Finland

Finland is an European country, bordered by Sweden, Norway and Russia. There are a little over 5.2 million people living in Finland, the capital of which is Helsinki.

Organisation
Hockey is a very popular sport in Finland. It's top professional league, the SM-Liiga, is among the strongest in the world. Hockey in Finland is governed by the Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. The country counts a total of 52,597 registered players, which amounts to 1.0% of its population.

Defunct

SM-sarja

Women's
 * Women SM-sarja
 * Women Suomi-sarja
 * Women Divisioona

International
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 "Big Seven", along with Canada, Russia, the USA, Slovakia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.The Finnish U20, U18, Womens,and Womens U18 teams also participate in the world championships.

At the 1995 World championships Finland won a gold medal, beating Sweden in the final by a score of 4–1.

In the 2006 Winter Olympics Finland won a silver medal, coming close to winning in the final but succumbing 3–2 to Sweden. Finland's goaltender Antero Niittymäki was named the MVP of the tournament (only 8 goals against in the whole tournament) and Teemu Selänne the best forward of the tournament.

Doug Shedden coached the Finnish national men's ice hockey team in the 2007–08 season. Under Shedden, Finland won bronze. His then-assistant coach Jukka Jalonen succeeded him as the head coach after the tournament.

The national team has retired Jari Kurri's #17 jersey. It currently hangs in Hartwall Areena in Helsinki. Jari Kurri is currently the general manager of the team.

The first ice hockey game was played in Finland in 1899. The game played in Helsinki, bore characteristics of both bandy and hockey. The Finnish Skating Association included ice hockey in its program in 1927 and a year later, the first club game was played in Tampere.

National Teams

 * Finland men's national ice hockey team
 * Finland men's national junior ice hockey team
 * Finland men's national U-18 ice hockey team
 * Finland women's national ice hockey team
 * Finland women's national U-18 ice hockey team