Riksman played junior hockey in Espoon Palloseura and in the HIFK organization, but he started his pro career with Hermes of Kokkola, then in the 1st division. After a visit to Kiruna in the Swedish 1st division, Riksman returned to HIFK. When Tom Draper was hired as HIFK's starting goaltender, Riksman signed with MoDo Hockey in Sweden, and after two seasons in Sweden, a year in Italy with Alleghe HC and one season with Ilves, he led Ässät to a silver medal in 2006 and won the Urpo Ylönen trophy as the league's best goaltender. Subsequently, Riksman was signed by Jokerit to a two-year contract. He retired in 2016.
Suspension
In June 2007, the St. Louis Blues of the NHL signed Riksman to a contract. He was later sent to the Blues' AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. Riksman appeared in his first and only professional game in North America on November 10 against the Rockford IceHogs, allowing two goals in only eight minutes of play. He was then pulled and replaced by Marek Schwarz.
After Peoria's loss to San Antonio on November 17, Riksman announced that he had quit the team and was returning to Finland, leading to a suspension by Rivermen general manager Kevin McDonald. Since the announcement, Riksman signed first with Färjestad in Swedish Elite League, then Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the Russian Super League before returning to Finland, and Jokerit in Helsinki.
The SM-liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagues of the Champions Hockey League and currently allocated five spots - the maximum number - based on success in previous editions. 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".
Helsingin Jokerit is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. They are members of the Bobrov Division of the Western Conference of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga. Jokerit plays its home games at the Hartwall Arena. They joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) as of the 2014–15 KHL season, making Finland the first Nordic country to have a team in the league.
Kari Lehtonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He previously played for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected second overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers, becoming the highest-drafted European goaltender, as well as being tied with Patrik Laine, Alexander Barkov and Kaapo Kakko for the highest-drafted Finnish player in NHL history.
The Lasse Oksanen trophy is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Liiga to the best player of the season during regular season play.
The Urpo Ylönen trophy is an ice hockey award given by the Finnish Liiga to the best goalie of the season. It is named for Urpo Ylönen, former goaltender and later goaltender coach. In 2019 it was awarded to Veini Vehviläinen of Kärpät.
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.
Ville Sakari Peltonen is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey forward.
Roman Vopat is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Philadelphia Flyers. He is the younger brother of former NHL defenceman, Jan Vopat.
Pasi Johan Olavi Nurminen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers as their sixth-round pick, #189 overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
Riku Helenius is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for Dresdner Eislöwen in the DEL2.
Ari Ahonen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted in the first round, 27th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
Hannu Aravirta is a Finnish ice hockey player and an ice hockey coach for the Finnish national men's team, SM-liiga and Elitserien.
Hannu Juhani Kamppuri is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. Kamppuri was an accomplished SM-liiga goaltender, but is probably best known in North America for being one of the first Finnish goaltenders to compete in the National Hockey League, where he played 13 games for the New Jersey Devils. He also appeared in net for the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association.
Markus Jari Ketterer is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga and also the Swedish Elitserien as a goalkeeper. He played for Jokerit, TPS as Färjestads BK, the latter with which won the Swedish national championship during the season of 1996–1997. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.
HIFK is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland that plays in the Liiga, the sport's top-level league in Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall.
The 1991-92 SM-liiga season was the 17th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland. 12 teams participated in the league, and Jokerit Helsinki won the championship.
The 1995-96 SM-liiga season was the 21st season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland. 12 teams participated in the league, and Jokerit Helsinki won the championship.
The 2012–13 SM-liiga season was the 38th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975. The title was won by Ässät Pori who defeated Tappara Tampere in the finals.
Ville Husso is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Kevin Lankinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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