Janne Pesonen

Janne Pesonen (born 11 May 1982 in Suomussalmi, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey winger currently playing for Växjö Lakers HC of the SHL.

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.

Pittsburgh Penguins
On July 7, 2008, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they signed Pesonen to a one year contract. After 3 preseason games in which he tallied 1 goal and 1 assist, Pesonen was sent to the Penguins' AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, on October 8, 2008. Pesonen would show his ability to adapt to the North American style of hockey by scoring 9 pts in his first seven games, scoring two goals and garnering seven assists. On October 31, Pesonen was recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he made his NHL debut on November 1 against the St. Louis Blues. Pesonen's stay with the Penguins was brief, and he was returned to the AHL after seven games. On March 16, Pesonen set a new record for points in a single season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Baby Penguins, passing up Toby Petersen's 67-point season of 2000–01.

Ak Bars Kazan
After one season in North America, Pesonen opted to return to Europe and signed with Russian club Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League on August 4, 2009.