Around this time last year the Jets selected Finnish prospect Markus Loponen in the 5th round of the NHL Draft. He had been scheduled to play in the top league in Finland (Liiga) with Karpat but then had his contract terminated following a request he made to the team and thereafter he joined the Victoria Royals of the WHL who had selected him a week after Winnipeg in the import draft.
He scored 19 goals with 25 assists in 65 regular season games for the Royals. He also contributed four goals and two assists in 11 playoff games. He scores a few goals from this spot as you can see here and here.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Today we learned that he is heading back home to Finland to play the next couple of seasons with HPK after signing a two-year player contract.
