Jesse Joensuu has not negotiated with Ässie about an extension contract. The club confirms to Urheilu that the career of Pori’s beloved soul player will end this spring.
When the days of the Helsinki Jokers in the KHL hockey league ended after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, the team’s regular players for no less than seven seasons Jesse Joensuu the direction was clear.
The Ässä coach wanted to return to Pori and signed a two-year contract with the team. It expires this spring at the same time the Aces’ season ends at some point.
Waiting for news
Ässä supporters have been waiting for news about the extension contract of the beloved soul pier in Pori, but there is no such news. The club confirms to Urheilu that the 36-year-old Joensuu, who has played hockey professionally for over 20 years, has decided to end his career.
– The matter is 100 percent certain, Ässie’s insider says.
Reached by Urheilu, Joensuu was not ready to confirm the matter publicly.
– The contract will end, that’s for sure. After that, anything is possible.
Joensuu, who has permanently settled in Pori with his family, was ready to tell on a general level what kind of things he is interested in when active gaming ends.
I am interested in sports management
– I’m not interested in coaching, and I’ve been very open about it. I am very interested in various things related to club and sports management around hockey, and I am naturally motivated to acquire skills for such tasks also through training.
For financial reasons, Joensuu is not forced to rush into working life after his career; a long career in tough roles in Europe’s top teams guarantees it.
Spiritual leader
Ässät sought from the famous returnee 2022 above all mental leadership and setting an example for a team that was not burdened with extravagant expectations. That’s what the club got too; Joensuu has left everything that can be found about the man on ice and in the booth.
Last spring’s place in the quarterfinals even exceeded expectations, and Joensuu played a significant role in the matter both in the regular season and in the playoffs. This season, Joensuu has forged 7+1 performances in 30 matches, and Ässät is above the playoff line.
Joensuu, who was drafted into the NHL in 2006 as a second-round player with number 60, tried to break into the first league of the sport in the New York Islanders in 2008–2011 and 2012–2013 and in the Edmonton Oilers in 2013–2015, a total of 129 NHL games. In the 2012-2013 season, due to the NHL labor dispute, he was strengthening his league championship-winning parent club in 24 regular season matches.
At the age of 15, I developed
The spring 2011 world champion, who represented HV71 in the Swedish SHL and Bern in the Swiss premier league in the NLA, was the youngest field player in SM league history when he got playing time in Äss in September 2003 at the age of 15.
He established his place in the team already at the age of 17 in the 2004–2005 season. In the cabinet, you can also find the under-20 World Cup bronze medal from the turn of the year 2005–2006.
Ässät will next face Helsinki IFK in the hockey SM league on Wednesday, January 10. The matches are followed live on the Ice Hockey Tour on Radio Finland and Areena. You can find the broadcast here.