2002 NHL Draft
Joni Pitkanen in the 2002 NHL Draft
Philadelphia Flyers selected Joni Pitkanen 4th overall in the 2002 NHL Draft.
He was the second of the 26 Finns selected that year. It was the first of the 7 picks Philadelphia Flyers made in the draft. Of the 290 players selected in 2002, 104 have played in the NHL regular season. His 535 games put him 33rd in the class.
- Overall pick
- 4
- Round and pick
- Round 1, pick 4
- Drafting team
- PHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- Date
- Age at the draft
- 18 years
The picks around it
Picks 1–7 in the 2002 draft
- 1Rick NashL1060 GP · 805 PCBJColumbus Blue Jackets
- 2Kari LehtonenG648 GP · 310 WATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 3Jay BouwmeesterD1240 GP · 424 PFLAFlorida Panthers
- 4Joni PitkanenD535 GP · 282 PPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 5Ryan WhitneyD481 GP · 259 PPITPittsburgh Penguins
- 6Scottie UpshallR759 GP · 284 PNSHNashville Predators
- 7Joffrey LupulL701 GP · 420 PANAAnaheim Ducks
Games and points are NHL regular season to date.
Place in the draft class
Where he came in the 2002 class
2nd
of 26 Finns selected
2nd
of 92 defensemen selected
Counted in draft order across the whole draft. The position is the one listed at the draft.
First Finns selected
- 2Kari LehtonenG648 GP · 310 WATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 4Joni PitkanenD535 GP · 282 PPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 15Jesse NiinimakiCEDMEdmonton Oilers
- 22Sean BergenheimL506 GP · 180 PNYINew York Islanders
- 29Hannu ToivonenG61 GP · 18 WBOSBoston Bruins
- 75Arttu LuttinenFOTTOttawa Senators
- 95Valtteri FilppulaC1056 GP · 530 PDETDetroit Red Wings
- 103Joonas VihkoFANAAnaheim Ducks
- 107Mikko KaltevaDCOLColorado Avalanche
- 110Jarkko A. ImmonenCDALDallas Stars
+ 16 more
After the draft
The road to the NHL
Joni Pitkanen made his NHL debut on October 9, 2003, 1 year and 109 days after the draft.
535
Games
57
Goals
225
Assists
282
Points
NHL regular season to date.
The team's draft
Philadelphia Flyers picks in the 2002 draft
- 4Joni PitkanenD535 GP · 282 PPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 105Rosario RuggeriDPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 126Konstantin BaranovFPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 161Dov Grumet-MorrisGPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 192Nikita KorovkinDPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 193Joey MorminaD1 GP · 0 PPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 201Mathieu BrunelleLPHIPhiladelphia Flyers