Honoring the Great "29"

This afternoon, the New York Islanders will induct defensemen, Kenny Jonsson to the Islanders hall of fame.  His banner and plaque will be dedicated at 1pm when the Islanders face the Los Angeles Kings.  Jonsson is the final player to be inducted this year for the "40th" year anniversary celebration of the team's commitment campaign.

Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1st round, 12th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Jonsson was later traded to the Islanders along with Sean Haggerty, Darby Hendrickson and Toronto's 1st round choice (Roberto Luongo) in 1997 Entry Draft for Wendel Clark, Mathieu Schneider and D.J. Smith on March 13, 1996.  Jonsson quicky became the Islanders premiere defensmen and was a stabilizing force for Long Island during the darkest times in their history, and their return to the playoffs.

 

Jonsson was named the 8^th team Captain for the New York Islanders during the 1999-2000 campaign, which he maintained for the better part of two seasons.  His career for the Islanders spanned from the 1995-96 season until  2003-04.  During that time, he scored 57 and 175 for 232 pts in the 597 regular season games while adding 1 and 3 for 4 pts in the NHL playoffs with New York from the 01-03 seasons.  Jonsson wore #3 and #29 for Long Island.

In 1995, Jonsson was named to the NHL All Rookie Team and represente the Islanders in the NHL All Star Game in 1999.  Among many great international tournament appearances, In 2006, he was voted best defender during the 2006 Winter Olympics where his Swedish national team won a gold medal.  Kenny Jonsson announced his retirement on June 20, 2009.