U20 SM-sarja

Last updated

U20 SM-sarja
U20 SM-sarja 2020.svg
FormerlyNuorten SM-liiga
Sport Ice hockey
Founded1945 (1945)
Founder Finnish Ice Hockey Association
No. of teams18
CountryFinland
Most recent
champion(s)		 Ässät U20
(2023–24)
Most titles Tampereen Ilves U20 (22)
TV partner(s) Ruutu
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toU20 Mestis
Related
competitions		 Liiga
Official website U20 SM-sarja

The U20 SM-sarja ('Under-20 Finnish Championship Series') is the premier junior men's ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja ('Junior A Finnish Championship Series') during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten SM-liiga ('Junior Finnish Championship League') 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.

Contents

Teams

Each team in the U20 SM-sarja is the junior development squad of a professional ice hockey club and shares the club's name. Most of the senior clubs of U20 teams play in the Liiga, the premier men's ice hockey league in Finland. Notable exceptions include Jokerit, Kiekko-Espoo, Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi), and TUTO Hockey, all of which play in the second-tier Mestis.

In conversation, the league and participating teams are referred to as U20, A-nuorten/A-nuoret, or U20-nuorten/U20-nuoret interchangeably – the terms originate in various naming structures used by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association over the history of the league.

2020–21 season

Note: Oy is an abbreviation of osakeyhtiö , a type of limited company in Finland; Ab is the abbreviation of aktiebolag , the Swedish term for an osakeyhtiö. The abbreviations ry and rf refer respectively to the Finnish and Swedish terms for a registered non-profit organization in Finland (Finnish : rekisteröity yhdistys; Swedish : registrerad förening).

Team nameClub's registered nameLocation
HPK U20 HPK Liiga Oy Hameenlinna.vaakuna.svg Hämeenlinna
Ilves U20 Ilves Hockey Oy Tampere.vaakuna.svg Tampere
Jokerit U20 Jokerit Hockey Club Oy Helsinki.vaakuna.svg Helsinki
Jukurit U20 Jukurit HC Oy Mikkeli.vaakuna.svg Mikkeli
JYP U20 JYP Jyväskylä Oy Jyvaskyla.vaakuna.svg Jyväskylä
KalPa U20 KalPa Hockey Oy Kuopio.vaakuna.svg Kuopio
Kiekko-Espoo U20 Kiekko-Espoo ry Espoo.vaakuna.svg Espoo
HIFK U20 orKollitHIFK Ishockey rf Helsinki.vaakuna.svg Helsinki
KooKoo U20 KooKoo Hockey Oy Kouvola.vaakuna.2009.svg Kouvola
Kärpät U20 Oulun Kärpät Oy Oulu.vaakuna.svg Oulu
Lukko U20 Rauman Lukko Oy Rauma.vaakuna.svg Rauma
Pelicans U20 Lahden Pelicans Oy Lahti.vaakuna.svg Lahti
RoKi U20 Rovaniemen Kiekko ry Rovaniemi.vaakuna.svg Rovaniemi
SaiPa U20 Liiga-Saipa Oy Lappeenranta.vaakuna.svg Lappeenranta
Sport U20 Hockey-Team Vaasan Sport Oy Vaasa.vaakuna.svg Vaasa
Tappara U20 Tamhockey Oy Tampere.vaakuna.svg Tampere
TPS U20 HC TPS Turku Oy Turku.vaakuna.svg Turku
TUTO Hockey U20 TuTo Hockey Oy Turku.vaakuna.svg Turku
Ässät U20 HC Ässät Pori Oy Porin vaakuna.svg Pori

Source: [1]

Renamed, still in U20 SM-sarja

Former clubs

At present, this list includes only those former clubs which won a Finnish Championship medal while playing in the U20 SM-sarja. [1]

Bold indicates U20 ice hockey team currently active and playing in the U20 Mestis.

Champions by year

The Legacy Bowl is the men's under-20 Finnish Championship trophy. It was donated by members of the Finnish-Canadian community in 2013. Legacy Bowl.jpg
The Legacy Bowl is the men's under-20 Finnish Championship trophy. It was donated by members of the Finnish-Canadian community in 2013.
Ilves vs JYP Junior A match in 2008 Ilves vs JYP Junior A 2008.jpg
Ilves vs JYP Junior A match in 2008
YearGold medal icon.svg ChampionsSilver medal icon.svg Runners-upBronze medal icon.svg Third Place
1945IlvesK-Kissat–
1946IlvesÅIFK–
1947IlvesHJK–
1948IlvesTarmoHJK
1949IlvesTBKHJK
1950K-KissatÅIFKIlves
1951TBKK-Kissat–
1952IlvesTBK–
1953IlvesLukkoHJK
1954TBKK-KissatIlves
1955KuPSIlvesTBK
1956TapparaTKTKTP
1957TapparaHermesPPT
1958LukkoTapparaTarmo
1959TapparaTK-VKalPa
1960IlvesTK-VTarmo
1961IlvesTapparaMikkelin Palloilijat
1962TapparaIlvesLaKi
1963TapparaIlvesLaKi
1964TarmoTuToSaiPa
1965TapparaSaiPaHPK / TPV
1966IlvesSaiPaRauman Hokki / Töölön Vesa
1967IlvesSaPKoHIFK / Karhut
1968TapparaTPSSaiPa
1969TPSTapparaReipas
1970SaiPaIlvesTappara
1971KOOVEEÄssätTappara
1972TapparaJokeritIlves
1973TapparaIlvesÄssät
1974IlvesReipasSaiPa
1975TapparaKOOVEEIlves
1976IlvesKOOVEEÄssät
1977IlvesTPSKärpät
1978IlvesKärpätTPS
1979KärpätTapparaTPS
1980ÄssätJokeritTPS
1981IlvesTapparaKärpät
1982IlvesHIFKTappara
1983HIFKIlvesTPS
1984HIFKIlvesTPS
1985KärpätHIFKTPS
1986TapparaIlvesHIFK
1987HIFKTapparaKärpät
1988JokeritTapparaKärpät
1989K-EspooTapparaHIFK
1990K-EspooTapparaHIFK
1991IlvesHIFKJyP HT
1992TPSIlvesÄssät
1993IlvesTPSÄssät
1994IlvesTPSJyP HT
1995JyP HTIlvesK-Espoo
1996JokeritKalPaK-Espoo
1997JyP HTHPKÄssät
1998TPSJokeritTappara
1999JokeritIlvesTPS
2000JokeritTPSLukko
2001TapparaHIFKJYP
2002SaiPaTPSHIFK
2003HIFKJokeritBlues
2004TapparaJYPHIFK
2005IlvesTPSJYP
2006JYPKärpätBlues
2007PelicansBluesHIFK
2008KalPaÄssätJYP
2009BluesTPSLukko
2010KärpätHIFKIlves
2011JYPBluesIlves
2012HIFKJokeritHPK
2013HPKBluesLukko
2014BluesKärpätÄssät
2015TPSHPKBlues
2016IlvesBluesKalPa
2017HPKÄssätLukko
2018KalPaKärpätHIFK
2019KärpätBluesSport
2020Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021LukkoKärpätTappara / TPS
2022LukkoKalPaTPS
2023TapparaJokeritTPS
2024ÄssätTPSTappara

Source: [1]

Awards

In 2010, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association standardized the award categories across the top leagues in each competition class under its administration: the Mestis, the Naisten Liiga, the U20 SM-sarja, the U18 SM-sarja (B-nuorten SM-sarja), and the U16 SM-sarja (C-nuorten SM-sarja). New trophies were created for award categories not previously used by a league and existing awards were renamed after iconic players in Finnish ice hockey. [3]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Jääkiekkon SM-liiga Oy (2020). Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2021: Suomen Jääkiekkoliiton ja Liiga Kausijulkaisu 2020–2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. pp. 215–217, 231. ISSN   0784-3321 . Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  2. ↑ Mennander, Pasi (29 March 2013). "Tällainen on Legacy Bowl, Nuorten SM-liigan uusi palkintopokaali". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "Jääkiekkoliitto uudisti palkinnot: Pokaaleihin nimet Selänne, Koivu, Räty, Javanainen..." MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 14 November 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
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