Mestis

Last updated

Mestis
Current season, competition or edition:
Hockey current event.svg 2023–24 Mestis season
Mestis badge.png
Formerly I-Divisioona
Sport Ice hockey
Founded2000;24 years ago (2000)
Founder Finnish Ice Hockey Association
First season 2000–01
MottoSuomen viihdyttävintä lätkää (Finland’s most entertaining hockey)
No. of teams13
CountryFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
Most recent
champion(s)		 IPK
(2023–24)
Most titles Jukurit (7)
TV partner(s) C More
Level on pyramid Level 2
Promotion to SM-liiga (closed until 2025)
Relegation to Suomi-sarja
Domestic cup(s) Finnish Cup
Related
competitions		 SM-liiga, Suomi-sarja
Official website Mestis.fi

Mestis (from Finnish : Mestaruussarja, meaning 'Championship series', stylized as MEST1S) is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division').

Contents

Mestis is the highest league that can be reached through playing merits alone. Being promoted to SM-liiga is only possible if a team's Liiga license application is accepted. Mestis, however, is an open league where relegation and promotion are possible with the 3rd league, Suomi-sarja.

Mestis is also the highest league governed by the FIHA.

History

In the years 2000–2008, it was not practically possible for Mestis teams to get promoted to the SM-liiga, which was closed in 2000, but it was possible to drop down to the Suomi-sarja instead. However, KalPa was promoted to the SM-liiga in the spring of 2005, when the number of teams in the league was increased from 13 to 14 teams. For the 2008–2009 season, the SM-liiga qualifiers were brought back for a few seasons, but in the 2013–2014 season, the qualifiers were removed again. After the elimination of the qualifiers, Sport, KooKoo and Jukurit have been promoted to the SM-liiga through the license system. [1]

Mestis got a new team, HK Zemgale/LLU, from Latvia for the 2022–23 season. [1] HK Zemgale had never played in a Finnish league before and was added to Mestis to bring more entertainment and internationalization to Finnish ice hockey. [2]

According to Mestis themselves, they are talking with other international clubs about joining the Mestis league. [2] [3]

Clubs

Finland adm location map.svg
Blue pog.svg
FPS
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
IPK
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
Blue pog.svg
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class=notpageimage|
Finnish teams in Mestis
TeamCityHome arena, capacityFoundedHead coach
KOOVEE Tampere.vaakuna.svg Tampere Tampere Ice Stadium, 7,3001929 Flag of Finland.svg Miikka Kuusela
Hermes Kokkola.vaakuna.svg Kokkola Kokkolan jäähalli, 4,2001953 Flag of Finland.svg Tuukka Poikonen
Hokki Kajaani.vaakuna.svg Kajaani Kajaanin jäähalli, 2,3721968 Flag of Finland.svg Antti Halonen
IPK Iisalmi.vaakuna.svg Iisalmi Kankaan jäähalli, -1966 Flag of Finland.svg Marko Tuomainen
Jokerit Helsinki.vaakuna.svg Helsinki Keravan jäähalli, 2,000

Helsinki Ice Hall, 8,200

1967 Flag of Finland.svg Tero Määttä
JoKP Joensuu.vaakuna.svg Joensuu Mehtimäki Ice Hall, 4,8001953 Flag of Finland.svg Simo Karjalainen
Ketterä Imatra.vaakuna.svg Imatra Imatra Spa Areena, 1,3001957 Flag of Finland.svg Kari Martikainen
Kiekko-Espoo Espoo.vaakuna.svg Espoo Espoo Metro Areena, 6,9822018 Flag of Finland.svg Tomas Westerlund
Kiekko-Vantaa Vantaa.vaakuna.svg Vantaa Trio Areena, 3,7001994 Flag of Finland.svg Jani Manninen
KeuPa HT Keuruu.vaakuna.svg Keuruu Keuruun Jäähalli, 1,1001995 Flag of Finland.svg Niko Raiskio
FPS Forssan vaakuna.svg Forssa Forssa Ice Hall, 3,0001931 Flag of Finland.svg Asko Rantanen
RoKi Rovaniemi.vaakuna.svg Rovaniemi Lappi Areena, 3,5001979 Flag of Finland.svg Sakari Salmela
TUTO Hockey Turku.vaakuna.svg Turku Rajupaja Areena, 3,0001929 Flag of Finland.svg Jonne Virtanen

Past participants

Mestis timeline

2000–012001–022002–032003–042004–052005–062006–072007–082008–092009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–192019–202020–212021–222022–232023-24
K-Vantaa
TuTo TUTO Hockey
Jukurit
KooKoo
Sport
FPS
Hermes
Haukat
Ahmat
UJK
Diskos D Team JYP-Akatemia
Jokipojat JoKP
KalPa
Hokki Hokki
HCK Salamat
HeKi Peliitat
SaPKo
KOOVEE
LeKi
Titaanit
RoKi
K-Laser
HCK
KeuPa HT
IPK
Espoo United
Ketterä
K-Espoo
HK Zemgale
Jokerit

Winners

YearChampionSilverBronzeRegular Season
Winner
2001 JukuritTuToHermesTuTo
2002 JukuritKooKooKalPaJukurit
2003 JukuritK-VantaaKooKooJukurit
2004 KalPaJukuritHermesJukurit
2005 KalPaSportTuToKalPa
2006 JukuritSportTuToJukurit
2007 HokkiJukuritSportSport
2008 TuToHokkiJukuritTuTo
2009 SportJokipojatHokkiJokipojat
2010 JokipojatD-TeamKooKooKooKoo
2011 SportJukuritD-TeamJukurit
2012 SportJokipojatKooKooJukurit
2013 JukuritKooKooTUTO HockeyJukurit
2014 KooKooJukuritTUTO HockeyTUTO Hockey
2015 JukuritKooKooHokkiJukurit
2016 JukuritHokkiJokipojatJukurit
2017 SaPKoK-VantaaEspoo-UnitedSaPKo
2018 KeuPa HTTUTO HockeySaPKoKeuPa HT
2019 KetteräKeuPa HTTUTO HockeyHermes
2020 Season did not finish due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No medals were awarded.Ketterä
2021 KetteräHermesIPKKiekko-Espoo
2022 KetteräKiekko-EspooRoKiKetterä
2023 Kiekko-EspooKetteräRoKiKiekko-Espoo
2024 IPKKetteräKiekko-EspooIPK

Medaltable:

teamGoldSilverBronze
Jukurit741
Sport321
Ketterä320
KalPa201
KooKoo133
TUTO Hockey125
Hokki122
Jokipojat121
K-Espoo111
KeuPa HT110
IPK101
SaPKo101
K-Vantaa020
Hermes012
JYP-Akatemia011
RoKi002
Espoo United001

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liiga</span> Ice hockey league in Finland

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jokerit</span> Professional ice hockey club based in Helsinki, Finland

Helsingin Jokerit is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, which competes in Mestis. For the 2023–24 season, Jokerit plays its home games at the Keravan jäähalli in Kerava and at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiekko-Espoo Naiset</span> Naisten Liiga ice hockey club in Espoo, Finland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peliitat Heinola</span> Ice hockey club based in Heinola, Finland

Heinolan Peliitat is an ice hockey club based in Heinola, Finland. The club is made up of 11 teams with the top team playing in the 2. Divisioona, the 4th tier of ice hockey in Finland. They play their home games in the Versowood Areena, which has a capacity of 2,975. The club is affiliated with the Liiga side Lahti Pelicans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KooKoo (ice hockey club)</span> Ice hockey team in Kouvola

KooKoo is a Finnish ice hockey team playing in the first level of Finnish ice hockey league Liiga. KooKoo plays in the Lumon arena, in Kouvola. The team was established in 1965 and the previous name of the club is Kouvolan Kiekko-65.

The 2005–06 Mestis season was the sixth season of the Mestis, the second level of ice hockey in Finland. 11 teams participated in the league, and Jukurit won the championship. The season was played with only 11 teams because KalPa got promoted to SM-liiga at the end of last season.

The 2013–14 Mestis season was the 14th season of the Mestis, the second level of ice hockey in Finland. 12 teams participated in the league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U20 SM-sarja</span> Junior ice hockey league in Finland

The U20 SM-sarja is the premier junior men’s ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten SM-liiga during 1991 to 2020. The league was founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 1945 and a Finnish Champion in men’s under-20 ice hockey has been named annually since the league’s inaugural season – with the exception of the 2019–20 season, in which the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighteen to twenty teams compete in the U20 SM-sarja regular season, which is played in a preliminary ranking stage followed by a divisional or group stage.

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The 2018–19 SM-liiga season was the 44th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975.

The 2018–19 Mestis season is the 19th season of Mestis, the second highest level of ice hockey in Finland after Liiga. KOOVEE was promoted from Suomi-sarja due to Espoo United declaring bankruptcy at the end of last season.

The 2019–20 SM-liiga season was the 45th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975. The last two game days of the regular season were scheduled to be played in front of an empty arena due to the Finnish government advising that all public events with more than 500 attendees would be cancelled or postponed. On 13 March, the rest of the season, which included the final round of the regular season and all of playoffs, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey in Finland</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naisten Liiga (ice hockey)</span> Finnish womens ice hockey league

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naisten Mestis</span> Finnish second-tier ice hockey league

Naisten Mestis is the second-highest women's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was founded as Naisten I-divisioona in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, when the number of teams playing in the Naisten SM-sarja was limited. It was renamed Naisten Mestis prior to the 2012–13 season.

The 2021–22 Naisten Liiga season was the thirty-ninth season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league's establishment as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The season began on 11 September 2021 and concluded on 20 March 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiekko-Espoo</span> Ice hockey team in Espoo, Finland

Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish professional ice hockey club founded in 2018 as a continuation of the Kiekko-Espoo team originally founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Liiga, where they got promoted for the 2024–25 season, and the women's team plays in the Naisten Liiga. Kiekko-Espoo's junior teams play at national league levels in U16, U18 and U20 juniors. The junior teams of Espoo Blues and Kiekko-Espoo played under Kiekko-Espoo Juniorit ry until 2014. Kiekko-Espoo will participate in the SM-liiga for the 2024–25 season.

The Naisten Suomi-sarja, distinguished as the Jääkiekon naisten Suomi-sarja, is the third-tier women's ice hockey league in Finland. It was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2003 and is the lowest tier of national ice hockey competition, below the premier Naisten Liiga and secondary Naisten Mestis, but above regional leagues.

The 2023–24 Mestis season was the 24th season of Mestis, the second level of ice hockey in Finland. 13 teams participated in the league. This season marked the return of Jokerit to Finnish hockey after 10 years in the KHL.

The 2022–23 Mestis season was the 23rd season of Mestis, the second highest level of ice hockey in Finland after Liiga. This season there was 14 teams when the Latvian team HK Zemgale/LLU joined Mestis.

References

  1. 1 2 "Jääkiekko | Jääkiekon Mestis levittäytyi jo Latviaan, mutta kustannusten kasvu hirvittää seuroja: "Se huolestuttaa"". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 22 September 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Latvian mestari HK Zemgale pelaa ensi kaudella Mestistä". mestis.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Mestis laajenee ulkomaille: latvialainen seura liittyy sarjaan". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 12 August 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Hirmujälkeä tehneestä joukkueesta tuli hetkessä SM-liigan 2000-luvun naurunaihe – hekuma vaihtui helvetilliseksi taipaleeksi: "Ei se ollut herkkua kenellekään"". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 11 December 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Lempinen, Marko (11 April 2014). "Tässä on liiganousija Sportin ensi kauden joukkue – pelaajabudjetti kasvaa dramaattisesti". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "MTV: Mikkelin Jukurit nousee SM-liigaan!". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Pärnänen, Antti (30 September 2014). "Nyt se on varmaa: SM-liiga laajenee ja KooKoo nousee". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Zeltiņš: "Zemgale/LBTU" budžets būtiski mazāks nebūs - Hokeja ziņas" (in Latvian). 19 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "Mestiksen otteluohjelma kaudelle 2023–24 julkaistu – Kiekko-Espoo ja Jokerit kohtaavat avausottelussa". mestis.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Käräjäoikeus asetti Peliitat konkurssiin". Itä-Häme (in Finnish). 10 May 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
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