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The SM-liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, but the league and association have an agreement of cooperation. SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, "Finnish championship".
Marko Kristian Kiprusoff is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently an assistant junior coach in Finnish hockey club TPS.
Hannu Markus Virta is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He was named the best defenceman in the Finnish Elite League (SM-liiga) four times, and was a five-time all-star. He also won the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy as rookie of the year in 1981–82.
Joni Ortio is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He has previously played for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a sixth round selection of the Flames, 171st overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to the NHL he played for TPS and HIFK Helsinki in the Sm-liiga. Internationally, Ortio has represented Finland on four occasions. He was a member of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships and played in the 2013 World Championship
Aleksis Ahlqvist is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender.
Aatu Hämäläinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey player playing for Iisalmen Peli-Karhut in Mestis, the second-tier league in Finland.
Mikko Rantanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 10th overall, by the Avalanche in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Rantanen won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022.
Derek Famulare is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He most recently played for Laval Prédateurs of the LNAH. He previously played for HC TPS of the Liiga. Famulare was born to a Finnish mother and a Canadian father, and also holds a Finnish citizenship.
Anttoni Honka is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays with the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Honka was selected by the Hurricanes in the 3rd round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Petrus Palmu is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with Linköping HC in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He was drafted 181st overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Aleksi Heponiemi is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Heponiemi was selected in the second round in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Panthers.
Teemu Kivihalme is an American-Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing with HC TPS of the Finnish Liiga. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fifth round, 140th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Ice hockey is the most popular sport in Finland in terms of television viewership and game attendance figures. It is third most popular sport in participation amongst children. As of 2020, approximately 1.3% of the Finnish population was registered with the International Ice Hockey Federation, ranking Finland second in the world for percentage of population participating in ice hockey and the highest percentage of any country outside of North America.
Turun Palloseura Naiset or TPS Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Finnish Naisten Liiga. They are the representative women's ice hockey team of Turun Palloseura (TPS), a multi-sport club based in Turku, Southwest Finland and they play at the Kupittaan jäähalli and the Impivaara Ice Rink. The team has played in the Naisten Liiga, Finland’s premier women's ice hockey league, since gaining promotion in the 2018–19 season.
Elias Karvonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for TPS in the Liiga.
Kai Ortio is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and the current head coach of Turun Palloseura (TPS) Akatemia U16, a junior ice hockey team in the U16 Mestis. During his playing career, he played two seasons in the SM-liiga, appearing with HC TPS in 45 games during the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons and registering three points and 22 penalty minutes.
Aleksi Heimosalmi is a Finnish ice hockey player who is under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL. Heimosalmi still has not played in either the NHL or the AHL and has been on a loan with Porin Ässät, where he also played as a junior player. Heimosalmi played his first professional game in the Liiga for Porin Ässät on 10 October 2021.
Ruben Rafkin is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for HC TPS of the Finnish Liiga.
Juuso Pärssinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pärssinen was selected by the Predators in the seventh round, 210th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
References
- ↑ TPS | New player agreements this summer Archived 2019-09-22 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
- ↑ Game logs | #4 Anttalainen, Aleksi | Liiga
