Kari Lehtonen



BIOGRAPHY

BORN: Helsinki, Finland, November 16, 1983.
HOME:
HEIGHT: 6'3".
WEIGHT: 189 lbs.
UNIFORM #: 32 (Jokerit Helsinki, Chicago AHL, Atlanta, Finland, Dallas), 34 (Chicago AHL 2004-05, 2007-08), 35 (Chicago AHL 2010).
CATCHES: Left

STYLE: Hybrid
STRENGTHS: Good size and quickess. Decent puckhandler. Plays better in "big" games.
WEAKNESSES: Needs to get used to North American hockey. Fragile.

QUOTABLE:

"I admire the style of Patrick Roy. He is a perfect goalie and I try to learn from him. I watch the Avalanche games to see him in action."

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:

"A tall goaltender with impressive quickness and excellent reflexes...is strong on his skates and moves extremely well...primarily a stand-up goaltender, but plays a very strong butterfly when needed...a calm individual with a cool demeanor...anticipates and reads the play very well with an excellent sense of timing...a very confident goaltender...a good competitor with a winning attitude...considered to be the best draft-eligible European prospect, including skaters." (Central Scouting Bureau, 2002)

"A gifted goaltender with great size, the Finn has already won MVP honors in the best league back home - Jokerit of the SM-Liiga. Lehtonen uses his size very efficiently and stands up to most shooters. He's already extremely mature. He can't miss. He has so much elite-level experience already, it should surprise no one to see him in the NHL soon." (The Sports Forecaster 2002-03, p. 115)

"Once he gets to the NHL, the young goalie's challenge will be living up to all the hype. He has good size (6-foot-3), moves well laterally and is known more for his positioning than acrobatic saves. Atlanta will sign him after this year, but expect an adjustment period in the minors. European goalies tend to struggle at first with handling the puck and the shot angles in smaller North American rinks." (Jeff Schultz, The Hockey News Future Watch 2003)

"He's lanky and highly touted and is seen as the team's goalie of the future. He'll get AHL seasoning." (The Sporting News Hockey Yearbook 2003-04, p. 23)

"The Kari Lehtonen Era is upon us. The big Finn enjoyed a successfull two-year run in the AHL and is now ready to take over as Atlanta's starting netminder. The big-game stopper combines size with great positioning and superlative reflexes. If Lehtonen falters, veteran Mike Dunham is around for support. However, this is Lehtonen's time." (The Sports Forecaster 2005-06, p. 102)


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SEASON RECORDS:

SEASONTEAMLEAGUE AGEGPMIN WLTOL WPCTGAGAASA SVPCTShOGA PiMS/60UNI#SHOOTOUTS Z-SCOREGDGARSNW% SNWSNL
2000-01 Jokerit Helsinki FINLAND 17 4 190 3 1 6 1.90 95 0.937 30.00
2001-02 Jokerit Helsinki FINLAND 18 23 1243 13 5 2 37 1.79 622 0.941 4 30.02
2002-03 Jokerit Helsinki FINLAND 19 49 1 16
2003-04 Chicago Wolves AHL 20 39 2192 20 14 2 0 0.583 88 2.41 1189 0.926 3 0 3 6 32.55 1.111 10.565 28.400 0.556 20 16
2003-04 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 20 4 240 4 0 0 0 1.000 5 1.25 106 0.953 1 0 0 0 26.50 1.517 4.451 6.041 0.781 3 1
2004-05 Chicago Wolves AHL 21 57 3378 38 17 2 0 0.684 128 2.27 1795 0.929 5 0 0 16 31.88 1.934 22.721 49.646 0.581 33 24
2005-06 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 22 38 2166 20 15 0 0 0.571 106 2.94 1123 0.906 2 0 1 4 31.11 32 5-0 (17/20) 0.495 4.951 21.796 0.523 18 17
2006-07 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 23 68 3934 34 24 0 9 0.575 183 2.79 2075 0.912 4 0 1 6 31.65 32 7-5 (20/30) 1.071 14.305 45.430 0.538 36 31
2007-08 Chicago Wolves AHL 24 2 124 2 0 0 0 1.000 4 1.93 61 0.934 0 29.49 34 0.721 1.630 2.545 0.665 1 1
2007-08 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 24 48 2707 17 22 0 5 0.443 131 2.90 1560 0.916 4 0 2 4 34.58 4-3 (13/18) 0.968 11.003 34.403 0.540 24 20
2008-09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 25 46 2624 19 22 0 3 0.466 134 3.06 1498 0.911 3 0 1 6 34.25 0.241 2.681 25.151 0.510 22 22
2009-10 Dallas Stars NHL 26 12 663 6 4 0 0 0.600 31 2.81 350 0.911 0 0 1 0 31.68 0.011 0.056 5.306 0.501 5 5
2009-10 Chicago Wolves AHL 26 4 247 1 1 0 2 0.500 11 2.67 109 0.899 0 26.45 34 -0.330 -0.995 0.640 0.453 2 2
2010-11 Dallas Stars NHL 27 69 4119 34 24 0 11 0.572 175 2.55 2043 0.914 3 0 6 6 29.76 3-7 (19/33) 0.240 3.061 33.706 0.509 35 34
POST-SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
01-02 Jokerit Helsinki FINLAND    12                                                   0   0     0
03-04 Chicago Wolves AHL          10    663   6   5   23   2.08     397   .942     1   0   0     4
04-05 Chicago Wolves AHL          16    983  10   6   28   1.71     457   .939     2   0   1     0
06-07 Atlanta Thrashers NHL        2    118   0   2   11   5.59      73   .849     0   0   0     0
ONE (1) NHL POSTSEASON             2    118   0   2   11   5.59      73  0.849     0   0   0     0

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