| International His first major international competition was the 1984 European Junior Championships where Finns finished fourth ... Made his World Championships debut in 1991, compiling 11 points (five goals, six assists) and tying teammate Teemu Selanne and Soviet Valeri Kamensky for third place in the overall scoring race ... First played at the World Championships in 1991 ... Won World Championship gold in 1995 and silver in 1992 and 1994 ... Centered a line with Jari Kurri on the right wing at the 1991 World Championships ... Also teamed with Teemu Selanne at the 1992 Albertville Olympics ... Won a bronze medal at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics ... Played in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey ... Led Finnish team in scoring at the 1997 World Championships ... Won a bronze medal in 1998 Olympics.
Career After growing up in Tampere, he went to Lahti to begin his professional career, playing for Kiekko-Reipas Lahti in the Second Division ... After two years with Reipas, he was invited to Ilves Tampere of the Finnish League ... Named Rookie of the Year in his first season with Ilves ... Named to the All-Star Team in 1990 ... Won two medals with Ilves, bronze in 1989 and silver in 1990 ... Finished the 1990-91 season as the third-leading scorer in the Finnish League (20 goals, 42 assists in 44 games played) ... Moved to Sweden in the summer of 1992 to play for Lulea and was the team's leading scorer for three seasons ... Top scorer in the Swedish league in 1994-95 (18 goals, 31 assists in 38 games played) ... In 1995-96, made his debut with Grasshopper Zurich in the Swiss Nationalliga-B ... Finished the season as the club's best scorer (74 points in 36 games). |
