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".
Ilves is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena.
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena.
Kiekko-Espoo Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga. They play in the Tapiola district of Espoo, Finland at the harjoitusareena of the Tapiolan urheilupuisto. The team was founded as Espoon Kiekkoseura or EKS in 1989 and has also been known as Espoo Blues Naiset and Espoo United Naiset during its tenure in the Naisten Liiga. Kiekko-Espoo have won the Aurora Borealis Cup as the Finnish Champions in women's ice hockey sixteen times, six more wins than any other team in league history; at least one Finnish Championship medal was won under each of the four names.
Jussi Markkanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey executive and former goaltender. He is currently serving as general manager of SaiPa. Markkanen played extensively in various European professional leagues as well as the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, 133rd overall, by the Edmonton Oilers, as an over-aged entrant.
Petri Kalevi Skriko is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player, best remembered for his seasons starring in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980s. He is currently a scout for the Calgary Flames.
Niko Hovinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing for HIFK of The SM-Liiga in Finland.
Dale B. McTavish is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played nine games in the National Hockey League for the Calgary Flames in 1996–97, recording one goal and two assists.
Patrick Davis is an American former professional ice hockey player. He last played right wing for KalPa of the SM-liiga (SM-l).
Juuso Hietanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for HPK of the Liiga.
Janne Kolehmainen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He most recently played with the Sheffield Steelers in the UK EIHL. He previously iced with Jyp in the Finnish Liiga. Kolehmainen was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators 115th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft but did not sign.
Jarno Koskiranta is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with SaiPa of the Liiga.
Pekka Tirkkonen is a Finnish ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He most recently served as head coach of EHC Kloten of the National League (NL). Tirkkonen was selected by the Boston Bruins in the 2nd round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft.
Susanna "Suski" Tapani is a Finnish multi-sport elite athlete who competes in ice hockey, ringette, and in-line hockey, currently playing in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) with PWHL Minnesota. She is captain of the Finnish national ringette team and was a member of the Finnish national ice hockey team from 2010 to 2022.
Elisa Holopainen is a Finnish ice hockey winger and member of the Finnish national team, currently playing in the Finnish Naisten Liiga (NSML) with KalPa Kuopio. One of the most dominant players active in the Naisten Liiga, she has been named the Naisten Liiga Player of the Year three times, Best Forward five times, and is a five-time All-Star team selection.
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.
Kalevan Pallo Naiset, abbreviated as KalPa Naiset, are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga (NSML). Founded in 1990, the team plays in Kuopio, the largest city in Finland's eastern-central province of North Savo, at the Kuopion jäähalli ; Lippumäen jäähalli serves as a secondary venue. The team won the Finnish Championship (SM) silver medal in 2021, and have won four SM bronze medals, in 1995, 1996, 2017, and 2023.
The Emma Laaksonen Award is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the fair play player of the year of the Naisten Liiga, called the Naisten SM-sarja until 2017. The award recognizes a player who best contributes to the scoring of their team while "playing fair," that is to say, while incurring very few penalties. Winners typically exceed one point per game and are issued fewer than ten penalty minutes (PIM) over a full season. It is named after defenceman Emma Terho, former captain of the Finnish women's national ice hockey team and general manager of Kiekko-Espoo Naiset. Despite being named after a defenceman, it has only ever been awarded to forwards.
The Sari Fisk Award is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the player with the best plus–minus at the end of the regular season of the Naisten Liiga.
Eemeli Virtanen is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman who plays for RoKi in the Mestis, the second division of Finland.
