Ice hockey in Finland


Ice hockey is the most popular sport in Finland in terms of television viewership and game attendance figures. It is third most popular sport in participation amongst children.

History

Ice hockey leagues were first established in Finland in the 1920s. SM-sarja was established as the first national men's ice hockey league in 1928. Viipurin Reipas were champions in the inaugural year and remain one of the oldest ice hockey teams in Finland, still competing today under the name Lahti Pelicans.

National board

is the national board for ice hockey in the country and has been instrumental in producing many world class ice hockey players.

National teams

Finland is currently third in the IIHF World Rankings for both the men's and women's national team programs.
Finland men's national ice hockey team is one of the major powers in world hockey; they won their third World Championship in 2019. The men's national team is a member of the so-called "Big Six" an unofficial group of the top men's national teams in world hockey.
Finland women's national ice hockey team is recognized as one of the few national teams able to challenge American and Canadian dominance in the highest levels of women's world hockey. The team took silver at the World Championship in 2019 after a controversial loss to the United States in the finals. Though they did not claim gold, multiple Finnish players received awards in the 2019 tournament; team captain Jenni Hiirikoski was awarded MVP and Best Defenceman, Noora Räty was awarded Best Goaltender, and forward Michelle Karvinen was named to the All-Star Team along with Hiirikoski and Räty.

Domestic Leagues

is the elite league for men's ice hockey in Finland; it was created 1975 as the first domestic professional ice hockey league and replaced SSM-sarja as the top national division. Mestis is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland; many Mestis teams are associated with Liiga systems as farm teams. The Suomi-sarja is Finland's third-tier men's ice hockey league.
Naisten Liiga is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Finland; it has been in operation since the 1982-1983 season. Naisten Mestis is the second-level of women's ice hockey in Finland. Naisten Suomi-sarja is the third-level of women's ice hockey in Finland.