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".
TUTO Hockey is a Finnish ice hockey team based at the Kupittaan jäähalli. Established in 1929, TUTO plays in Turku, Finland, and is one of two clubs in that city. The Full name of the club is TUTO Hockey. They play in the second highest ice hockey league in Finland, Mestis, having been relegated out of SM-liiga in 1996. TUTO has applied for a SM-liiga license for the 2024–25 season.
Jani Markus Rita is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger who last played with Jokerit of the Russian KHL, for whom he played most of his career.
Ville Juhani Nieminen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played over 400 games in the National Hockey League.
Petri Johannes Varis is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He was drafted by the San Jose Sharks as their 6th-round pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.
Lasse Juhani Kukkonen is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga. Earlier in his career, he had a four-year stint in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. After his career in ice hockey, Kukkonen is working as a lecturer and trainer specialising in mental coaching and leadership.
Jani Petteri Hurme is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 76 games in the National Hockey League with the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers between 2000 and 2003. He also played several seasons in the Finnish SM-liiga during his career, which lasted from 1993 to 2011. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the third round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft with the 58th overall pick. Internationally Hurme played for the Finnish national team at the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2003 World Championship.
Erik Vesa Hämäläinen is a left-handed retired Finnish ice hockey defenceman. Hämäläinen currently is an Ice hockey coach, employed by SM-liiga team Lukko
Kim Michael Hirschovits-Gerz is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward and current sports manager of Kiekko-Espoo in the Mestis. During his playing career, he skated in the Finnish Liiga with HIFK, Jokerit, the Espoo Blues, and Oulun Kärpät; in the Swedish Elitserien with Timrå IK and Luleå HF; and in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and Dinamo Minsk. Hirschovits was drafted by the New York Rangers as their sixth-round pick, 194th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
Tuomas Sakari Tarkki is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender and the goaltending coach of the Finnish women's national team. He played college ice hockey in the NCAA and professionally in the Finnish Liiga, the American Hockey League (AHL), the Swedish Elitserien, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), the Czech Extraliga, and the Danish Metal Ligaen.
Hannu Mauri Antero Kapanen is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. He played for Jokerit and HIFK. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.
Manu Juhani Tamminen is a Finnish retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga and World Hockey Association. He played for TPS, HJK, HIFK, Cleveland Crusaders, and Phoenix Roadrunners. He represented Finland at the 1976 Canada Cup. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
Mikkelin Jukurit is a professional ice hockey team in Liiga, the top tier Finnish ice hockey league. They play in Mikkeli, Finland, at the Kalevankankaan jäähalli. The team has won 7 Mestis championships.
Alexander Bonsaksen is a Norwegian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with KooKoo in the Finnish Liiga.
Juuso Hietanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for HPK of the Liiga.
The U20 SM-sarja is the premier junior men’s ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten SM-liiga during 1991 to 2020. The league was founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 1945 and a Finnish Champion in men’s under-20 ice hockey has been named annually since the league’s inaugural season – with the exception of the 2019–20 season, in which the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighteen to twenty teams compete in the U20 SM-sarja regular season, which is played in a preliminary ranking stage followed by a divisional or group stage.
Ella Viitasuo is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national team. She most recently played during the 2022–23 season with HV71 of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL).
Satu Kiipeli is a Finnish retired ice hockey defenseman and assistant coach of Oulun Kärpät in the Naisten Liiga (NSML). During her career with the Finnish national team, she represented Finland in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 2001 and 2005.
Naisten Liiga, also called the Naisten SM-liiga (NSML) and Jääkiekon naisten SM-liiga, is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Finland. Founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982, it was so known until being rebranded as the Naisten Liiga in 2017. The league comprises approximately 250 players across ten teams.
Naisten Mestis is the second-highest women's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was founded as Naisten I-divisioona in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, when the number of teams playing in the Naisten SM-sarja was limited. It was renamed Naisten Mestis prior to the 2012–13 season.
