Finnish ice hockey player
Ice hockey player
Jorma Juhani Valtonen (born 22 December 1946)[1] is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the SM-liiga. He played on the Finland men's national ice hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics, and was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, and into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999. He later coached the Finland women's national ice hockey team, and was a goaltending coach in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Career
Valtonen was born in Turku, Finland, and played for Jokerit, TPS, RU-38 and Ässät. In Italy Valtonen played for HC Gherdëina and HC Alleghe. Valtonen took part in the 1972 training camp for the NHLs Toronto Maple Leafs. In West Germany he played for EHC 70 München on season 1980–81. Valtonen was the goalie for the Finland men's national ice hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Valtonen has been an Italian league champion and a three-time Finnish league champion.[citation needed]
After retiring, Valtonen became a coach. He was head coach of the Finland women's national ice hockey team and the TPS women's team before becoming the goaltending coach of the Kontinental Hockey League's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He was not aboard the flight of the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, when all players from the main roster, four players from the youth team, and eleven staff members perished in that crash, except for main roster player Maxim Zyuzyakin, who was also not aboard the plane. Valtonen was asked to stay behind to work with the junior team.[2]
In 2015, Valtonen returned to Italy to become goaltending coach of his former team HC Gherdëina. He currently serves as goaltending coach of Asiago.[citation needed]
Honors
He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, and into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999.[3]
Finland