Jani Markus Rita (born July 25, 1981) is a Finnish former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

winger who last played with

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (, English: Joker (playing card), Jokers or Jesters of Helsinki) is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, which competes in Mestis. Jokerit plays its home games at the Helsinki Ice Hall and Helsinki Halli in ...

of the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

, for whom he played most of his career.

Playing career

Despite limited

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

experience, Rita has played extensively in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

and in the

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

in his native Finland. Rita started his hockey career in a youth team of EKS (Espoon Kiekkoseura). He played his first seasons of pro hockey for

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, and was drafted 13th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft by the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. Rita played for HPK in the

during the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, winning the bronze medal. That season he was awarded the Raimo Kilpiö trophy, and led the league in scoring during the playoffs. He also represented Finland at the 2005 World Hockey Championship, earning one assist. He had signed with

for the 2005–06 season with a contractual clause enabling him to return to the NHL. When the Oilers offered him a one-year contract in August 2005, Rita signed on to return to North America. Although once considered a premier prospect at the NHL level, Rita's slow development showed cause for concern to Oilers management. On January 26, 2006, Rita was traded along with Cory Cross, to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

for

Dick Tärnström Dick Tärnström (born January 20, 1975) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman. During the majority of his 21-year-long playing career, Tärnström played for AIK of the Swedish top-tier league Elitserien (SEL). He wa ...

. He finished the season with just 10 points in 51 games. It was announced on 2 May 2006 that Rita was to depart Pittsburgh to return to his original club,

. He was the best goal scorer of SM-liiga in 2006–07 season. After ten more years with Jokerit including the club's transition from the Finnish

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...

to the

in 2014, Rita announced his retirement in June 2016.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

* Raimo Kilpiö trophy for gentleman player - 2005 *

Aarne Honkavaara trophy The Aarne Honkavaara trophy is an ice hockey trophy given by the Finnish Liiga to the player who scores the most goals during regular season play. Trophy Winners: 1977-78: Markku Kiimalainen ( Kärpät) 1978-79: Kari Makkonen ( Ässät) 1979 ...

for best goal scorer - 2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rita, Jani 1981 births Edmonton Oilers players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Finnish ice hockey left wingers Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players HPK players Jokerit players Living people NHL first-round draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Ice hockey people from Helsinki Toronto Roadrunners players Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Canada 21st-century Finnish sportsmen