Jyrki Lumme was born July 16, 1966 in Tampere, Finlandís second-largest city. As a child, Jyrki spent every day in winter outside on the frozen ponds, playing hockey with his friends. Who knew that someday, he would do the same thing for a living?
Jyrkiís first hockey team (the first one that anyone ever bothers mentioning in the stats) was KooVee Tampere, in the Finnish 3rd Division. After getting 10 points in 30 games there, it was off to Ilves (ìLynxî) Tampere, home team of Jyrkiís boyhood idol Risto Siltanen.
During 1985-86, Jyrkiís first year there, he scored just 6 points in 31 games, though in contrast, he had 5 points in 7 games played at the Under-20 World Championships. But his talent was visible enough for Montreal scouts to take notice of, and the Canadiens drafted him 57th overall in the third round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft.
In the following two years, Jyrkiís point totals increased, and he ended the 1987-88 season with Ilves with 30 points in 43 games. As well, he played with Team Finland at the ë88 Olympics in Calgary, where they won a silver medal. But by then, it was time for Jyrki to try his hand at the National Hockey League.
At the age of 22, in his very first NHL game, Jyrki scored his first NHL goal against longtime Montreal rivals, the Edmonton Oilers! Unfortunately, he scored just 3 points in the next 20 games, and after missing a team curfew he was sent to AHL farm team Sherbrooke.
Jyrki started the 1989-90 season back in Montreal, playing 54 games there. He was then traded to the Vancouver Canucks on March 6, 1990, for the second round draft choice the Canucks had previously received from St. Louis. The Canadiens went with Craig Darby as their choice. Looking back on it now, it would be safe to say that this transaction has been one of the best deals that Vancouver has ever made!
Jyrki immediately proved this as he finished the season with an amazing 10 points in 11 games, and was third in scoring among the NHLís rookie defensemen. He played with Finland at the World Championships as well that year.
In 1990-91, his first full season with the Canucks, Jyrki posted 32 points. Dana Murzyn was traded to the team in March of 1991, and was partnered defensively with Jyrki. This partnership continues today as currently the NHLís longest-standing. 1991 marked Jyrkiís first NHL playoffs, and he played in the World Championships and Canada Cup in that year also.
Jyrki scored 44 points in 1991-92, reaching 100 points in the NHL. He was awarded his first Walter ìBabeî Pratt Trophy as most outstanding defenseman. That summer he married Minna, who, after studying at the University of Helsinki, continues now to work on her degree in microbiology at UBC in Vancouver.
The following season, 1992-93, Jyrki reached 100 assists with the team and another 44 points on the year.
1993-94 was a particularly memorable one for fans: after scoring a career high 42 assists and 55 points, Jyrki reached the milestones of 150 assists and 200 points in the NHL, receiving his second Babe Pratt Trophy before going on to join the Canucks as they battled their way through 24 playoff games to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Jyrkiís 13 points were enough to make him the highest-scoring Canuck defenceman in playoffs, which he still is today.
The next year marked the infamous hockey lockout which went unresolved until January. In the meanwhile Jyrki played 12 games with Ilves, who were victorious in their matchup against Wayne Gretskyís all stars team. Upon returning to regular season play, Jyrki came up with 17 points in 36 games, and 8 points in 11 playoff games, as well as scoring his 175th NHL assist and 200th NHL point.
In 1995-96, Jyrki had 54 points in 79 games with a career high 17 goals, winning the Babe Pratt for the third time. He also played in his 500th NHL game, and joined Team Finland in playing for the World Cup and World Championships.
This last season, 1996-97, Jyrki was 11-24-35 in 66 games, missing many games through injury. He scored his 300th NHL point, and in the Canucksí absence from the playoffs, he played with Finland in the 1997 World Championships. He is now 14th on the Canucksí all-time scoring, and has won his fourth Babe Pratt Trophy, joining the only other four-time winners, Doug Lidster and Harold Snepsts.
After this biography had been written, Jyrki Lumme continued his successful playing career in the Canucks... and in other NHL teams. But that is another story for another day.
This biography © 1997 J. Niven