Finland men's national ice hockey team
 | |
| Nickname(s) | Leijonat / Lejonen (The Lions) |
|---|---|
| Association | Finnish Ice Hockey Association |
| General Manager | Jere Lehtinen |
| Head coach | Kari Jalonen |
| Assistants |
Lauri Marjamäki Ari Moisanen Ville Peltonen |
| Captain | Jussi Jokinen |
| Most games | Raimo Helminen (331) |
| Most points | Raimo Helminen (207) |
| IIHF code | FIN |
| IIHF ranking |
2  |
| Highest IIHF ranking | 2 (first in 2011) |
| Lowest IIHF ranking | 7 (2005) |
 | |
| First international | |
 Sweden 8–1 Finland  (Helsinki, Finland; 29 January 1928) | |
| Biggest win | |
Finland 20–1 Norway  (Hämeenlinna, Finland; 12 March 1947) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
 Canada 24–0 Finland (Oslo, Norway; 3 March 1958) | |
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 56 (first in 1939) |
| Best result |
 Gold: 2 – 1995, 2011 |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 6 |
| Best result | Runner-up (2004) |
| Olympics | |
| Appearances | 14 (first in 1952) |
| Medals |
 Silver (1988, 2006) Bronze (1994, 1998, 2010, 2014) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 658–734–156 | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | 1988 Calgary | Team |
| Silver | 2006 Torino | Team |
| Bronze | 1994 Lillehammer | Team |
| Bronze | 1998 Nagano | Team |
| Bronze | 2010 Vancouver | Team |
| Bronze | 2014 Sochi | Team |
| World Championship | ||
| Gold | 1995 Sweden | Team |
| Gold | 2011 Slovakia | Team |
| Silver | 1992 Czechoslovakia | Team |
| Silver | 1994 Italy | Team |
| Silver | 1998 Switzerland | Team |
| Silver | 1999 Norway | Team |
| Silver | 2001 Germany | Team |
| Silver | 2007 Russia | Team |
| Silver | 2014 Belarus | Team |
| Bronze | 2000 Russia | Team |
| Bronze | 2006 Latvia | Team |
| Bronze | 2008 Canada | Team |
The Finnish men's national ice hockey team, or Leijonat / Lejonen (The Lions in Finnish and Swedish), as it is called in Finland, is governed by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Finland is considered a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden and the United States.[1]
Recent history
At the 1998 Olympic men's ice hockey tournament, Team Finland came away with Bronze, after defeating Canadian national team3-2. Teemu Selänne led the tournament in goals scored(4) and total points achieved(10). The tournament was the first in which professional players from the National Hockey League (NHL) were allowed to participate, allowing national teams to be constructed using the best possible talent from each country. The 1998 Olympic tournament therefore came to be known as the "Tournament of the Century". Unlike previous Olympics where athletes could choose five-star hotel accommodations (such as the USA Men's Basketball team), NHL players were required to stay in the Olympic Village like other athletes.
At the 2006 IIHF World Championship, Finland achieved 3rd place winning the Bronze medal game against Canada. Petteri Nummelin was named to the Media All-Star team.
In the 2006 Winter Olympics, Finland won a Silver medal, coming close to winning in the final but losing 3–2 to the Swedish national team. Finland's goaltender Antero Niittymäki was named the MVP of the tournament (only 8 goals against in the whole tournament) and Teemu Selänne was voted best forward. The format was changed from the 1998 and 2002 tournaments, to a format similar to the 1992 and 1994 tournaments. The number of teams was reduced from 14 to 12. The 12 teams were split into two groups in the preliminary stage, which followed a round robin format. Each team played the other teams in their group once. The top four teams from each group advanced to the quarter-finals.
At the 2007 IIHF World Championship, Finland lost the finals to Canada's national team. The final marked the second time that Finland and Canada met in the final of a World Championship, the first time being in 1994. However only a year before in 2006 Finland had defeated Canada 5–0 in the Bronze medal game. In 2007, Canada were looking on form, being undefeated coming into the playoff round, while Finland had registered two losses in the run-up to the finals. Rick Nash scored on the powerplay at 6:10 into the first period on a one-timer from the point from a pass by Cory Murphy off of Matthew Lombardi, to put Canada up 1–0. Near the middle of the period, Eric Staal scored in similar fashion also on the powerplay, assisted by Justin Williams, and Mike Cammalleri. 9:11 into the second period, Colby Armstrong scored to give the Canadians a 3–0 lead. This goal ended up as the game winner. Finland had some discipline difficulty in the first two periods, taking 6 minutes apiece in penalties in both periods. Finland started to bring up the pressure in the last ten minutes, and Petri Kontiola scored a nice glove-side goal on Ward at 51:08 assisted by Ville Peltonen, to put the Finns on the board. Only with 3 minutes left Antti Miettinen scored to bring Finland within one, 3–2. However, only one minute later Rick Nash scored on a skillful breakaway to put the game away, 4–2 final for team Canada. The Canadians were outshot 22–18, but the Canadian goaltender, Cam Ward, kept them in the game as he was solid between the pipes. They also were able to capitalize on the powerplay, which ended up being decisive in the Canadian win. Kari Lehtonen was voted Tournaments best Goalkeeper.
At the 2008 IIHF World Championship, Finland achieved 3rd place winning the Bronze medal 4-0 against Sweden's national team.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Finland came away with 3rd place winning 5-3 against team Slovakia. During the tournament, Teemu Selänne of Finland became the all-time leader for points scored in the Olympics.[2][3] He notched an assist in his second game of the tournament for 37 career points, surpassing Valeri Kharlamov of the Soviet Union, Vlastimil Bubník of Czechoslovakia, and Harry Watson of Canada.[2][3]
At the 2011 IIHF World Championship, Finland won its second World Championship, beating the Swedish national team by a score of 6–1. As two highly ranked neighboring countries, Sweden and Finland have a long-running competitive tradition in ice hockey. Before the game, mainstream media in both countries titled the match "a dream final".[4][5] After a goalless first period, Sweden opened the game with a 1–0 goal by Magnus Pääjärvi in the second period at 27:40. Seven seconds before the period's end, Finland's Jarkko Immonen scored to tie the game 1–1. Finland took the lead early in the third period, scoring two goals at 42:35 and 43:21 by Nokelainen and Kapanen. Sweden took a time-out before the last period's half but did not manage to regroup, and the tournament was decided by a clear 6–1 victory to Finland by Janne Pesonen's, Mika Pyörälä's and Pihlström goals.[6] Team Finland's Jarkko Immonen led the Tournament in both goals and points scored with 9 and 12 respectively.
In recent years, Finland has been consistently ranked among the best teams in international hockey. Currently the team is ranked 2nd with 3345 points in the IIHF World Ranking.
Tournament record
Olympic Games
| Year | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 7th place | |||
| 1960 | 7th place | |||
| 1964 | 6th place | |||
| 1968 | 5th place | |||
| 1972 | 5th place | |||
| 1976 | 4th place | |||
| 1980 | 4th place | |||
| 1984 | 6th place | |||
| 1988 |  Silver | |||
| 1992 | 7th place | |||
| 1994 |  Bronze | |||
| 1998 | Bronze | |||
| 2002 | 6th place | |||
| 2006 | Silver | |||
| 2010 | Bronze | |||
| 2014 | Bronze | |||
| Totals | ||||
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 16 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
World championship
Canada Cup
- 1976 – Finished in 6th place
- 1981 – Finished in 6th place
- 1987 – Finished in 6th place
- 1991 – Finished in 3rd place
World Cup
Team
2014 Olympics roster
The Finnish roster for the men's ice hockey tournament of the 2014 Winter Olympics was published on 7 January 2014. The players were picked by the head coach Erkka Westerlund.[7][8][9][10]
| No. | Pos. | Name | Height | Weight | Birthdate | Birthplace | 2013–14 team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | D | Määttä, OlliOlli Määttä | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | 89 kg (196 lb) | 22 August 1994 | Jyväskylä |  Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) |
| 4 | D | Väänänen, OssiOssi Väänänen | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | 99 kg (218 lb) | 18 August 1980 | Vantaa | Jokerit (KHL) |
| 5 | D | Kukkonen, LasseLasse Kukkonen | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 18 September 1981 | Oulu | Oulun Kärpät (Liiga) |
| 6 | D | Salo, SamiSami Salo | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | 2 September 1974 | Turku | Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) |
| 8 | F | Selänne, TeemuTeemu Selänne – C | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | 3 July 1970 | Helsinki | Anaheim Ducks (NHL) |
| 12 | F | Jokinen, OlliOlli Jokinen | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | 5 December 1978 | Kuopio |  Winnipeg Jets (NHL) |
| 15 | F | Ruutu, TuomoTuomo Ruutu | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 89 kg (196 lb) | 16 February 1983 | Vantaa | Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) |
| 16 | F | Barkov, AleksanderAleksander Barkov | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | 2 September 1995 | Tampere | Florida Panthers (NHL) |
| 18 | D | Lepistö, SamiSami Lepistö | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 17 October 1984 | Espoo |  Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (KHL) |
| 21 | F | Lehterä, JoriJori Lehterä | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | 97 kg (214 lb) | 23 December 1987 | Helsinki | HC Sibir Novosibirsk (KHL) |
| 23 | F | Salminen, SakariSakari Salminen | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 75 kg (165 lb) | 31 May 1988 | Pori | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) |
| 26 | F | Immonen, JarkkoJarkko Immonen | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 19 April 1982 | Rantasalmi | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) |
| 27 | F | Kontiola, PetriPetri Kontiola | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 4 October 1984 | Seinäjoki | Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL) |
| 28 | F | Korpikoski, LauriLauri Korpikoski | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | 88 kg (194 lb) | 28 July 1986 | Turku | Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) |
| 31 | G | Niemi, AnttiAntti Niemi | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | 29 August 1983 | Vantaa | San Jose Sharks (NHL) |
| 32 | G | Lehtonen, KariKari Lehtonen | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | 16 November 1983 | Helsinki | Dallas Stars (NHL) |
| 36 | F | Jokinen, JussiJussi Jokinen | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 86 kg (190 lb) | 1 April 1983 | Kalajoki | Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) |
| 38 | D | Hietanen, JuusoJuuso Hietanen | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 14 June 1985 | Hämeenlinna | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) |
| 40 | G | Rask, TuukkaTuukka Rask | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 10 March 1987 | Savonlinna | Boston Bruins (NHL) |
| 41 | F | Pihlström, AnttiAntti Pihlström | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 82 kg (181 lb) | 22 October 1984 | Vantaa | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL) |
| 44 | D | Timonen, KimmoKimmo Timonen – A | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 84 kg (185 lb) | 18 March 1975 | Kuopio | Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) |
| 45 | D | Vatanen, SamiSami Vatanen | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 79 kg (174 lb) | 3 June 1991 | Jyväskylä | Anaheim Ducks (NHL) |
| 50 | F | Aaltonen, JuhamattiJuhamatti Aaltonen | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 4 June 1985 | Ii | Oulun Kärpät (Liiga) |
| 64 | F | Granlund, MikaelMikael Granlund | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in) | 83 kg (183 lb) | 26 February 1992 | Oulu | Minnesota Wild (NHL) |
| 71 | F | Komarov, LeoLeo Komarov – A | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) | 23 January 1987 | Narva, Soviet Union | HC Dynamo Moscow (KHL) |
Forwards Mikko Koivu and Valtteri Filppula were also selected but were unable to participate due to injury. They were replaced by Jarkko Immonen and Sakari Salminen respectively.
Retired jerseys
The national team has retired Raimo Helminen's #14 and Jari Kurri's #17 jerseys. They currently hang in Hartwall Areena in Helsinki.
Notable players
- Aarne Honkavaara 1943–1953
- Keijo Kuusela 1938–1959
- Lasse Oksanen 1962–1977
- Esa Peltonen 1965–1982
- Raimo Kilpiö 1956–1967
- Teppo Rastio 1953–1964
- Heino Pulli 1957–1965
- Juhani Tamminen 1969–1982
- Heikki Riihiranta 1967–1983
- Urpo Ylönen 1965–1979
- Reijo Ruotsalainen 1977–1996
- Unto Wiitala 1946–1956
- Jari Kurri 1979–1998
- Matti Hagman 1974–1987[11]
- Janne Ojanen 1986–2010
- Raimo Helminen 1983–2008
- Mika Nieminen 1988–2000
- Timo Jutila 1983–1997
- Saku Koivu 1992–2014
- Ville Peltonen 1993–2014
- Teppo Numminen 1985–2009
- Kimmo Timonen 1991–
- Sami Kapanen 1990–2010
- Jere Lehtinen 1991–2010
- Ari Sulander 1992–2003
- Jarmo Myllys 1986–2001
- Jukka Tammi 1985–1998
- Esa Tikkanen 1985–2000
- Teemu Selänne 1988–2014
- Miikka Kiprusoff 1994–2013
- Olli Jokinen 1996–
- Mikko Koivu 2000–
- Petteri Nummelin 1992–
- Sami Salo 2000–2014
- Mikael Granlund 2010–
List of head coaches
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References
- ↑ "NHL announces World Cup of Hockey for 2016". The Canadian Press. 2015-01-24. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ice hockey: Selanne sets Olympic scoring record". Vancouver. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Selanne's 37th point tops Games mark". ESPN.com. The Associated Press. 20 February 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
- ↑ Anrell, Lasse (14 May 2011). "Drömfinal". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ↑ "Jääkiekossa unelmafinaali Leijonat–Tre Kronor". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish) (Sanoma). 13 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ↑ Aykroyd, Lucas (15 May 2011). "It's gold for Finland!". IIHF. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ↑ "Olympiajoukkue Sotshi 2014" (PDF). Sport.fi (in Finnish). 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ↑ "Selänne going to sixth Games". International Ice Hockey Federation. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ↑ "He edustavat Suomea Sotshissa - Leijonien olympiajoukkue julkistettiin". Leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ↑ Team Roster Finland
- ↑ Matti Hagman statistics
- ↑ "Jalonen Leijonien seuraava päävalmentaja". mtv3.fi. 2013-06-07. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
External links
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