Janne Pesonen

Janne Tapani Pesonen (born May 11, 1982) is a Finnish professional ice hockey winger currently playing for Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Career

Pesonen began his career with Hokki in 1998, playing in the second-highest division of hockey in Finland, the Mestis.

Kärpät

He then played for Kärpät in the Finnish top division, the SM-liiga, from 2001–02 and 2003–08. After his first season with Kärpät he returned to Hokki for one season in 2002–03. He returned to Kärpät in 2003–04 and won the SM-liiga Rookie of the Year award, helping Kärpät to their first Finnish championship since 1981. His five seasons with Kärpät from 2003–08 saw Pesonen win four Finnish championships in total, in 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008. He won the Jari Kurri trophy, which is annually awarded the playoff MVP, in 2007. He had his best season in 2007–08 when he led the SM-liiga in goals, points, and plus-minus, winning the Aarne Honkavaara, Veli-Pekka Ketola, and Matti Keinonen trophies, respectively, for his efforts. That season he tallied 34 goals and 44 assists for a total 78 points in only 56 games played.