Tero Lehterä started to play with Espoo Blues (then named Kiekko-Espoo) in 1989 and played with them until 1994. He then played with Malmö IF in Sweden but returned to Finland after one season. In Finland, Lehterä played with Helsingin Jokerit from 1995-97 and won Finnish titles with them in 1996 and 1997. In 1997-98 he again played with Espoo Blues. Lehterä was drafted by the Florida Panthers of the NHL in 1994, joining the Panthers only in 1998. But Lehterä did not made much impact in North America as he never made the Panthers team during his entire stay in North America, which lasted only one season, playing instead with the Panthers affiliate Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League (IHL). After his unsuccessful North American period, Lehterä moved back to Europe, but also had troubles making an impact, usually not staying with one club for more than one season, except in HC Neftekhimik in Russia, where he stayed for two seasons – 2003-05. Before Neftekhimik, Lehterä played for Jokerit, Tappara, Espoo Blues, HPK Hämeenlinna, all in Finland and after his stay in Neftekhimik, played for HC Salamat in Finland, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, EHC Basel in Switzerland, EV Duisburg in Germany, and HC Ambrì-Piotta in Switzerland before finishing his career in 2006-07 with Odense Bulldogs in Denmark. Internationally, Lehterä played 56 games with the Finnish national team, won Olympic bronze in 1994, and was World champion in 1995. After his retirement from sports, Lehterä worked as a hockey analyst with the Finnish TV channel Nelonen and also works as a children’s coach for the Espoo Blues.
Finland