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".
Oulun Kärpät is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Oulu and playing in the top-tier Finnish Liiga. Kärpät have won the Finnish championship title eight times, and is the most successful Finnish ice hockey team in the 21st century.
Tampereen Tappara is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the SM-liiga. They play at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 20 Finnish league championships, which makes them the most successful club in Finland. The team continued the traditions of the Tammerfors Bollklub.
Porin Ässät, officially named Hockey Club Ässät Pori and colloquially known as Pata, is a professional ice hockey club based in Pori, Finland. It competes in the SM-liiga, the highest-ranking league of ice hockey in Finland. Since 1971, Ässät has played its games in the Isomäki Ice Hall.
Kultainen kypärä is an ice hockey award given to the best player in the Finnish Liiga. It is voted for by the players. It has been awarded since 1987.
The Jari Kurri Trophy is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Liiga to the best player in the Liiga playoffs. The trophy is named after Jari Kurri.
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 Aarne Honkavaara trophy is an ice hockey trophy given by the Finnish Liiga to the player who scores the most goals 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.
Ville Juhani Nieminen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played over 400 games in the National Hockey League.
Tomi Karhunen is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing with SC Bern of the National League (NL).
Jan-Mikael Järvinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the Porin Ässät in the Liiga.
Karri Kivi is Finnish former ice hockey player and current coach of HC Nové Zámky of Tipos Extraliga.
Jukka Tapio Rautakorpi is a Finnish ice hockey coach.
Niko Ojamäki is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for EHC Kloten of the National League.
Jesse Puljujärvi is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Rated as a top prospect, Puljujärvi was drafted fourth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
Arttu Ruotsalainen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for HC Lugano of the National League (NL).
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.
Porin Ässät ry is a sports club based in Pori, Finland. The club's only programs are ice hockey and esports, but it used to have an association football program. Porin Ässät ry operates an ice hockey team in the Finnish Elite League. Porin Ässät ry also has junior teams for all age groups from U7 to U20. Porin Ässät ry also operate a women's ice hockey school and the girl's junior ice hockey department while also operating a skating school.
The history of the Porin Ässät starts in 1925, when Porin Palloilijat was established, even though PoPa is often considered as a separate club from Ässät.
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