Jere Karalahti facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jere Karalahti |
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| Born | 25 March 1975 Helsinki, Finland |
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| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | HIFK Los Angeles Kings Nashville Predators Oulun Kärpät Hamburg Freezers Blues HC Dinamo Minsk Jokerit HV71 |
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| National team |  Finland |
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| NHL Draft | 146th overall, 1993 Los Angeles Kings |
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| Playing career | 1993–2016 | ||
Jere Juhani Karalahti (born 25 March 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He played as a defenceman, which is a player who helps protect the team's goal. The Los Angeles Kings picked him in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Jere played 166 games in the NHL, which is the top ice hockey league in North America.
He won the Finnish championship, called the Liiga, in 1998. Jere also won three silver medals and one bronze medal with the Finnish national team at the World Championships. Throughout his career, he played in Finland, the US, Germany, Belarus, and Sweden.
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Jere Karalahti's Hockey Journey
Starting Out in Finland
Jere Karalahti began his hockey journey early. He even played in the 1989 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a youth team from Helsinki.
His first big games were for HIFK during the 1993–94 SM-liiga season. Jere quickly became known as a strong and physical defenceman. He started getting more time on the ice each season.
One of his best moments in the Finnish league, now called Liiga, was in 1998. That year, HIFK won the championship! Jere had a great season, scoring 30 points, which was his highest ever at that time. The next season, he did even better, and the NHL team, the Los Angeles Kings, offered him a contract.
Playing in the NHL
In 1999, Jere moved to North America to play for the Los Angeles Kings. He had a good first season, but then his playing time started to decrease. He eventually asked to be traded to another team.
In 2001, he joined the Nashville Predators. However, in the summer of 2002, Jere was suspended by the NHL. After this, he decided to return to Finland.
Back to Finland
When Jere came back to the Finnish league, he rejoined HIFK. He quickly became one of their most important defencemen again. For the 2005–06 season, his coach, Doug Shedden, even made him team captain! However, Jere missed most of that season because of injuries.
At the end of the season, Jere chose not to play in the bronze medal game. Because of this, he was no longer the team captain. HIFK also decided not to renew his contract, so he left the club he had played for his whole career in Finland.
Many European teams wanted Jere, including Jokerit and Kölner Haie. But he chose to play for Oulun Kärpät, a team from Northern Finland that was becoming very strong. In his first season with Kärpät, Jere played very well as their top defenceman. After a while, Jere left Kärpät.
Later Career Adventures
After leaving Kärpät, Jere was a free agent for some time. Then, HC Slovan Bratislava, a top team in Slovakia, showed interest. But his move to Bratislava didn't happen because of some missing paperwork.
On July 24, 2008, Jere Karalahti signed a contract with the German Elite League team, Hamburg Freezers, for the 2008–09 season.
In May 2009, Jere said he would leave Hamburg to play for HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). But just a few weeks later, he changed his mind and decided to stay with the Freezers instead!
For the 2011-2012 and 2012–13 seasons, Jere joined Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. He even became the team captain there! In 2013, he returned to Helsinki to play for Jokerit, first in the Finnish Liiga and then in the KHL.
In November 2014, Jere signed a contract with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League. He played for them during the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons. Jere Karalahti officially announced his retirement from hockey in August 2016.
Awards and Medals
Jere Karalahti won several important awards and medals during his career:
SM-liiga (Finnish Championship), Kanada-malja (1): 1997–98
SM-liiga (2): 1998–99, 2010–11
SM-liiga (1): 2003-04
| Medal record | ||
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Representing  Finland |
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| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Silver | 1998 Switzerland | |
| Silver | 1999 Norway | |
| Silver | 2014 Belarus | |
| Bronze | 2000 Russia | |
