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".
HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors rf is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on the initiative of Georges Doubitsky and fellow students of the Svenska Reallyceum, the Swedish lyceum in Helsinki, it is the oldest continuously-operating Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna (IFK) organization in Finland. HIFK has sections in many sports, including athletics, bandy, bowling, football, ice hockey, and handball.
Jarkko Samuli Ruutu ; born August 23, 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks. He is currently serving as a European development coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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.
Toni Petteri Lydman is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He first played competitively in his native Finland with Tappara, and HIFK of the SM-liiga before enjoying a lengthy career in the National Hockey League with the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and the Anaheim Ducks.
Joseph Scott Finley is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played twenty-one games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders between 2011 and 2013. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2009 to 2018, was spent in the minor leagues and ended with three seasons with HIFK in the Finnish Liiga. Finley was selected by the Washington Capitals 27th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
Petteri Wirtanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey Forward currently playing with HC TPS in the Liiga. Wirtanen was selected 172nd overall in the 6th round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks.
Siim Liivik is an Estonian-Finnish professional ice hockey winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent.
HIFK is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland that plays in the Liiga, the sport's top-level league in Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall.
Mikael Antero Granlund is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played professionally in Finland with Oulun Kärpät and HIFK of the SM-liiga and the Minnesota Wild of the NHL. He was selected by the Wild as the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Teemu Eronen is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently a player for the Lahti Pelicans in the Finnish Liiga. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 7th round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Joonas Rask is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He played 2 games in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators during the 2012–13 season. He is the younger brother of former goaltender Tuukka Rask.
Lennart Petrell is a Finnish professional ice hockey player, currently playing for HIFK of the Finnish Liiga.
Yohann Auvitu is a French professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently a free agent.
Kari Markus Granlund is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward, who is currently playing with HC Lugano of the National League (NL). After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he elected to leave the KHL team Salavat Yulaev Ufa. He is a second-round selection of the Calgary Flames, taken 45th overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Granlund played two seasons in the SM-liiga for HIFK before moving to North America to join the Flames organization in 2013. His older brother Mikael plays in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Iiro Pakarinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for HIFK of Liiga. Pakarinen previously played in Liiga with KalPa, and has also played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Jokerit, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Barys Nur-Sultan, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers.
HIFK Fotboll or IFK Helsingfors, is an association football section of HIFK, a sports club based in Helsinki, Finland. The men's football team competes in the second tier of Finnish football, Ykkönen. Their home ground is the Bolt Arena.
The 2015–16 Liiga season was the 41st season of the Liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975.
Henrik Mikael Borgström is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He also played two seasons for the University of Denver in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Borgström was an all-American at Denver and led the Pioneers to the 2017 NCAA Championship. Borgström was selected 23rd overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers.
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.
