2002 NHL Draft
Kari Lehtonen in the 2002 NHL Draft
Atlanta Thrashers selected Kari Lehtonen 2nd overall in the 2002 NHL Draft.
He was the first of the 26 Finns selected that year. It was the first of the 10 picks Atlanta Thrashers made in the draft. Of the 290 players selected in 2002, 104 have played in the NHL regular season. His 648 games put him 24th in the class.
- Overall pick
- 2
- Round and pick
- Round 1, pick 2
- Drafting team
- ATLAtlanta Thrashers
- Date
- Age at the draft
- 18 years
The picks around it
Picks 1–5 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
Games and points are NHL regular season to date.
Place in the draft class
Where he came in the 2002 class
1st
of 26 Finns selected
1st
of 33 goaltenders 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
Kari Lehtonen made his NHL debut on March 19, 2004, 1 year and 271 days after the draft.
648
Games
310
Wins
38
Shutouts
.912
Save %
NHL regular season to date.
The team's draft
Atlanta Thrashers picks in the 2002 draft
- 2Kari LehtonenG648 GP · 310 WATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 30Jim SlaterC584 GP · 138 PATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 116Patrick DwyerR416 GP · 93 PATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 124Lane MansonDATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 144Paul FlacheDATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 167Brad SchellCATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 198Nathan OystrickD65 GP · 15 PATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 230Colton FretterFATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 236Tyler BoldtDATLAtlanta Thrashers
- 257Pauli LevokariDATLAtlanta Thrashers