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	—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Spartak Moscow	KHL	41	9	35	44	17	4	0	2	2	6
2021–22	Spartak Moscow	KHL	45	10	29	39	21	5	1	1	2	0
2022–23	Tappara	Liiga	57	11	46	57	45	13	5	11	16	6
Liiga totals			254	58	169	227	183	36	14	27	41	26
KHL totals			315	89	177	266	180	40	1	14	15	22
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	OG		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
Champions Hockey League
Champion	2022–23
Liiga
Champion Kanada-malja	2022-23
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