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 the head coach of TPS.
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".
Helsingin Jokerit are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga. Jokerit plays its home games at Helsinki Halli. The team was a part of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Western Conference from the 2014–15 season, making Finland the first Nordic country to have a team in the league.
Ilves is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena.
Tappara is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. They play at Tampere Deck Arena in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 14 Finnish league championships. The team continued the traditions of TBK, who won three national championships in a row in 1953, 1954 and 1955.
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.
Sami "Helge" Helenius is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played predominately in the SM-liiga and National Hockey League. He most recently was in a coaching role with Haukat of the Suomi-sarja.
Jukka Vilho Tapani Tammi, nicknamed "Taisto", is a retired Finnish ice hockey goaltender.
Martti Juhani Järventie is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 4th round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft and played one game in the National Hockey League for Montreal during the 2001–02 NHL season.
Kai Ilmari Nurminen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward, who last played with Herlev Hornets in the Danish Oddset Ligaen.
Robert Burakovsky is a Swedish professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach for the Malmö team in Sweden's U16 Elit league. Before turning to coaching, Burakovsky played 17 seasons of professional hockey, including 23 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators during the 1993–94 NHL season.
Mika Skyttä is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey player. Skyttä began his career as a junior player with Tappara, one of the major Finnish ice hockey organisations. He played in the Jr. A SM-Liiga, the highest standard of junior hockey in Finland and in his first season, helped Tappara into the post season with 7 points in 15 regular season games. His form improved when the post-season arrived, and Skytta managed 10 points in 14 playoff games.
The Lahti Pelicans are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Isku Arena. The team is co-owned by former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Pasi Nurminen and Formula One racecar driver Valtteri Bottas.
Jan-Mikael Järvinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the Malmö Redhawks in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
Arttu Ruotsalainen is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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. 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.
HIFK Naiset, also known by the nickname Stadin Gimmat, are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga. They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki, at the Pirkkola Ice Hall. As the representative women's ice hockey team of the Helsinki-based multi sport club HIFK, the team is closely affiliated with the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga.
Tampereen Ilves Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga, the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland. They are the representative women's team of the multi-sport club Ilves, based in Tampere, Pirkanmaa, and their home arena is the Tesoman jäähalli in Tampere's Tesoma district. They are the only team to have iced a team every season since the establishment of the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The team ranks second on the list of most Aurora Borealis Cup wins, with ten, and has claimed the most Finnish Championship medals in league history, with ten gold, twelve silver, and six bronze for 28 total medals.
Casper Santanen is a Norwegian-born Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman playing for Narvik Ishockey of the GET-ligaen.
Jenna Suokko is a Finnish ice hockey player, currently playing with the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).