HIFK (ice hockey)

Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors
City Helsinki
League Liiga
Founded 1897 (1897)
Home arena Helsingin jäähalli
Colours Red, white, dark blue
              
Owner(s) HIFK Ligaföreningen rf.
General manager Jukka Valtanen
Head coach Ari-Pekka Selin
Captain Lennart Petrell
Parent club(s) HIFK
Farm club(s) Jokipojat
Championships 1969, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1983, 1998, 2011
Website hifk.fi
Active departments of
HIFK
Bandy Football Ice hockey
Handball Floorball Athletics
Bowling eSports Golf

HIFK (a traditional abbreviation of Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors, English: "Sporting Society Comrades, Helsinki") is an 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. It was founded in 1897. Since then, HIFK has won the Finnish national championship seven times (1969, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1983, 1998, and 2011). The team won the regular season title in 2016.

The derbies against local rivals Jokerit were often sold out and were among the fiercest in Nordic ice hockey, but are no longer played following Jokerit's withdrawal from Liiga after the 2013–14 season to join the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Following a history of even series of games, HIFK won the game total with 106–105 after a 2–1 victory in a classical outdoor game in March 2014, claiming the title of Helsinki's dominion.[1]

HIFK's general manager starting from May 1, 2008, is Jukka Valtanen. He is the successor of Pentti Matikainen, who coached Team Finland to its first hockey Olympic medal (silver) in Calgary 1988.

HIFK won the Finnish national championship in the 2010–11 season when they defeated Espoo Blues.

The championship team from 1998 is widely recognized as one of the best ever to have skated together in the top flight of Finnish ice hockey. Players on the 1998 championship team included a number of future (and former) NHL players – including Tim Thomas, Jan Čaloun, Johan Davidsson, Bob Halkidis, Olli Jokinen, Jere Karalahti, Jarno Kultanen, Brian Rafalski, Christian Ruuttu, Jarkko Ruutu, Kimmo Timonen and Marko Tuomainen.

History

One of the major influences to HIFK was the NHL veteran and Stanley Cup winner Carl Brewer. Hired in 1968 as a playing coach, he advocated a North American style of play which has persisted in HIFK since. Brewer's influence on the way ice hockey is played in Finland led to his posthumous induction to the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.

Honors

SM-sarja

SM-liiga

International

Other awards for the club:

  • Harry Lindblad trophy (SM-Liiga regular season winner, since 1975): 2016

Current roster

(Updated 3 August 2018)[2]

Goalkeepers
# Player Catches Contract Birthplace
36  Finland Markus Ruusu L 2019 Jyväskylä, Finland
53  Finland Atte Engren L 2019+1 Rauma, Finland
Defenders
# Player Shoots Contract Birthplace
2  Finland Markus Kankaanperä L 2019 Skellefteå, Sweden
3  United States Joe Finley L 2019 Minnesota, United States
8  Finland Ville Varakas (A) L 2019 Helsinki, Finland
11  Finland Niko Seppälä L 2021 Helsinki, Finland
24  Canada Ryan O'Connor R 2019 Ontario, Canada
27  Canada Kyle Quincey L 2019 Ontario, Canada
29  Finland Tobias Winberg L 2021 Helsinki, Finland
34  Finland Aleksi Laakso L 2019+1 Seinäjoki, Finland
42  Finland Teemu Eronen L 2019 Vantaa, Finland
44  Finland Elias Ulander L 2020 Helsinki, Finland
57  Sweden Johan Motin R 2020 Karlskoga, Sweden
Attackers
# Player Shoots Position Contract Birthplace
4  Finland Iikka Kangasniemi L RW 2019+1 Oulu, Finland
12  Finland Juhani Tyrväinen L C/LW 2020 Seinäjoki, Finland
14  Finland Teemu Engberg L RW 2020 Loviisa, Finland
15  Finland Anton Lundell L C 2021 Espoo, Finland
18  Finland Teemu Tallberg L LW/RW 2021 Helsinki, Finland
19  Finland Juho Keränen R C/RW 2020+1 Keitele, Finland
21  Finland Tommi Santala R C 2019 Helsinki, Finland
32  Finland Lennart Petrell (C) L LW/RW 2019 Helsinki, Finland
37  Finland Ilmari Pitkänen L LW/RW Try-out Viljakkala, Finland
45  Finland Micke-Max Åsten L LW/RW 2021 Helsinki, Finland
51  Finland Juha Jääskä L C/W 2019 Helsinki, Finland
56  Finland Lauri Kulmala L C 2020 Porvoo, Finland
78  Finland Niklas Nordgren R RW 2021 Helsinki, Finland
80  Finland Thomas Nykopp L C 2020 Helsinki, Finland
81  Canada Lucas Lessio L LW/RW 2019 Ontario, Canada
82  Finland Henrik Koivisto L C Try-out Kerava, Finland
86  Sweden Erik Thorell L LW/RW 2019 Karlstad, Sweden
88  Finland Joonas Rask (A) R RW/LW 2020 Tampere, Finland

Honored members

HIFK (in white) warm-up prior to a game vs. HPK.

NHL alumni

References

  1. ↑ "HIFK vei ikuisen Stadin herruuden (in Finnish)". Ilta-Sanomat. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  2. ↑ http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=38
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