Michelle Karvinen

Last updated

Michelle Karvinen
Born (1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 (age 35)
Rødovre, Denmark
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight 69 kg (152 lb; 10 st 12 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
PWHL team
Former teams		 Vancouver Goldeneyes
Frölunda HC
KRS Vanke Rays
Malmö Redhawks
Ladies Team Lugano
Luleå HF/MSSK
Espoo Blues
Rødovre Mighty Bulls
National teamFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
Playing career 2005–present
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Vancouver Ice hockey
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Pyeongchang Ice hockey
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Beijing Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Finland
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2009 Finland
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2011 Switzerland
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Sweden
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 United States
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2021 Canada
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 United States
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2025 Czechia

Michelle Karvinen (born 27 March 1990) is a Danish-Finnish ice hockey player for the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of the Finnish national team. [1] [2] [3] Karvinen has been described as "the world's best technical player" and she is considered one of the best currently active ice hockey forwards. [4] With the Finnish national team, she has won three Olympic bronze medals and six IIHF Women's World Championship medals, five bronze and one silver.

Contents

Karvinen is a two-time Danish Men's Under-20 Champion, two-time Naisten SM-sarja Champion, three-time Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) Champion, and was the 2020–21 Swiss Women's League Champion with HC Lugano. As of 2021, Karvinen ranks second for points recorded in a single SDHL season and is the seventh leading scorer in league history. Her SDHL career was played with Luleå HF/MSSK, and she is the team's all-time point and goal scorer.

Playing career

Early career

Raised in Rødovre, Denmark, Karvinen began playing with the minor ice hockey teams of Rødovre SIK, where she played on a line with future NHL ers Lars Eller and Mikkel Bødker. [5] As a teen, she played with both the club's top junior men's teams and its senior women's team. [6]

NCAA

She joined the North Dakota Fighting Sioux program in 2010–11. [7] During 15 and 16 October 2011, Karvinen notched five points, and earned a +5 plus/minus rating as North Dakota swept the Vermont Catamounts. In a 9–1 win on 15 October 2011, Karvinen scored two goals and set up another for a three-point performance. She assisted on Jocelyne Lamoureux's game-winning goal at 2:58 of the first period. The following day, she accumulated two more assists in a 4–1 victory. She assisted on the game-winning goal for the second consecutive game, as Monique Lamoureux scored at 15:11 of the second period. [8]

Karvinen played with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks through the 2013–14 season.

Professional

In 2015, she joined the newly formed club Luleå HF/MSSK of the Riksserien (renamed SDHL in 2016). [9] She scored 79 points in 36 games in her first Riksserien season, setting the single-season league scoring record, as Luleå won the Swedish Championship.

She only played 31 games in the 2016–17 SDHL season, scoring 70 points to finish as the league's top scorer for the second year in a row, 17 points ahead of runner-up Jenn Wakefield. She scored five goals in a December match against Djurgårdens IF. [10] She scored the game-winning goal in the 58th minute of the quarterfinals against Brynäs IF to send Luleå to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by HV71. [11]

Karvinen scored 64 points in 34 games in the 2017–18 SDHL season, leading the league in scoring for the third year in a row. She was named the SDHL Forward of the Year as Luleå won the SDHL championship for the second time in three years. [12] During the season, due to the additional needs of the 2018 Winter Olympics, she had left her job at a communications agency to focus on hockey full-time. [13]

In January 2019, she notched six points in a 14–0 victory over Göteborg HC. [14] The following week, she was suspended for four games after a hit to the head in a match against Djurgården. [15] She finished the 2018–19 season with 56 points in 26 games, finishing fourth in the league in scoring. Luleå lost the first two games of the best-of-five playoff finals series against Linköping HC and were facing knockout in overtime of game four when Karvinen scored the game-winning overtime goal to equalize the series and force a game five. [16] Luleå went on to win the decisive game, earning Karvinen her third SDHL championship title.

In May 2020, SVT Sport reported that Karvinen had reached a verbal agreement to leave Luleå and sign with the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays in the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL), in part due to the potentially full-time salary the club would be able to offer her and in part due to her desire to push her development further. [17] However, as the COVID-19 pandemic created obstacles that made the participation of the KRS Vanke Rays in the 2020–21 ZhHL season uncertain, Karvinen opted to sign with the less risky HC Lugano in Switzerland. [18]

She scored 23 points in the first six games of the 2020–21 SWHL A season, leading the league in scoring before the season was temporarily suspended due to players testing positive for COVID-19. [19] After play resumed, she tallied another 26 points in the remaining ten games of the season, finishing the season with more than 3 points per game and 12 points ahead of the next leading scorer. [20] In the eight games of the playoffs, she added another five goals and seven assists. Assisted by Noemi Ryhner and Nicole Bullo, Karvinen scored the gold winning goal in the 52nd minute of Game 4 to claim Swiss Championship victory for Lugano. [21]

Karvinen declared for the 2025 PWHL Draft and entered the draft as the most established draft-eligible player. [22] She was drafted seventh overall by the Vancouver Goldeneyes. [23] She was signed by Vancouver in October 2025, ahead of their inaugural season. [24]

International play

She was the only European selected to the All-Star Team at the 2009 World Championships. [25]

Karvinen scored the gold medal goal against Canadian goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer in the championship game of the 2017 Nations Cup. [26]

She scored 7 points in 7 games at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship, serving as an assistant captain and being named to the tournament all-star team as Finland won silver for the first time in the country's history.

On 2 January 2026, she was named to Finland's roster to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics. [27]

Personal life

Karvinen's father is Finnish, and her mother is Danish. She holds dual Finnish-Danish citizenship. [28] Her brother, Jannik Karvinen, played over 500 games for the Rødovre Mighty Bulls and made a handful of appearances for the Danish men's national team.

Karvinen holds a degree in graphic design and technology from the University of North Dakota. [7] She designed the logo for the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship, held in Finland, incorporating the silhouette of Finnish legend Riikka Sallinen. [29]

When asked about changing public perception of women's hockey in a 2018 interview, she stated, "We put down the same time and effort, and we need to be treated the same way. It's that simple." [30] She has called for women's professional players to be given living wages, stating that "We have to give 200% of ourselves – 100% at work and another 100% at hockey." [31]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

   Regular season   Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2004–05 Rødovre KvindeLigaen —————22024
2005–06RødovreKvindeLigaen82922512—————
2005–06Rødovre U20Denmark U202224260442
2006–07RødovreKvindeLigaen73112436—————
2006–07Rødovre U20Denmark U2022731012—————
2006–07 Rødovre SIK Division 1 50220—————
2007–08 Espoo Blues Naisten SM-sarja 173032621098101816
2008–09Espoo BluesNaisten SM-sarja2233488122688166
2009–10Rødovre SIKDivision 11468142—————
2009–10RødovreKvindeLigaen13299384—————
2009–10Rødovre U20Denmark U20117916823030
2010–11Rødovre SIKDivision 12038112122350
2010–11RødovreKvindeLigaen1343176010—————
2010–11Rødovre U20Denmark U201621214250002
2011–12 UND Fighting Hawks NCAA 3624376165—————
2012–13UND Fighting HawksNCAA2718294728—————
2013–14UND Fighting HawksNCAA241492320—————
2015–16 Luleå HF/MSSK Riksserien 363742792674484
2016–17 Luleå HF/MSSK SDHL 313040702044264
2017–18 Luleå HF/MSSKSDHL34303868267510152
2018–19 Luleå HF/MSSKSDHL2625315624115131820
2019–20 Luleå HF/MSSKSDHL2519224114648126
2020–21 HC Lugano SWHL A 1627224920857128
2020–21 KRS Vanke Rays ZhHL –––––33034
2021–22 Malmö Redhawks (L) Damettan 1026214718–––––
2021–22 KRS Vanke RaysZhHL10671312756116
Naisten SM-sarja totals396380143321516183422
Denmark U20 totals5118264424133474
KvindeLigaen totals41132601922222024
Denmark Division 1 totals39918274122350—
SDHL totals1521411733141103522375936

International

YearTeamEventResult GPGAPtsPIM
2009 Finland WC Bronze medal icon.svg55276
2010 Finland OG Bronze medal icon.svg51234
2011 FinlandWCBronze medal icon.svg64488
2012 FinlandWC4th60554
2013 FinlandWC4th63144
2014 FinlandOG5th65274
2015 FinlandWCBronze medal icon.svg42462
2016 FinlandWC4th64152
2017 FinlandWCBronze medal icon.svg61458
2018 FinlandOGBronze medal icon.svg63362
2019 FinlandWCSilver medal icon.svg73472
2021 FinlandWCBronze medal icon.svg70660
2022 FinlandOGBronze medal icon.svg73472
2022 FinlandWC6th70330
2025 FinlandWCBronze medal icon.svg72022
World Championship totals6724345838
Olympic totals2412112312

Sources: [32] [33] [34] [35] [36]

Awards and honors

AwardYear(s) or Season(s)ref
International
World Championship Bronze Medal 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2025 [37]
World Championship All-Star2009, 2011, 2019
Olympic Bronze Medal 2010, 2018, 2022
Olympic Best Forward 2014
World Championship Silver Medal2019
Swiss Women's League
Swiss Champion2020–21
Most Valuable Player2020–21
Best Forward2020–21
Most Points2020–21
Most Goals2020–21
SDHL & Riksserien
Swedish Champion2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19
Playoff MVP2015–16
Forward of the Year2017–18
Most Points2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
Danish Division 1
Division 1 Champion2010–11
Denmark Men's U20
Danish Junior Champion2009–10, 2010–11
Naisten SM-sarja
Finnish Champion 2007–08, 2008–09
All-Star Team 2007–08, 2008–09
Player of the Year 2008–09
Best Forward 2008–09
Most Points 2008–09
Most Goals 2008–09
College
WCHA Rookie of the Year2011–12 [38]
WCHA All-Rookie Team2011–12
All-WCHA Third Team2011–12
All-WCHA Second Team 2012–13
All-WCHA First Team2013–14

References

  1. ↑ "Frölunda vann historiskt SM-Guld inför rekordpublik at". Svenska damhockeyligan. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  2. ↑ Murphy, Mike (23 August 2020). "Michelle Karvinen signs with HC Lugano". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Michelle Karvinen - Olympic Hockey Teams & Athletes". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  4. ↑ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (20 January 2017). "De är världens bästa damspelare: "En Erik Karlsson-kopia"". HockeySverige. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Nyström, Magnus (3 February 2019). ""Va? Har ni en tjej med i laget?"". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (28 May 2019). "Världsstjärnan: "Fakta är att vi helt enkelt har bättre förutsättningar"". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  7. 1 2 Koenen, Derek (23 April 2010). "Sioux add three to 2010–11 roster". University of North Dakota Athletics. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Full Slate of Conference Games Set for Oct. 20–22 ... MSU at UM, SCSU at BSU, UW at UMD, League-Leading OSU at UND". Western Collegiate Hockey Association . 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  9. ↑ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (21 September 2015). "Storstjärnan gör Luleå till sitt nya hem: "Förutsättningarna här är fantastiska"". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  10. ↑ Pettersson, Robert (15 December 2016). "15-åringen höll nollan i SDHL-debuten – landslagsstjärnan sköt fem mål". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Högsander, Anton (4 March 2017). "Luleå klara för semifinal – skyttedrottningen frälste laget i slutminuten". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Skoglund, Henrik (1 April 2018). "De var bäst 2017/2018". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (1 September 2017). "En finsk superstjärna som tagit över showen i Sverige: "Vet att det finns förväntningar på mig"". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  14. ↑ Olausson, Robin (18 January 2019). "Sex poäng av storstjärnan i Luleås megakross". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  15. ↑ Olausson, Robin (25 January 2019). "Luleås superstjärna stängs av efter huvudtacklingen". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  16. ↑ Foster, Meredith (23 March 2019). "Back to Back: Luleå Hockey/MSSK wins SDHL gold". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  17. ↑ Umicevic, Dusan (19 May 2020). "Karvinen överens med storsatsande klubb i Kina". SVT Sport (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  18. ↑ Murphy, Mike (23 August 2020). "Michelle Karvinen signs with HC Lugano". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  19. ↑ Anki Karhu, Ann-Christine (27 October 2020). "Landslagsforwarden Michelle Karvinen om sitt besvärliga läge: "Ingen vet vad som händer med ligan"". Yle (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "Lugano's Michelle Karvinen elected as MVP of the Women's League". Swiss Hockey News. 27 February 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  21. ↑ Hyyppä, Emma (29 March 2021). "Naisleijonien tähtihyökkääjä Michelle Karvinen juhlii Sveitsin mestaruutta – loistokauden huipensi ratkaisuosuma finaalissa". Yle (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  22. ↑ "Getting drafted into the PWHL is an exciting opportunity for European star Michelle Karvinen". www.thepwhl.com. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  23. ↑ "2025 PWHL Draft". www.thepwhl.com. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  24. ↑ "PWHL Vancouver signs four-time Olympian, first-round draft pick Michelle Karvinen". The Canadian Press. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  25. ↑ "2012-13 Women's Ice Hockey Roster: 3 Michelle Karvinen". University of North Dakota Athletics. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  26. ↑ "Canada's National Women's Development Team Claims Silver at Nations Cup". Hockey Canada . 7 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  27. ↑ "Naisleijonien olympiajoukkue valittu – Lehterä: "Meillä on mahdollisuus tehdä jotain erityistä"". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). 2 January 2026. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  28. ↑ Michelle Karvinen haastaa miehet Tanskan pääsarjassa (in Finnish) Ilta-Sanomat.
  29. ↑ Aykroyd, Lucas (1 April 2019). "Finland's Michelle Karvinen doing double duty at hockey worlds". ESPN . Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  30. ↑ Foster, Meredith (30 March 2018). "Q & A With Michelle Karvinen". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  31. ↑ Lundin, Thomas (16 August 2018). "Ishockeyspelaren Michelle Karvinen: Ge oss ens en lön det går att leva på!". Yle (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  32. ↑ "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 4 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  33. ↑ "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 8 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  34. ↑ "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 11 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  35. ↑ "Women's Play-offs Semifinals - Game 17 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  36. ↑ "Women's Bronze Medal Game - Game 19 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  37. ↑ Podnieks, Andrew; Nordmark, Birger, eds. (2019). IIHF Guide & Record Book 2020. Toronto: Moydart. p. 651. ISBN   978-0-9867964-7-0.
  38. ↑ Bell, Todd; Thibodeau, Dean; Horvat, Jane (2020). "2020-21 WCHA Media Guide & Record Book" (PDF). Western Collegiate Hockey Association . Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
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