Lennart Petrell

Lennart Petrell
Lennart Petrell at the 2013 Edmonton Oilers training camp
Born	(1984-04-13) 13 April 1984 (age 41) Helsinki, Finland
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	HIFK Edmonton Oilers Genève-Servette HC Luleå HF
NHL draft	190th overall, 2004 Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career	2003–2020

Lennart Petrell (born 13 April 1984) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player, who most notably played with HIFK of the Finnish Liiga and the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Petrell is currently an expert analyst for the 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Playing career

He was originally drafted in the 6th round (190th overall) on the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Staying in his native Finland, Petrell played eight seasons with HIFK in the SM-liiga.

On 15 June 2011, he signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers. ^[1] During his first North American season in 2011–12 with the Oilers, Petrell scored his first NHL goal on 3 November 2011, against Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings. ^[2] On 2 January 2012, Petrell was reassigned to the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League for a nine-game stint before returning to the Oilers.

After a second season with the Oilers, Petrell was released as a free agent and returned to Europe, signing a one-year deal with Swiss club, Genève-Servette HC of the NLA on 14 August 2013. ^[3] After one year in Switzerland, he signs a two-year deal with the Swedish club Luleå HF on 16 May 2014. ^[4]

Following the 2015–16 season in Sweden, Petrell returned to his hometown club, HIFK, on a one-year contract on 12 May 2016. ^[5]

Petrell was named the 27th HIFK captain prior to the 2017–18 season, succeeding Arttu Luttinen. He held the captaincy for two full seasons and the beginning of the 2019–20 season. In November 2019, head coach Jarno Pikkarainen reassigned the captaincy to Jere Sallinen, stating the decision was intended to "free" Petrell to focus on his individual performance. Sallinen described the appointment as coming "completely out of the blue" and noted his feelings were "conflicted" regarding taking the role from a long-time club figure. Petrell remained an alternate captain following the change and through the remainder of his final active season. ^[6]

Petrell retired after the 2019–20 season. Although he remained under contract for the 2020–21 season, a heart-related finding discovered during summer medical evaluations prevented him from playing. ^[7]

HIFK retired Petrell's jersey number 32 on November 29, 2025 at the Helsinki Ice Hall. Petrell is the 10th player of the club to have their jersey retired. ^[8]

Personal life

Petrell is serving as an expert analyst for Warner Bros. Discovery at the U20 World Championships in Minnesota. At the same time, Petrell will have the opportunity to closely follow the games of his former trainee, Matias Vanhanen. ^[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000–01	Karhu–Kissat	FIN.2 U18		14	6	6	12	12		7	8	2	10	10
2000–01	Karhu–Kissat	FIN.2 U20		4	3	2	5	0		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Karhu–Kissat	FIN.4		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	HIFK	FIN U18		18	10	8	18	12		8	2	0	2	2
2001–02	HIFK	Jr. A		5	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	HIFK	Jr. A		28	2	2	4	35		7	3	1	4	29
2003–04	HIFK	Jr. A		33	11	17	28	28		10	6	7	13	2
2003–04	HIFK	SM-l		8	0	0	0	2		1	0	0	0	0
2004–05	HIFK	Jr. A		12	5	5	10	10		2	0	1	1	0
2004–05	HIFK	SM-l		35	3	2	5	35		4	0	1	1	2
2005–06	HIFK	SM-l		51	12	8	20	88		12	1	2	3	20
2006–07	HIFK	SM-l		53	19	11	30	74		5	0	0	0	2
2007–08	HIFK	SM-l		48	10	17	27	34		7	1	1	2	2
2008–09	HIFK	SM-l		43	7	13	20	85		2	0	0	0	2
2009–10	HIFK	SM-l		56	12	12	24	61		6	1	0	1	2
2010–11	HIFK	SM-l		56	13	22	35	34		13	7	5	12	8
2011–12	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		60	4	5	9	45		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Oklahoma City Barons	AHL		9	2	2	4	4		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	HIFK	SM-l		26	11	0	11	12		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		35	3	6	9	4		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Genève–Servette HC	NLA		50	5	16	21	24		12	1	2	3	0
2014–15	Luleå HF	SHL		50	5	5	10	16		9	0	2	2	2
2015–16	Luleå HF	SHL		32	3	4	7	8		11	2	0	2	4
2016–17	HIFK	Liiga		57	9	6	15	16		12	2	4	6	6
2017–18	HIFK	Liiga		57	12	12	24	37		14	2	2	4	6
2018–19	HIFK	Liiga		48	7	5	12	40		10	0	1	1	4
2019–20	HIFK	Liiga		34	2	1	3	10		—	—	—	—	—
Liiga totals				572	117	109	226	528		88	14	16	30	54
NHL totals				95	7	11	18	49		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004	Finland	WJC			5	0	0	0	27
Junior totals					5	0	0	0	27

References

1. "Oilers sign two free agents". Edmonton Oilers Press Release. Edmonton Oilers . Retrieved 15 June 2011.
2. "Kings v Oilers Game Boxscore". National Hockey League . 3 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
3. "Lennart Petrell, the new finnish signing". Genève-Servette HC (in French). 14 August 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
4. "Distinguished NHL Finnish forward to Luleå Hockey". Swedish Hockey League (in Swedish). 16 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
5. "Lennart Petrell back in Helsinki" (in Finnish). HIFK. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
6. Leppänen, Marko (20 November 2019). "HIFK:n pitkäaikainen kapteeni otti raskaasti valmentajan kovan päätöksen C-kirjaimen riisumisesta: "Miljoona asiaa pyöri päässä"". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 January 2026.
7. Hellanto, Riku (2 June 2021). "Tyylikäs jäähyväisviesti täytti HS:n sivun – HIFK-konkari Lennart Petrell lyö hokkarit naulaan". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 January 2026.
8. HIFK (25 October 2025). "HIFK jäädyttää Lennart Petrellin pelinumeron 32". HIFK (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 January 2026.
9. "HIFK-legenda paljastaa – Tällainen on Suomen nuorten tähtihyökkääjä". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 January 2026.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database