KalPa
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena.
| KalPa | |
|---|---|
| City | Kuopio |
| League | Liiga |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Home arena | Olvi Areena |
| Colours | Black, gold |
| Head coach | Tommi Miettinen |
| Captain | Tuomas Kiiskinen |
| Affiliate | IPK |
| Website | www |
Team history
Established in 1929 as Sortavalan Palloseura in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuopio in 1945 after its original hometown had been annexed by the Soviet Union. During its Sortavala years, the club was not active in ice hockey, but competed in association football, bandy, and pesäpallo instead. Ice hockey was introduced in 1947, and in 1956 KalPa officially replaced the more traditional Kuopio club KuPS in that sport thus specializing in hockey – minor league football was still continued until 1974 as a farm team of sorts for KuPS.
The full name of the company that runs the representative team today is KalPa Hockey Oy. The majority of the company is owned by former NHL players Sami Kapanen and Kimmo Timonen. Kapanen is the majority owner, controlling 50.5% of the franchise. Timonen owns 8%, while Timonen's former teammate Scott Hartnell owns 5%. Hartnell purchased a minority share of the team after getting financial advice from Kimmo Timonen during a road trip to Boston.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Timonen, Kapanen, and fellow NHL player Adam Hall were playing for KalPa. After winning the Mestis championship, KalPa returned to SM-liiga for the 2005–06 season, after being relegated six years earlier in 1999.
KalPa has won three medals: silvers in the 1990–91 and 2016–17 seasons and a bronze in the 2008–09 season. KalPa has also won the Spengler Cup, in year 2018.
Honors
SM-liiga
- SM-liiga Kanada-malja: 1990–91, 2016-17
- SM-liiga Kanada-malja: 2008–09
Mestis
Finnish Liiga A-juniors (U20)
- Finnish Liiga A-juniors (U20): 2007–08, 2017–18
Spengler Cup
Players
Current roster
Source: eliteprospects.com[1]As of July 28, 2021.
| No. | Nat | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Gabe Bast | D | R | 26 | 2021-22 | Red Deer, Canada | |
| 18 | Hugo Gallet | D | L | 25 | 2021-22 | Amiens, France | |
| 32 | Juha Jatkola | G | L | 20 | 2020-21 | Kuopio, Finland | |
| 45 | Eric Hjorth | D | R | 21 | 2021-22 | Göteborg, Sweden | |
| 34 | Severi Immonen | F | L | 22 | 2020-21 | Tuusniemi, Finland | |
| 71 | Matti Järvinen | C | L | 33 | 2021-22 | London, United Kingdom | |
| 91 | Oliver Kapanen | C | R | 19 | 2021-22 | Timrå, Sweden | |
| 37 | Eero Kilpeläinen | G | L | 37 | 2019-20 | Juva, Finland | |
| 19 | Tuomas Kiiskinen | LW | L | 20 | 2021-22 | Kuopio, Finland | |
| 20 | Aleksi Klemetti | LW | L | 23 | 2018-19 | Kuhmo, Finland | |
| 29 | Henri Knuutinen | LW | L | 25 | 2018-19 | Kiuruvesi, Finland | |
| 17 | Benjamin Korhonen | RW | L | 21 | 2020-21 | Ylivieska, Finland | |
| 41 | Juuso Könönen | LW | L | 24 | 2019-20 | Kuopio, Finland | |
| 52 | Roope Laavainen | D | R | 24 | 2020-21 | Helsinki, Finland | |
| 55 | Lasse Lappalainen | D | L | 33 | 2018-19 | Kuopio, Finland | |
| 26 | Jesper Mattila | D | L | 25 | 2020-21 | Tampere, Finland | |
| 9 | Juuso Mäenpää | C | L | 20 | 2020-21 | Helsinki, Finland | |
| 67 | Kasper Puutio | D | L | 20 | 2021-22 | Vaasa, Finland | |
| 6 | Joona Riekkinen | D | L | 23 | 2019-20 | Kuopio, Finland | |
| 22 | Aapeli Räsänen | D | R | 24 | 2020-21 | Tampere, Finland | |
| – | Erkka Seppälä | C | L | 23 | 2021-22 | Hämeenlinna, Finland | |
| 12 | Kasper Simontaival | RW | R | 20 | 2021-22 | Orivesi, Finland | |
| 74 | Sami Tavernier | RW | R | 25 | 2020-21 | Annemasse, France | |
| 13 | Tuomas Vartiainen | RW | L | 26 | 2019-20 | Oulu, Finland |
Honored members
- 1 - Pasi Kuivalainen
- 24 - Sami Kapanen
- 27 - Jouni Rinne
- 44 - Kimmo Timonen
NHL alumni
- Adam Hall (2004–05)
- Teemu Hartikainen (2008–10)
- Olli Jokinen (1994–95)
- Kasperi Kapanen (2012–15)
- Sami Kapanen (1990–94, 2004–05, 2008–10, 2011–14)
- Jarmo Kekäläinen (1983–85, 1991–92)
- Mikko Koskinen (2011–13)
- Artturi Lehkonen (2012–14)
- Juuso Riikola (2012–18)
- Craig Smith (2012)
- Derek Stepan (2012–13)
- Jeremy Stevenson (2007–08)
- Alexandre Texier (2017–19)
- Kimmo Timonen (1991–94, 2004–05)
- Jussi Timonen (2001–02, 2008–17)
References
- ^ "Team Roster / KalPa". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
External links
- Official website (in Finnish)
- (in Finnish)
- Meltzer, Bill NHL.com article on KalPa. Retrieved 2007-11-07.