SaiPa

Last updated
SaiPa
Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa) logo.svg
City Lappeenranta, Finland
League Liiga
Founded1948 (1948)
Home arena Kisapuisto
(capacity: 4,820)
ColoursYellow, black
  
General manager Jussi Markkanen
Head coach Raimo Helminen
Captain Ville Petman
Affiliate Imatran Ketterä (Mestis)
Website saipa.fi
SaiPa uudet peliasut.png

Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa) is an ice hockey team in the Finnish Liiga. They play their home games at Kisapuisto in Lappeenranta, Finland. SaiPa has many nicknames, such as "The Sputniks", "Sputnik", "Miracle of the East" and "Eastern Giant."

Contents

SaiPa play home games in the yellow shirt, black pants, yellow socks, and a black helmet. SaiPa play away games in mostly the same uniform as the home games, but also have a black version of the jersey.

History

The team's best achievement is silver in the 2024–25 Liiga season. Previous best result was from the 1965–1966 season, when they won bronze medals for placing third. SaiPa also played in a bronze medal game in the 1998–1999 and 2013–14 seasons, but lost the games to HPK (7–2) and Lukko (3–2).

SaiPa has participated twice in the Champions Hockey League. During the 2014–2015 season, the team survived the quarterfinals, where they lost the return match against Oulun Kärpät. During the 2016–17 season, SaiPa won their initial games by 11 points. Eisbären Berlin and Luleå HF were the runners-up.

SaiPa has produced seven players who have played in the National Hockey League (NHL): Antti Aalto, Jussi Markkanen, Petteri Nokelainen, Petri Skriko, Jussi Timonen, Vesa Viitakoski, and Niklas Bäckström. Jussi Markkanen is also a part owner of the club.

Honours

Domestic

Liiga

SM-sarja

Pre-season

Finnish Cup

Players

Current roster

As of January 17, 2026. [1]

No. Nat Player Pos S/G AgeAcquiredBirthplace
31 Flag of Latvia.svg Gustavs Grigals G L27 2025 Riga, Latvia
33 Flag of Finland.svg Tomi Karhunen G L36 2026 Oulu, Finland
30 Flag of Finland.svg Kari Piiroinen G L24 2023 Helsinki, Finland
22 Flag of Finland.svg Karri Aho D L23 2023 Tampere, Finland
6 Flag of Finland.svg Santeri Airola D R25 2023 Imatra, Finland
26 Flag of Finland.svg Teemu Kivihalme D L30 2025 Cloquet, MN, United States
14 Flag of the United States.svg Brian Kramer D L25 2025 Wexford, PA, United States
7 Flag of Finland.svg Samuli Niinisaari  ( C ) D L27 2024 Hamina, Finland
50 Flag of Finland.svg Saku Salminen  ( A ) D L26 2024 Tampere, Finland
17 Flag of Finland.svg Vertti Svensk D L18 2025 Joensuu, Finland
55 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ondřej Trejbal D L26 2023 Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic
21 Flag of Finland.svg Niklas Appelgren  ( A ) F L35 2023 Kouvola, Finland
12 Flag of Finland.svg Samu Bau F L21 2025 Helsinki, Finland
41 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Maxime Fortier F R28 2025 Montréal, QC, Canada
18 Flag of Finland.svg Juuso Heikkilä F L25 2024 Haapavesi, Finland
57 Flag of Finland.svg Otto Hokkanen F L21 2021 Lappeenranta, Finland
51 Flag of Finland.svg Antti Kalapudas F L29 2022 Oulainen, Finland
10 Flag of Finland.svg Otto Kivenmäki F L25 2023 Pori, Finland
81 Flag of Finland.svg Eero Klintrup F L23 2024 Oulu, Finland
25 Flag of Finland.svg Emil Kuusla F L21 2025 Helsinki, Finland
70 Flag of Finland.svg Janne Naukkarinen F L21 2021 Lappeenranta, Finland
82 Flag of Finland.svg Henri Nikkanen F L24 2024 Mikkeli, Finland
15 Flag of Finland.svg Miikka Salomäki F L32 2025 Raahe, Finland
75 Flag of Finland.svg Patrik Siikanen F L25 2025 Espoo, Finland
62 Flag of Finland.svg Miro Tauslahti F L21 2023 Joensuu, Finland
92 Flag of Slovenia.svg Anze Zezelj F L20 2025 Ljubljana, Slovenia
SaiPa's bronze medal team 1965-1966 SaiPan pronssimitalijoukkue 1965-1966.jpg
SaiPa's bronze medal team 1965–1966
Jarno Koskiranta playing for SaiPa in 2010 Jarno Koskiranta.jpg
Jarno Koskiranta playing for SaiPa in 2010

Retired numbers

SaiPa retired numbers
No.PlayerPositionCareer
3 Lalli Partinen D 1959–1969
8 Ville Koho C 2001–2020
9 Petri Skriko LW 1979–1984
20 Heikki Mälkiä C 1975–1986
1988–1992

NHL alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Team Roster / SaiPa". eliteprospects.com. 17 January 2026. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
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