IIHF Hall Of Fame Induction 2024
Kenny JONSSON (SWE)
Player
Born Rebbelberga, Sweden, October 6, 1974
Kenny Jonsson was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2024 as a Player.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andrea Cardin
One of only three Swedes to win Olympic gold in both 1994 and 2006, Kenny Jonsson was the dictionary definition of superstar defender except that he wasn’t one who drew attention to himself so much as he was simply perfect at his craft. He was never the centre of attention, but winning followed Jonsson wherever he went, and that was no accident or coincidence.
Few defenders of his era could move the puck with silkysmooth efficiency while playing a hard-nosed game in his own end. He was drafted 12th overall by the Maple Leafs in 1993 after an impressive World Junior Championship to start the year, one which saw Jonsson help the team win a silver medal. He stayed with his junior team, Rogle, for two more seasons before joining the Leafs in 1995, by which time he had added a second World Junior silver as well as that historic Olympic gold in Lillehammer. A few months later, he earned his first senior Men’s World Championship medal, a bronze in Italy.
Few defenders of his era could move the puck with silkysmooth efficiency while playing a hard-nosed game in his own end. He was drafted 12th overall by the Maple Leafs in 1993 after an impressive World Junior Championship to start the year, one which saw Jonsson help the team win a silver medal. He stayed with his junior team, Rogle, for two more seasons before joining the Leafs in 1995, by which time he had added a second World Junior silver as well as that historic Olympic gold in Lillehammer. A few months later, he earned his first senior Men’s World Championship medal, a bronze in Italy.
Defender Kenny Jonsson won two Olympic gold and three medals at the Men’s World Championship.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
Jonsson played only 89 games with the Leafs before being traded to the New York Islanders, and it was there he spent the rest of his NHL career, 597 games over nine seasons. He was captain of the team for two seasons, but for all his ability and personal success the Islanders were not a great team and made little headway during the playoffs. This, however, allowed Jonsson to play at the Men’s Worlds regularly, including five tournaments in a row from 2005 to 2009. The last four he served as captain, making him one of only five Swedes to wear the “C” at both the junior and senior level.
He won his only Men’s Worlds gold in 2006, joining another exclusive group. Combined with the Olympic gold in Turin that February, Jonsson was one of only eight players to win Olympic and Worlds gold in the same year for the first time (Finland repeated the feat in 2018). Perhaps most telling of his personality and ability, Jonsson returned to Rogle during the 2004-05 lockout NHL season, and he liked it so much he left the NHL in his prime to return home to play and raise his family in his native culture.
But at the time, Rogle wasn’t even in the top division of the Swedish league, so when Jonsson was named to the Olympic team and helped Tre Kronor win gold in Turin, teammate and NHL star Mats Sundin famously quipped, “that must be a pretty good league.”
The last game Jonsson played—and the last time he wore the Tre Kronor sweater—came on May 10, 2009, in Berne, Switzerland, for the bronze-medal game of the Men’s Worlds. The captain led his team to a 4-2 victory, and he assisted on the final goal before skating off the ice once last time.
Sweden has produced some of the greatest defenders of the modern era, from Salming to Lidstrom and Hedman, but make no mistake—the list of great players over the last half century must include the name Kenny Jonsson. Not flashy, just a winner and role model on the ice and off.
He won his only Men’s Worlds gold in 2006, joining another exclusive group. Combined with the Olympic gold in Turin that February, Jonsson was one of only eight players to win Olympic and Worlds gold in the same year for the first time (Finland repeated the feat in 2018). Perhaps most telling of his personality and ability, Jonsson returned to Rogle during the 2004-05 lockout NHL season, and he liked it so much he left the NHL in his prime to return home to play and raise his family in his native culture.
But at the time, Rogle wasn’t even in the top division of the Swedish league, so when Jonsson was named to the Olympic team and helped Tre Kronor win gold in Turin, teammate and NHL star Mats Sundin famously quipped, “that must be a pretty good league.”
The last game Jonsson played—and the last time he wore the Tre Kronor sweater—came on May 10, 2009, in Berne, Switzerland, for the bronze-medal game of the Men’s Worlds. The captain led his team to a 4-2 victory, and he assisted on the final goal before skating off the ice once last time.
Sweden has produced some of the greatest defenders of the modern era, from Salming to Lidstrom and Hedman, but make no mistake—the list of great players over the last half century must include the name Kenny Jonsson. Not flashy, just a winner and role model on the ice and off.
