The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league had an average of 6,949 spectators per game which is the highest among European leagues. The capital city's club SC Bern has been ranked first of all European clubs for 18 seasons and had an average attendance of 16,290 after the regular season. The ZSC Lions are another club in the top ten of European ice hockey attendance, ranking seventh with 9,694 spectators.
The Kalevi Numminen trophy is an ice hockey award given by the Finnish Liiga to the best coach of the season. In 2019 it was awarded to Antti Pennanen of HPK.
Leo Gudas is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman.
Petri Kalevi Skriko is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player, best remembered for his seasons starring in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980s. He is currently the Head Coach of the Estonia men's national ice hockey team having previously been a scout for the Florida Panthers.
Marko Kristian Kiprusoff is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently an assistant junior coach in Finnish hockey club TPS.
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.
EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 years. EHC Kloten won four consecutive Swiss championships from 1993 to 1996. They had never been relegated until the 2017–18 season. They returned to the NL following the 2021-22 season.
Veli-Pekka Ketola is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 15 seasons in the top flight of ice hockey in Finland, 10 of which were with the Porin Ässät. Ketola retired from professional ice hockey in 1982 after his National Hockey League (NHL) debut season with the Colorado Rockies. Ketola also represented the World Hockey Association (WHA) teams Winnipeg Jets and the Calgary Cowboys.
Toni Kristian Söderholm is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a retired ice hockey defenceman. He is the head coach of the German men's national team.
Perttu Lindgren is a Finnish former professional ice hockey center who briefly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars.
Jorma Juhani Valtonen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the SM-liiga. He played on the Finland men's national ice hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics, and was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, and into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999. He later coached the Finland women's national ice hockey team, and was a goaltending coach in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Kimmo Rintanen is a former professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga before getting transferred to Swiss Elite League Team Kloten Flyers, where he played from the 2001-02 season until 2010-11, before his final season at HC Lugano in 2011-12. Before his international career, he played for Lukko, TPS, and Jokerit in Finland. He also won a bronze medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Rintanen has played 155 matches for the National team of Finland and has scored 35 goals. Starting in 2015 he has been an assistant coach for TPS in Finland.
Chad Anthony Jerome Rau is an American professional ice hockey forward who last played for Glasgow Clan in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League. Rau previously played for HC Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and Minnesota Wild. He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 7th round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
Patrick Bjorkstrand is a Danish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Aalborg Pirates of the Metal Ligaen (DEN). He formerly played with the Ontario Reign of the AHL while under contract to the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Karri Kivi is a Finnish former ice hockey player and current coach of HC Nové Zámky of Tipos Extraliga.
Heikki Leime is a Finnish professional ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey player. He served as head coach of Swiss team EHC Olten until March 12, 2016.
The 2017–18 National League season is the 80th season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the first season as the National League (NL). The change from National League A to National League was made at the end of the 2016–17 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.
Daniel Audette is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for EHC Kloten in the National League (NL). He was selected in the fifth round, 147th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
eLiiga was a Finnish esports league that was played in the NHL video game series. The teams competing in the tournament were real ice hockey teams that play in the Liiga, the top-tier league of Finland. The league was hosted by Liiga and Telia. Only the top-eight teams could make it into the playoffs. The playoffs were played in a best-of-three series, but the final was played in a best-of-five series.
Finland