Jarmo Kekäläinen

Jarmo Kekäläinen ( born July 3, 1966 in Tampere ) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey player and functionary, who played in his playing days from 1983 to 1995 among others for the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators in the National Hockey League. Since 2013 he is General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Career

Jarmo Kekäläinen began his career as a hockey player with KalPa Kuopio, for his first team, he was divisioona active from 1983 to 1985 in the sub-prime I. Then the attacker played two years in the SM- liiga for Ilves Tampere, before to 1989 Clarkson University visited in 1987, for the team he played in the ECAC Hockey. In his time in the ECAC he was elected to the first All -Star team in the league.

On 3 May 1989, wrote Kekäläinen a contract as a free agent with the Boston Bruins, for whom he made ​​his debut in the National Hockey League in the 1989/90 season. In his rookie year, he scored two goals in eleven games and gave as many templates. In parallel, he was in 18 games for Boston's farm team Maine Mariners in the American Hockey League action, for which he scored 16 points scorer. After he was run in parallel in the following season for both teams and could not prevail in the NHL, the national team returned to Finland, where he ever a year for his former club KalPa Kuopio and Tappara Tampere of the SM - liiga stood on the ice.

On August 13, 1993 Kekäläinen was committed as a free agent by the Ottawa Senators, who had a year earlier included the operation of gambling in the NHL. For the Canadians in 28 games, he scored a goal and gave an additional five templates. The breakthrough in the NHL he was not able even in the second attempt, so he took 18 times for Ottawa's AHL farm team Prince Edward Iceland Senators, for which he contributed twelve points scorer. The 1994/95 season spent the Finn finally at Västerås IK in the Swedish Elitserien, where he then finished his playing career at the age of 29 years.

Immediately following his playing career, the former NHL player was General Manager at HIFK Helsinki. Under his leadership, the capital club was founded in 1998 Finnish Champion. Between 1999 and 2006 he served three years as a scout for the NHL club Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues. In the St. Louis Blues, he was promoted to Assistant General Manager then. He had held for five years until 2010 this post. From the season 2010/11 he served as General Manager for Jokerit Helsinki of the SM- liiga.

Since February 13, 2013 Kekäläinen has worked as General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and replaced so that Scott Howson. It is therefore in the history of the NHL, the first Europeans to this position.

Internationally

For Finland took Kekäläinen at the World Youth Championship 1986, and 1991 at the Canada Cup in part.

Awards and achievements

Statistics

Family

Jarmo Kekäläinens father Kari and his brother Janne were also professional hockey players.