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 on March 25, 1975, is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He played as a defenceman, which is a player who helps protect their team's goal. The Los Angeles Kings picked him in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He played 166 games in the NHL, which is the top ice hockey league in North America.
Jere Karalahti won the Finnish ice hockey championship, called Liiga, in 1998. He also earned three silver medals and one bronze medal with the Finnish national team at the World Championships. Throughout his career, he played in many different countries, including Finland, the United States, Germany, Belarus, and Sweden.
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Playing Career Highlights
Starting Out in Finland
When Jere was younger, he played in the 1989 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. This is a famous tournament for young hockey players from all over the world.
He started his professional career with HIFK during the 1993–94 season in Finland. Jere quickly became known as a strong and physical defenceman. He earned more playing time each season. His biggest moment with HIFK came in 1998 when his team won the Finnish championship. That season, he also scored a career-high 30 points. The next season, he improved his score even more, which led to an offer from an NHL team, the Los Angeles Kings.
Time in the NHL
Jere moved to North America in 1999 to play for the Los Angeles Kings. He had a good first season with the team. However, his playing time decreased later on. He then asked to be traded to another team, the Nashville Predators, and joined them in 2001. In the summer of 2002, Jere faced a challenge that led to a break from the NHL. He then decided to return to Finland.
Back in Finland
After returning to Finland, Jere rejoined HIFK and continued to be one of their top defencemen. For the 2005–06 season, his coach made him the team captain. However, he missed most of that season due to injuries. At the end of the season, he chose not to play in the bronze medal game. Because of this, he was no longer the captain. HIFK did not renew his contract, and he left the club where he had played for many years.
Several European teams wanted Jere to play for them. He chose Oulun Kärpät, a team from Northern Finland that had become very successful. In his first season with Kärpät, Jere played very well as their main defenceman. However, he later left Kärpät after facing some personal issues.
Later Career Adventures
After being a free agent for a while, Jere was approached by HC Slovan Bratislava, a top team in Slovakia. There were some issues with the transfer documents, but his agent worked to sort them out. Jere wanted to make sure everything was clear before joining a new team.
On July 24, 2008, Jere Karalahti signed a contract with the Hamburg Freezers in Germany. He played for them during the 2008–09 season. In May 2009, he announced he would leave Hamburg to play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia. But just a few weeks later, he changed his mind and decided to stay with the Freezers.
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 with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League. He played for them for two seasons. Jere Karalahti officially announced his retirement from ice hockey in August 2016.
Awards and Achievements
Jere Karalahti won several awards during his impressive career:
| 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 | |
