Janne Ojanen

Janne Ojanen (born April 9, 1968 in Tampere, Finland) is a professional ice hockey player who is best known for his long career with the SM-liiga team Tappara from Tampere.

Early Career in Finland
Janne Ojanen started his playing career playing for his hometown team Tappara. Ojanen played 3 SM-liiga games on his first season. Two years earlier Ojanen was selected as the best player in Pohjola Leiri, an annual youth training camp where the best under-18 players play and are selected to Youth National Team. Ojanen was drafted to NHL the following year by New Jersey Devils. Ojanen played his first adult international tournaments in 1987 as he was selected to Finland's Canada Cup and World Championship teams. Ojanen was part of the 1988 Olympic Team which won Finland's first International tournament medal. Ojanen won the SM-liiga Championship twice in 1987 and 1988 during his early years in Tappara.

First Attempt in NHL
In 1988, Janne Ojanen was acquired by New Jersey Devils, the team which had drafted Ojanen in 1986. Ojanen's debut season consisted of 3 games in NHL and 72 in Devils affiliate team Utica Devils.

On the following season, Ojanen did have more games in the Devils and he did stay on the roster for the whole season. Ojanen scored 30 points in 64 games. After his first full season in Devils, Ojanen decided to return to Finland

Brief return to Finland
After his two years in North America, Ojanen returned to Tappara and played two seasons for the Tampere team. Ojanen also played in the 1991 Canada Cup. During 1991–92 Season Ojanen returned to New Jersey.

Second NHL Visit
Ojanen made his NHL return in 1991–92 NHL Play Offs and played 3 games for New Jersey Devils. Ojanen's fourth NHL season however was not that good. Ojanen played 31 times for Devils during the 1992–93 NHL season and played 7 games for Cincinnati Cyclones, making 9 points for Cyclones. After the end of the season Ojanen went back to Finland.

He played in a total of 98 NHL games, scoring 21 goals and 23 assists.

Return to Finland
Ojanen returned to Tappara for the 1993–94 SM-liiga season and proved to be on good shape as he was one of the leading players for Tappara. Ojanen also had some International glory during his first season back in Europe. Ojanen played in the 1994 Winter Olympics and 1994 World Championships, winning Olympic Bronze and World Championships Silver.

The colour of his World Championship medal would improve as Janne Ojanen was part of the first World Championship winning team of Finland, when the Finns won their rivals from Sweden 4 goals to 1 in the finals and the Tournament was played in Sweden, which increased the value of the victory. During the 1994–95 season Ojanen played also for Swiss HC Lugano in Nationalliga A Play-Offs, as Tappara's SM-liiga season had ended to regular season.

Ojanen played the following season for Tappara and was selected to World Cup and World Championship squads.

Visit to Sweden and final return to Finland
After 3 seasons in Tappara, Janne Ojanen was contraced by Swedish Elitserien side Malmö IF Redhawks. Ojanen had signed a two year contract to Malmö and played well in Sweden. During his first season in Sweden, Ojanen was selected to 1997 World Championship team.

After his two year stay in Sweden, Ojanen made his return to Tappara. Although Ojanen was already 30 years old, he still was one of the top Finnish players in SM-liiga and had a big role in Tappara. Ojanen had a consistent form during his seasons and was selected to World Championships for the last time in 2002.

Late career
Ojanen won his final SM-liiga Championship in 2003 when Tappara beat Kärpät in the Finals. Ojanen had acquired the captainacy of Tappara in 2000 and his time as captain has lasted for 8 years. He has announced that he will continue to play one more season 2008–2009. During his time in Tappara, Ojanen has been viewed as the premier player for Tappara like Erik Hämäläinen is for Lukko and Raimo Helminen is for Ilves. Ojanen's has played his entire SM-liiga career in Tappara.

International career
Janne Ojanen played 205 games for Finland and scored 50 goals and assisted 74. Ojanen played six World Championship tournaments, twice in the Canada Cup, once in the World Cup and played twice in the Winter Olympics.