Saku Antero Koivu is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1995–96 after three seasons with TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga. Koivu served as the Canadiens' captain for ten of his 14 years with the club, making his captaincy tenure the longest in the team's history, tied with Jean Béliveau. Koivu was the first European player to captain the Canadiens. He also served as captain of the Finnish national men's ice hockey team from 1998 to 2010, and was inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame in 2017.
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 was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2012.
Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff, nicknamed "Kipper", is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames between 2000 and 2013. He was selected in the fifth round, 116th overall, by the Sharks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, and has also played professionally for TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga, as well as for both AIK IF and Timrå IK of the Swedish Elitserien.
TPS or Turun Palloseura is an ice hockey team and 10-time champion of SM-liiga and 1-time champion of SM-sarja. They play in Turku, Finland, at Gatorade Center. In terms of championships, TPS is the second all-time most successful team in SM-Liiga, right behind Tappara.
Jyrki Olavi Lumme is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and SM-liiga. After beginning his career in Finland, playing with Ilves Tampere for three seasons, he moved to North America to join the Montreal Canadiens in 1988. The Canadiens had selected Lumme two years prior in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft 57th overall. In his second NHL season, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he spent the majority of his career and enjoyed the most success. Over nine seasons with the Canucks, Lumme was named the club's annual top defenceman on four occasions, became the team's all-time top goal- and point-scoring defenceman, and was a part of the squad's run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Towards the end of his NHL career, he additionally played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs over the span of five seasons. In 2005, Lumme returned to Ilves Tampere of the SM-liiga after a two-year playing hiatus. He played two final campaigns in Finland before retiring, at which point he became a part-owner of Ilves Tampere.
Reijo Ruotsalainen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was twice named Finland's top defenceman, and won two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers in 1987 and 1990.
Jeffrey Craig Halpern is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Washington Capitals twice, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Phoenix Coyotes. In 14 NHL seasons, he had 152 goals and 221 assists in 976 regular-season games. He also had seven goals and 14 points in 39 Stanley Cup playoff games. He was also captain of the United States national team for the 2008 World Championships.
Ville Sakari Peltonen is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey forward. Peltonen was drafted by the San Jose Sharks as their third round pick, 58th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. During his professional career, he has played 382 NHL games for Sharks, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers. Internationally, he represented the Finland men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2016.
Timo Petteri Nummelin is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets as their fifth-round pick, #133 overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Internationally, he played for the Finland men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2024.
Mikko-Sakari Koivu is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. Koivu was drafted sixth overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild. After four seasons with TPS in the SM-liiga, Koivu joined the Wild in 2005. He spent fifteen seasons in Minnesota, including eleven as captain, accumulating several franchise records, including games played, assists and points scored. Koivu retired in 2021, after a short stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Petteri Antti Nokelainen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played over 200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He concluded his professional career in returning to his original club, SaiPa of the Finnish Liiga.
Martti Juhani Järventie is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was selected in the fourth round, 109th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft and played one game for the Canadiens during the 2001–02 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1994 to 2016, was mainly spent in the Finnish SM-liiga.
Tomi Kristian Kallio is a Finnish former professional ice hockey right winger who last played for HC TPS in the Finnish Liiga. After retiring from TPS in 2018, Kallio remained with the team and assumed the role of director of European scouting.
Marko Anttila is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for Oulun Kärpät in the Finnish Liiga. Anttila was selected by Chicago Blackhawks in the 9th round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. His nickname among his teammates is "Stretch", which was given to him by Steve Kariya due to his large physical stature, but among the Finnish fans, he is more commonly known as "Mörkö".
Hannu Markus Virta is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He was named the best defenceman in the Finnish Elite League (SM-liiga) four times, and was a five-time all-star. He also won the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy as rookie of the year in 1981–82.
Markus Jari Ketterer is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga and also the Swedish Elitserien as a goaltender. He played for Jokerit, TPS as Färjestads BK, the latter of which won the Swedish national championship during the season of 1996–1997. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.
Ilkka Mikkola is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who most notably played for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga.
Joni Ortio is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who plays for HC Ässät Pori of the Finnish Elite League. He has previously played for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a sixth-round selection of the Flames, 171st overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Before the NHL he played for TPS and HIFK Helsinki in the SM-liiga. Internationally, Ortio has represented Finland, Bosnia and Croatia on four occasions. He was a member of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships and played in the 2013 World Championship
Otto Leskinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for Tappara of the Liiga. Leskinen has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) as well as the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Juraj Slafkovský is a Slovak professional ice hockey forward for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall in the 2022 NHL entry draft by the Canadiens, the highest-drafted Slovak player in the history of the NHL.
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