Canadiens loan Jesse Ylönen to Finnish club

Jesse Ylönen signed his NHL entry-level contract with the Canadiens at the end of last season but still has not played in an AHL or NHL game.

Jesse Ylönen is the latest Canadiens prospect to be loaned to a European team for the start of the 2020-21 season.

General manager Marc Bergevin announced Wednesday that Ylönen will join the Lahti Pelicans in the Finnish Liiga. With the start of the NHL season delayed until at least early December, the loan will give Ylönen an opportunity to get into playing shape before reporting to the Canadiens training camp.

Ylönen, 20, signed his NHL entry-level contract with the Canadiens at the end of last season but still has not played in an AHL or NHL game. The 6-foot-1, 172-pound right-handed forward recorded 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 53 games with Lahti in 2019-20, his second season with the Finnish club.

Ylönen, a second-round pick by the Canadiens in the 2018 draft (35th overall), earned gold at the 2019 world junior championship with Finland.

The Canadiens previously announced that Lukas Vejdemo will start the season in his native Sweden while Hayden Verbeek will play in the Czech Republic.

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