Raimo Ilmari Helminen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is often called "Raipe" or "Maestro" by his fans. He is the world record holder for most international games played by a hockey player, as well as for tied for being the hockey player in the most Olympic Games, and his 26 seasons as a professional is one of the longest careers in professional hockey history. He is currently an assistant coach of Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
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".
Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK) is an ice hockey team in the Liiga, the top men's ice hockey league in Finland. Their home ice is the Ritari-areena in Hämeenlinna. HPK was established in 1929. The parent club of the team is HPK Edustusjääkiekko ry and the team is sometimes promoted as the "Hockey Playing Knights," with a logo representing a knight's helmet. HPK won their first SM-liiga championship in 2006 and the second in 2019.
JYP is an ice hockey team playing in the Finnish top division Liiga. They play in Jyväskylä, Finland, at the LähiTapiola Areena.
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 have been one of the most successful Finnish ice hockey teams in the 2000s and 2010s.
Kiekko-Espoo Naiset is the representative women's ice hockey team of the hockey club Kiekko-Espoo based in Espoo, Finland. They compete in the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland, where they are the winningest team in league history. The team has been known as Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS), Espoo Blues, Espoo United, and Kiekko-Espoo during its tenure in the Naisten Liiga; at least one Finnish Championship medal was won under each name.
Mestis, is the second-highest ice hockey league in Finland.
Hannu Aravirta is a Finnish ice hockey player and an ice hockey coach for the Finnish national men's team, SM-liiga and Elitserien.
Kim Michael Hirschovits-Gerz is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing for the Kiekko-Espoo in Finnish second tier. Hirschovits was drafted by the New York Rangers as their sixth-round pick, 194th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
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.
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".
The Kanada-malja is an ice hockey club championship trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Finnish Liiga playoffs. Kanada-malja is Finnish for "Canada Bowl"; the trophy is so named because it was donated by Canada's Finnish community in 1951.
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 club was founded in 1897 and started participating in ice hockey in 1929. Since then, HIFK has won the Finnish national championship seven times. HIFK has the highest number of audience in the Liiga and is one of the wealthiest sports clubs in Finland.
Naisten Liiga, also called the Naisten SM-liiga (NSML) or Jääkiekon naisten SM-liiga, is the elite league for Finnish women's ice hockey. Until 2017, it was called the Naisten SM-sarja. The league has 12 total teams between two divisions and is organized by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association.
Team Kuortane is a women's ice hockey team based in Kuortane, Finland. They compete in the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's hockey league in Finland. The team was founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2010 with the mission to develop the ice hockey skills of young women in Finland; approximately half of the roster of the national under-18 team is filled by players from Team Kuortane. It was called Team Oriflame Kuortane from 2010 to 2014.
HPK Kiekkonaiset is the representative women’s ice hockey team of the sports club HPK based in Hämeenlinna, Finland. They have competed in Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's hockey league in Finland, since the 2008-09 season. HPK was the first team to be awarded the Aurora Borealis Cup as the winner of the Women’s Finnish Championship in 2011.
Tampereen Ilves Naiset is the representative women's ice hockey team of the sports club Ilves ry based in Tampere, Finland. They play in the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland. Ilves is the only team in the Naisten Liiga to have iced a team every season since the establishment of the league in 1982. They have won the Finnish Championship ten times, the second most titles in league history.
Turun Palloseura Naiset or TPS Naiset is the representative women's ice hockey team of the hockey club HC TPS Oy, based in Turku, Finland. They were promoted to the Naisten Liiga (NSML), Finland’s premier women's ice hockey league, in the 2018–19 season. Prior to promotion, TPS played in the Naisten Mestis and Suomi-sarja leagues.
Oulun Kärpät Naiset is the representative women's ice hockey team of the sports club Oulun Kärpät 46, based in Oulu, Finland. They play in the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's hockey league in Finland, where they have competed since the 1994–95 season. Ilves has won the Finnish Championship three times, in 2012, 2017, and 2018.
The 2019–20 Naisten Liiga season was the thirty-seventh season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league’s establishment in 1982.