Ville Peltonen
FinlandVille Peltonen is a Finnish winger on the Florida Panthers.
Peltonen was drafted by San Jose in 1993, after playing with HIFK of the Finnish SM-liiga. He played parts of two seasons with San Jose, before returning to Europe to play with Frolunda of the Swedish Elitserien in 1997-98. He signed with Nashville the next season, and played two seasons with the Predators. In 2001, he returned to Finland to play with Jokerit of the SM-liiga. He spent two seasons with Jokerit, and another three with HC Lugano in Switzerland. He signed with Florida in 2006, and has played the last two seasons with the Panthers. Peltonen’s numbers are excellent when he has played in the SM-liiga and Elitserien, while they tend to be much more mediocre in the NHL. He has won a number of awards in the SM-liiga and Elitserien, including scoring titles and rookie of the year.
His stellar play overseas has earned him recognition as one of the staples of the Finnish national team. He has played in 19 different international tournaments, accumulating over 100 points in international play. He won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics, and two bronzes at the 1998 and 1994 Games. He won a gold medal at the 1995 World Championships, silver medals at the 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2007 tournaments and bronze medals at the 2000, 2006 and 2008 Championships. He also won a silver medal at the 2004 World Cup.