Joona Luoto (born 26 September 1997) is a Finnish 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 ...

player. He is currently under contract with

HV71 HV71 (), often referred to as just HV, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Jönköping, playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The team played in the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League ...

in the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL).

Playing career

Undrafted, he previously played professionally in the

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 ...

for

Tappara Tappara (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the SM-liiga. They play at ''Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 20 Finnish league championships, wh ...

. In his rookie season with Tappara, he helped the team claim the Liiga title, adding 1 goal in 10 post-season games. In the following two seasons, Luoto established himself as a two-way forward and matched his offensive totals with 16 points in each campaign. On 15 June 2019, Luoto was signed to a three-year, two-way contract with the Winnipeg Jets, joining former junior teammate, Patrik Laine. After competing in his first training camp with the Winnipeg Jets, on 1 October 2019, Luoto was reassigned to familiarise himself with the North American style to AHL affiliate, the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

to begin the 2019–20 season. On 7 November 2019, after recording 3 assists in 9 games with the Moose, Luoto received his first recall to NHL by the Jets. The following day Luoto made his NHL debut with the Jets on the fourth-line in a 4–1 victory over the

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

Bell MTS Place Canada Life Centre (formerly Bell MTS Place) is an indoor arena in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the home of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. The arena stand ...

. Before entering the season, Luoto was placed on unconditional waivers and mutually released from the final year of his contract with the Winnipeg Jets on 14 September 2021. As a free agent he returned to his original club, Tappara of the Liiga, agreeing to a one-year contract for the remainder of the season on 8 October 2021. In the 2021–22 season, Luoto added 9 goals and 14 points through 27 regular season games with Tappara. In the post-season, Luoto elevated his game and recorded 8 goals and 17 points in just 14 games to lead Tappara to the Championship and was awarded the

Jari Kurri Trophy The Jari Kurri Trophy is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Liiga to the best player in the Liiga playoffs. The trophy is named after Jari Kurri. In the 2005–06 season, the trophy was awarded to the player voted the best player in the ...

as the playoffs' most Valuable player. On 1 June 2022, Luoto as a free agent returned to the NHL in securing a one-year, two-way contract with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. After his contract with the Blue Jackets, Luoto was unable to gain NHL interest. On 12 September 2023, Luoto agreed to an initial trial contract with Swiss club, SC Bern of the NL, with the option of extending to the length of the 2023–24 season.

International play

During the 2016–17 season, Luoto made his junior international debut playing for Team Finland at the

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally ...

tournament in Montreal. In the tournament, he played 6 games with 10+10=20 in scoring.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luoto, Joona 1997 births Living people 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Cleveland Monsters players Columbus Blue Jackets players Finnish ice hockey right wingers HIFK (ice hockey) players HV71 players Lempäälän Kisa players Manitoba Moose players SC Bern players Tappara players Undrafted National Hockey League players Winnipeg Jets players