Olli Jokinen - International Career

International Career

Jokinen has represented Finland his native country on numerous occasions. He first played with the Finnish national junior team at the under-18 level in the 1996 European Junior Championship. He joined the under-20 team one year later for the 1997 World Junior Championship, scoring five goals in six games. He made his debut with the senior team that same year, finishing second in team scoring with six points in eight games at the 1997 World Championship.

At the 1998 World Junior Championship, Jokinen tied with American Jeff Farkas as the tournament's scoring leader with ten points and helped Finland win the gold medal on home soil. He was named a tournament all-star at centre, and was given the Directorate Award as top forward. He then won a silver medal at the 1998 World Championship. Another silver followed in 1999 and bronze medals in 2000, 2006 and 2008. In total, Jokinen has appeared in ten World Championships for Finland, scoring 41 points in 82 games.

Jokinen made his Olympic debut at the 2002 Games where he scored two goals in four games, but Finland was eliminated by Canada in the quarterfinals, and finished in sixth place. Two years later, he helped Finland reach the final of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, scoring the first goal in a 2–1 come from behind victory over the United States in the semi-final. The Finns were again defeated by Canada.

At the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Jokinen tied with Teemu Selänne for the team lead with six goals and helped Finland reach its first gold medal game in a Winter Games. He and his teammates had to settle for silver, however, following a 3–2 loss to rival Sweden in the final. Jokinen won a bronze medal at his third Olympics, the 2010 Vancouver Games. He scored two goals, including the game winner, in a 4–3 victory over Slovakia in the third place game.