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Current season, competition or edition: 2022–23 Finnish Handball League | |
| Sport | Handball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1943 |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country | Finland |
| Confederation | EHF |
| Most recent champion(s) | Riihimäki Cocks (2019) |
| Most titles | BK-46 (22 titles) |
| International cup(s) | EHF Cup EHF Challenge Cup |
| Official website | http://msm.finnhandball.net/ |
The Finnish SM-liiga is the name of the professional handball league of Finland.
The season begins with a regular season between the ten teams. The first six teams qualifies for the play-offs, the teams classified four to eight play another round-robin, while the last two plays a relegation round.
The following 7 clubs compete in the SM-liiga during the 2023–24 season.
| Team | City | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| BK-46 | Karis | Karis Idrottshall |
| Riihimäki Cocks | Riihimäki | Cocks Areena |
| Dicken | Helsinki | Pirkkolan Palloiluhalli |
| GrIFK | Kauniainen | Kauniaisten Palloiluhalli |
| HIFK | Helsinki | Helsingin Urheilutalo |
| Sjundeå IF | Siuntio | Arena Siuntio-Sjundeå |
| ÅIFK | Turku | Samppalinnan Palloiluhalli |
| Club | Titles | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | BK-46 | 22 | 1968, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2022, 2023 |
| 2. | Riihimäki Cocks | 12 | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 |
| 3. | Union Helsinki | 9 | 1946, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964 |
| 4. | HIFK | 7 | 1945, 1951, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1974 |
| 5. | Sjundea IF | 4 | 1981, 1982, 1990, 2005 |
| UK-51 Helsinki | 4 | 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971 | |
| 7. | Karhun Pojat | 3 | 1952, 1954, 1956 |
| Arsenal Helsinki | 3 | 1961, 1962, 1963 | |
| Sparta Helsinki | 3 | 1975, 1976, 1977 | |
| HC Dennis | 3 | 2000, 2001, 2004 | |
| 11. | HC West | 2 | 2011, 2012 |
| 12. | TPS Turku | 1 | 1944 |
| HC Kiffen | 1 | 1978 | |
| Dicken | 1 | 1993 | |
| GrIFK | 1 | 1999 |
For season 2017/2018, see footnote [1]
(27) 
1.liga (14.67)
(19) 
Extraliga (11.67) (22) 
SM-liiga (11.25) (24) 
Eerste Klasse (11.25) (32) 
Lotto Eredivisie (10.78)
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".
HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors rf is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on the initiative of Georges Doubitsky and fellow students of the Svenska Reallyceum, the Swedish lyceum in Helsinki, it is the oldest continuously-operating Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna (IFK) organization in Finland. HIFK has sections in many sports, including athletics, bandy, bowling, football, ice hockey, and handball.
Riihimäki is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about 69 kilometres (43 mi) north of Helsinki and 109 kilometres southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to Helsinki, Tampere and Lahti. Several businesses also operate in Riihimäki. Notably, Würth Oy has its Finnish headquarters and logistics center in Riihimäki. Valio has a major dairy in the Herajoki part of Riihimäki. The famous Sako rifles are also produced in Riihimäki. Riihimäki also has the second-highest flagpole in Finland.
Jarkko Samuli Ruutu ; born August 23, 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks. He is currently serving as a European development coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Jere Juhani Karalahti is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings as their sixth-round pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft and played a total of 166 games in the NHL. Karalahti won the 1998 Liiga championship in his native Finland, he is a three-time silver medalist at World Championships and also won one bronze with the Finnish national team. His playing career included stints in Finland, the US, Germany, Belarus and Sweden.
Hannes Ossian Hyvönen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He played 42 games in the National Hockey League with the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets between 2002 and 2003, though most of his career, which lasted from 1994 to 2009, was spent in European leagues. Internationally Hyvönen played for the Finnish national team at the 2008 and 2009 World Championships, winning a bronze in 2008. Hyvönen now works as a coach for Porin Ässät of the Liiga.
Ville Sakari Peltonen is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey forward. Peltonen was drafted by the San Jose Sharks as their third round pick, 58th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. During his professional career, he has played 382 NHL games for Sharks, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers. Internationally, he represented the Finland men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2016.
Robert Schnabel is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 22 games in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators between 2002 and 2004. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1996 to 2014, was mainly spent in various European leagues.
Juuso Riksman is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender.
SM-Sarja was the top level of ice hockey in Finland from 1928 to 1975. SM-sarja is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruussarja, "Finnish Championship Series".
Riihimäki Cocks is a Finnish professional handball club from Riihimäki. The club is playing in the Finnish Handball League (SM-liiga), and play their home matches in Cocks Areena.
HIFK is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland that plays in the SM-liiga, the sport's top-level league in Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall.
Kari Markus Granlund is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward, who is currently playing with HC Lugano of the National League (NL). After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he elected to leave the KHL team Salavat Yulaev Ufa. He is a second-round selection of the Calgary Flames, taken 45th overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Granlund played two seasons in the SM-liiga for HIFK before moving to North America to join the Flames organization in 2013. His older brother Mikael plays in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks.
The 1981–82 SM-liiga season was the seventh season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland. 10 teams participated in the league, and Tappara Tampere won the championship.
Arttu Ruotsalainen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for HC Lugano of the National League (NL).
Miro Karjalainen is a Finnish professional ice hockey player, currently playing for HIFK of the Liiga.
HIFK Handboll is a Finnish professional handball club from Helsinki. HIFK Handboll is the handball section of HIFK. The club is playing in the Finnish Handball League (SM-liiga), and play their home matches in Helsingin Urheilutalo.
The 2017–18 SM-liiga season was the 43rd season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975. Tappara was the season as a defending champion. This season included a record number of matches played on Fridays and Saturdays. In autumn, there was a national team break from 5 November until 13 November.
HIFK Naiset, also known as Stadin Gimmat, are an ice hockey team in the Finnish Naisten Liiga. They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki at the Pirkkolan jäähalli. The team is operated by Oy HIFK-Hockey Ab, the same organization that owns the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga – HIFK Naiset are one of only two Naisten Liiga teams owned directly by a Liiga team.
The Naisten Suomi-sarja, distinguished as the Jääkiekon naisten Suomi-sarja, is the third-tier women's ice hockey league in Finland. It was founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2003. It is the lowest tier of national ice hockey competition, below the premier Naisten Liiga and secondary Naisten Mestis, but above regional hobby leagues.