Ice hockey in Finland

Ice hockey is the most popular sport in Finland in terms of television viewership and game attendance figures.[1][2][3] It is third most popular sport in participation amongst children.[4]

Ice hockey in Finland
Espoo Blues vs. Oulun Kärpät April 1st 2006, decisive playoff game. In the faceoff Esa Pirnes (Blues) and Michal Bros (Kärpät).
CountryFinland
Governing bodyFinnish Ice Hockey Association
National team(s)Men's national team
Women's national team
Nickname(s)Leijonat (men's)
Naisleijonat (women's)
National competitions
Liiga
Naisten Liiga
Mestis
Naisten Mestis
Suomi-sarja
Naisten Suomi-sarja
International competitions

History

Ice hockey leagues were first established in Finland in the 1920s.[5] SM-sarja was established as the first national men's ice hockey league in 1928. Viipurin Reipas were champions in the inaugural year and remain one of the oldest ice hockey teams in Finland, still competing today under the name Lahti Pelicans.

National board

Finnish Ice Hockey Association is the national board for ice hockey in the country and has been instrumental in producing many world class ice hockey players.[6][7][8]

National teams

Finland is currently third in the IIHF World Rankings for both the men's and women's national team programs.[9]

Finland men's national ice hockey team is one of the major powers in world hockey; they won their third World Championship in 2019.[10] The men's national team is a member of the so-called "Big Six" an unofficial group of the top men's national teams in world hockey.

Finland women's national ice hockey team is recognized as one of the few national teams able to challenge American and Canadian dominance in the highest levels of women's world hockey. The team took silver at the World Championship in 2019 after a controversial loss to the United States in the finals.[11] Though they did not claim gold, multiple Finnish players received awards in the 2019 tournament; team captain Jenni Hiirikoski was awarded MVP and Best Defenceman, Noora Räty was awarded Best Goaltender, and forward Michelle Karvinen was named to the All-Star Team along with Hiirikoski and Räty.

Domestic Leagues

Liiga (called SM-liiga until 2013) is the elite league for men's ice hockey in Finland; it was created 1975 as the first domestic professional ice hockey league and replaced SSM-sarja as the top national division.[4][12] Mestis is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland; many Mestis teams are associated with Liiga systems as farm teams. The Suomi-sarja is Finland's third-tier men's ice hockey league.

Naisten Liiga (called Jääkiekon naisten SM-sarja until 2017) is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Finland; it has been in operation since the 1982-1983 season.[13] Naisten Mestis is the second-level of women's ice hockey in Finland. Naisten Suomi-sarja is the third-level of women's ice hockey in Finland.

References
  1. "SM-liigan katsojat 2010-2011". SM-liiga. 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  2. "Retailing Opportunities for the National Hockey League in Finland" (PDF). core.ac.uk. 2013. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  3. Suominen, Seppo. "https://www.athensjournals.gr/sports/2016-1-X-Y-Suominen2.pdf" (PDF). athensjournals.gr. Retrieved 2019-05-29. External link in |title= (help)
  4. Andersen, Svein S.; Ronglan, Lars Tore (29 May 2019). Nordic Elite Sport: Same Ambitions, Different Tracks. Copenhagen Business School Press DK. ISBN 9788763002455 – via Google Books.
  5. CHIN. "The history of hockey in Finland: a passion that caught on". virtualmuseum.ca.
  6. Bexell, Patrik (26 June 2016). "How Finland has emerged as a hockey superpower". Eyes On The Prize.
  7. Koentges, Chris (1 March 2014). "The Oracle of Ice Hockey" – via The Atlantic.
  8. Knoll, Andrew (13 February 2019). "In the N.H.L., Finland Is Now Here, There and Everywhere" – via NYTimes.com.
  9. "IIHF - World Ranking". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  10. "Ice Hockey World Championship: Finland beat Canada to claim third title". 26 May 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. Spencer, Donna (2019-04-14). "U.S. wins women's world hockey title with controversial shootout victory over Finland". CBC Sports. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  12. Hard, Petri (2017). "FANS ON THE ROAD–TRAVEL PREFERENCES OF FINNISH ICE HOCKEY SUPPORTERS" (PDF). helda.helsinki.fi. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  13. "Leijonat - Naisten Liiga". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2019-06-26.
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