Jesse Ylönen

Jesse Ylönen (born 3 October 1999) is a Finnish-American professional ice hockey winger for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 35th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Ylönen holds dual citizenship of Finland and the United States.

Playing career
Ylönen played as a youth with his hometown club, the Espoo Blues, through to the under-18 level. After a season stint within the Jokerit junior program, Ylönen returned to the Blues making his professional debut with Espoo United of the Mestis during the 2016–17 season. In his first full season with Espoo United in 2017–18, Ylönen posted an impressive 27 points in 48 games as a rookie.

Opting to remain in Finland to continue his development, Ylönen joined the top tier Liiga club, the Lahti Pelicans, on a two-year contract on 10 April 2018. Ylönen was then selected by the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the second round, 35th overall, of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

In his final year under contract with the Pelicans in the 2019–20 season, Ylönen was unable to surpass his rookie season totals, contributing with 12 goals and 22 points through 53 games. On 1 March 2020, with the Pelicans out of playoff contention Ylönen left the Liiga and signed his first contract in North America, agreeing to a contract to play the remainder of the season with the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Laval Rocket. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ylönen never got to play a game that season for Laval. On 26 March, Ylönen signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens. With the pandemic delay to the beginning of the 2020–21 season, Ylönen was loaned back to the Lahti Pelicans in September to start the season, returning to Montreal with the opening of their training camp. He joined Laval to start his North American career during the 2020–21 season. He scored nine goals and 17 points before being recalled by Montreal on 12 May 2021. He made his NHL debut in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on 11 May 2021, the final game of the season.

During the 2021–22 season, Ylönen was recalled by Montreal on 8 December 2021 after Christian Dvorak suffered an injury. He made his season debut with the Canadiens in a 2–0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on 9 December. He played on the fourth line alongside Cédric Paquette and Michael Pezzetta. He made his way up the lineup, appearing on the first line with Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman in his second game of the season versus the St. Louis Blues. He was then placed on a line with Jonathan Drouin and Laurent Dauphin. He scored his first NHL goal on a pass from Drouin on 15 December 2021 in a 5–2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ylönen was sent back to Laval on 11 April 2022.

During the 2022–23 season, Ylönen was recalled by the Canadiens on 11 January 2023 and posting eight goals and 27 points in 34 games with Laval. He scored his first goal of the season and had his first multi-point game in the NHL in a 5–2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on 24 February 2023. He was assigned to Laval on 9 April along with three other players, having played in 37 games with Montreal, scoring six goals and 16 points.

Ylönen signed a one-year two-way contract with the Canadiens on 31 July 2023.

Prior to the beginning of the NHL free agency period, Ylönen was not tenured a qualifying offer by the Canadiens on 30 June 2024 making him an unrestricted free agent. He signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning the following day.

Personal life
Ylönen was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, while his father, Juha, was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes. Juha played seven seasons in the NHL and won a bronze medal with the Finnish national team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.