Kiekko-Espoo

Kiekko-Espoo Naiset (previously Espoo Blues Naiset) is the representative women's ice hockey team of the hockey club Kiekko-Espoo based in Espoo, Finland. They compete in the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland, where they are the winningest team in league history.[1] The team has been known as Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS), Espoo Blues, Espoo United, and Kiekko-Espoo during its tenure in the Naisten Liiga; at least one Finnish Championship medal (gold, silver, or bronze) was won under each name.

Kiekko-Espoo Naiset
CityEspoo, Finland
LeagueNaisten Liiga
DivisionUpper Division (Ylempi jatkosarja)
Founded1990 (1990)
Home arenaEspoo Metro Areena
General manager Emma Terho
Head coach Sami Haapanen
Captain Minttu Tuominen
Affiliate(s)EKS (Naisten Suomi-sarja)
Parent club(s)Kiekko Espoo Oy
Championships1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019
Websitekiekko-espoonaiset.fi
Franchise history
prior to entry into premier leagueKaPa (Karakallion Pallo)
1990-1992EKS (Espoon Kiekkoseura)
1992-1998Kiekko-Espoo Naiset
1998-2016Espoo Blues Naiset
2016-2017Espoo United Naiset
2017-2019Espoo Blues
2019-presentKiekko-Espoo Naiset

History

EKS, 1990–1992

The team entered Naisten SM-sarja (now Naisten Liiga) in the 1990-91 season with the name EKS (Espoon Kiekkoseura). The two seasons played as EKS were an impressive showing for the newcomers and resulted in a bronze medal each, one in the 1990-91 season after defeating Ässät and one in the 1991-92 season after defeating KalPa.

Several EKS players also played for the bronze medal winning Finnish women's national team at the 1992 IIHF World Championship including Liisa Karikoski, Katri-Helena Luomajoki, and Hanna Teerijoki.[2]

Kiekko-Espoo, 1992–1998

In 1992 EKS was renamed Kiekko-Espoo, the same name as its brother-team in the Liiga. The team continued to be held to bronze or lower finishes, making it to five bronze medal series in six years and winning four of them (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998).

The Golden Age: Espoo Blues, 1998–2016

The team was renamed Espoo Blues in 1998, continuing the trend of sharing the name of its brother-team in the Liiga, which also renamed Espoo Blues in that year. The name change unwittingly marked the beginning of a "golden age" for the team. Starting with their first SM-sarja gold medal in 1999, after achieving victory over JYP in the finals, they went on to win a staggering seven consecutive championships (1999–2005) and a total of 13 championships in 18 years. The Blues were kept off the SM-sarja medal podium only three times in the 1998–2016 span; in addition to their championship titles, they earned the team's first silver medal in 2009 and two more bronze medals in 2006 and 2016.

The Espoo Blues were also strong competitors at international tournaments in this period, earning medals at six IIHF European Women's Champions Cups: three silver medals (2005, 2007-08, 2009-10) and three bronze medals (2008-09, 2013–14, 2014–15).[3]

Espoo United, 2016–17

In March 2016 Jääkiekko Espoo Oy, the parent club of both the Espoo Blues of the Naisten Liiga and Espoo Blues of the Liiga, declared bankruptcy with estimated liabilities of approximately €3 million.[4] In response, Jussi Salonoja, a Finnish millionaire and film director who had previously owned the Espoo Blues franchise from 2002–2012, created a new club and organization called Espoo United Oy,[5] stating that he was "committed to supporting hockey in Espoo."[6] The Espoo Blues men's and women's basketball and ice hockey teams would play for Espoo United.

For the 2016–17 season the Espoo United women's ice hockey team played in the Naisten SM-sarja and won silver in the 2017 Finnish Championship. The Espoo United men's team played in the Mestis, the league below the premier-level Liiga, where they won bronze in the playoffs.

On 15 August 2017 Salonoja announced that the Espoo United was abandoning its women's ice hockey and basketball teams for financial reasons.[7] “The reason is twofold: the men's teams' budgets are far greater than those of women's teams, so their running is more demanding, but on the other hand, [the men's teams] are more interesting to sponsors and audiences,” Salonoja said.[8][9]

The future of women's ice hockey team was left uncertain and many possible solutions were proposed, including being acquired by HIFK[10] or merging with Espoo Blues Juniorit (a junior club with strong ties to the franchise).[8]

Espoo Blues part 2, 2017–2019

In September 2017 the Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced that it had supported the creation of an independent association, Ysikoppi ry, to oversee the team and had given its approval for the team to compete in the upcoming 2017–18 season under the name Espoo Blues.[11][12]

Players and personnel

2020–21 roster

Updated 22 June 2020 [13][14][15]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
Minja Drufva G L 18 2018 Lohja, Finland
Erica Jaskari G L 18 2017 Lapua, Finland
Tiia Pajarinen G L 22 2019 Polvijärvi, Finland
Alexandra Väyrynen G L 21 2020 Sandton, South Africa
Janina Aro D L 20 2018 Espoo, Finland
Riikka Järvinen D L 19 2018 Kotka, Finland
8 Nelli Laitinen D L 18 2017 Lohja, Finland
Heta Paasilinna D/F 15 2020 Espoo, Finland
15 Minttu Tuominen (C) D R 29 2017 Helsinki, Finland
Tea Villilä D L 29 2016 Hyvinkää, Finland
Julia Zielińska D L 15 2020 Sanok, Poland
Ada Eronen F/D L 16 2018 Espoo, Finland
19 Tinja Haukijärvi F L 22 2017 Järvenpää, Finland
Nea Katajamäki F R 23 2013 Espoo, Finland
Emmi Leinonen F L 31 2019 Valkeakoski, Finland
Anni Montonen F L 20 2017 Espoo, Finland
Sofia Nuutinen F L 18 2018 Vantaa, Finland
Emmi Rakkolainen F L 23 2017 Helsinki, Finland
Mira Saarinen F 14 2020
Julia Schalin F L 15 2020 Espoo, Finland
Elsa Talvitie F 15 2020 Espoo, Finland
Reetta Valkjärvi F L 23 2015 Hollola, Finland
Emilia Vesa F R 19 2020 Helsinki, Finland
Roosa Vuosalmi F L 13 2020 Vantaa, Finland

2020–21 coaching staff

Updated 22 June 2020 [13][14][15]

  • Head Coach: Sami Haapanen
  • Assistant Coach: Timo Löppönen
  • Goaltending Coach: Risto Jaakkola
  • Conditioning Coach: Viola Kaukonen

Team captains

Head coaches
  • Jari Kalho, 2000-2001
  • Hannu Saintula, 2001-2002
  • Jari Peltonen, 2002-2006
  • Sami Haapanen, 2008-2011
  • Kai Jansson, 2012-2013
  • Sami Haapanen, 2013-present

Team honours

Finnish Championship
  • Naisten Liiga (14): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019
  • Naisten Liiga (2): 2010, 2017
  • Naisten Liiga (8): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2016

IIHF European Women's Champions Cup

Notable alumni

Years active with Kiekko-Espoo listed with players' names

References
  1. Foster, Meredith (2019-03-26). "The Espoo Blues are the 2019 Aurora Borealis Cup Champions". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  2. "Historia". Kiekko-Espoo Naiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  3. "Espoo Blues Women - In English". Blues Naiset. 2012. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  4. Hiitelä, Juha (2016-04-12). "Konkurssipesä myöntää: Bluesin tilanteeseen ei ratkaisua" [Bankrupt organization concedes: Blues situation has no solution] (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  5. Lempinen, Marko (2016-04-28). "Nyt se on varmaa: Jussi Salonoja perusti uuden seuran – "Lähetän hakupaperit tänään"" [Now it is certain: Jussi Salonoja founded a new club - "I'm submitting league admittance papers today"] (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  6. "Espoo Unitedin konkurssista tuli virallista" [Espoo United's bankruptcy becomes official] (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  7. "Espoo United Cuts Women's Basketball & Ice Hockey Teams". News Now Finland. 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  8. Oivio, Janne; Lempinen, Marko (2017-08-15). "Jussi Salonojalta raju ratkaisu: Espoo United hylkää naisjoukkueet" [Jussi Salonoja makes a drastic decision: Espoo United reject women's teams] (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. Retrieved 2019-08-16. Syy kaksijakoinen: miesten joukkueiden budjetit ovat selvästi suuremmat kuin naisten joukkueissa, eli niiden toiminnan pyörittäminen on vaativampaa, mutta toisaalta juuri ne kiinnostavat sponsoreita ja yleisöä enemmän, Salonoja sanoo.
  9. Foster, Meredith (2017-08-17). "Espoo United women's team folds one month before puck drop". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  10. Tammilehto, Teemu; Leinonen, Simu (2017-08-15). "HIFK on kiinnostunut Salonojan hylkäämästä Espoo Unitedin naisjoukkueesta" [HIFK is interested in the Espoo United women's team that Salonoja has abandoned] (in Finnish). yle. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  11. "Espoo Unitedin sarjapaikka Naisten Liigassa Ysikoppi ry:lle" [Espoo United has a place in the Naisten Liiga with Ysikoppi ry] (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. 2017-09-04. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  12. Saarinen, Joska (2017-09-04). "Espoo Unitedin hylkäämä joukkue sai tarvittavat rahat kasaan: "Kumppaneita on sen verran, että uskallamme lähteä kauteen"" [Rejected by Espoo United, the team got the money they needed: "There are so many partners that we dare to enter the season"] (in Finnish). yle. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  13. "Liiga (W): Kiekko-Espoo". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  14. "Jokkue 2019-2020" [Players 2019-2020]. Kiekko-Espoo Naiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  15. "Espoo Blues 2018-2019". eurohockey.com. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
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