KalPa Naiset

Kalevan Pallo Naiset or KalPa Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland. Founded in 1990, they play in Kuopio, the largest city in the eastern-central province of North Savo, at the Kuopion jäähalli (Niirala), and also use Lippumäen jäähalli as a secondary venue. The team has won one Finnish Championship silver medal, in 2021, and four bronze medals, in 1995, 1996, 2017, and 2023.

Kalevan Pallo Naiset
CityKuopio, Finland
LeagueNaisten Liiga
Founded1990 (1990)
Home arenaOlvi Areena
Lippumäen jäähalli
ColoursBlack, gold
   
Owner(s)Juniori-KalPa ry
General managerJukka Koskinen
Head coachMika Väärälä
CaptainJohanna Juutilainen
AffiliateKalPa Akatemia
WebsiteOfficial website
Current season

History

In 2020, the team qualified for the Aurora Borealis Cup playoff final and were set to face the reigning champions, Kiekko-Espoo, when the playoffs were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the first game of the finals. By making it to the playoff finals, KalPa was guaranteed at least a silver medal, which would have been the highest finish in team history to that point, but with the cancellation of the season no Finnish Championship (SM) medals were awarded.[1]

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the most recent seasons completed by KalPa Naiset.
Note: Finish = Rank at end of regular season; GP = Games played, W = Wins (3 points), OTW = Overtime wins (2 points), OTL = Overtime losses (1 point), L = Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points, Top scorer: Points (Goals+Assists)

Season League Preliminaries and regular season Post season results
Finish GP W OTW OTL L GF GA Pts Top scorer
2015–16 Naisten SM-sarja 6th 28711194712424 Finland Jo. Juutilainen 32 (10+22) Lost quarterfinals, 0–2 (HPK)
2016–17 Naisten SM-sarja 3rd 28171461007257 Finland T. Niskanen 36 (15+21) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Won bronze medal, 1–0 (HPK)
2017–18 Naisten Liiga 6th 301421131129247 Finland T. Niskanen 44 (20+24) Lost quarterfinals, 1–3 (Blues)
2018–19 Naisten Liiga 4th 301900111548357 Finland T. Niskanen 79 (31+48) Lost bronze medal, 0–1 (Kärpät)
2019–20 Naisten Liiga 3rd 30174231246461 Finland E. Holopainen 62 (37+25) Won semifinals, 3–0 (Ilves)
Finals cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 Naisten Liiga 2nd 25181061215156 Finland E. Holopainen 64 (39+25) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Lost finals, 1–3 (K-Espoo)
2021–22 Naisten Liiga 8th 3083217709632 Finland Jo. Juutilainen 34 (9+25) Lost quarterfinals, 1–3 (K-Espoo)
2022–23 Naisten Liiga 2nd 36292231976593 Finland E. Holopainen 75 (41+34) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Won bronze medal, 1–0 (HPK)

Players and personnel

2022–23 roster

As of 18 March 2023[2][3][4]
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
26 Finland Jenna Hietala F L 19 2022 Oulainen, North Ostrobothnia, Finland
10 Finland Elisa Holopainen (A) Injured Reserve F L 21 2022 Tuusniemi, North Savo, Finland
20 Finland Veera Holopainen F L 17 2021
37 Finland Jenna Juutilainen G L 33 2020 Varkaus, North Savo, Finland
17 Finland Johanna Juutilainen (C) F L 33 2020 Varkaus, North Savo, Finland
27 Finland Jenna Kaila F R 21 2022 Kokkola, Central Ostrobothnia, Finland
12 Finland Liisa Kastikainen F L 22 2016 Outokumpu, North Karelia, Finland
2 Finland Inka Katajisto F L 23 2018 Pyhäselkä, North Karelia, Finland
28 Finland Mimmi Keinonen F L 19 2022
24 Finland Mirka Kivi D L 20 2019 Valkeakoski, Pirkanmaa, Finland
96 Canada Sarah Knee D L 27 2023 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
16 Finland Tanja Koljonen (A) D L 27 2020 Mikkeli, South Savo, Finland
21 Finland Kaisla Kortelainen F L 21 2020
31 Finland Aino Laitinen G L 20 2022 Sonkajärvi, North Savo, Finland
14 Finland Ella Lappi F L 24 2014 Elimäki, Kymenlaakso, Finland
11 Finland Adalmiina Makkonen D L 19 2022 Oulu, North Ostrobothnia, Finland
13 Finland Alisa Makkonen F L 19 2022 Oulu, North Ostrobothnia, Finland
5 Finland Elli Mäkelä D L 22 2020 Kotka, Kymenlaakso, Finland
18 Finland Eveliina Nurmi D L 26 2017 Alavus, South Ostrobothnia, Finland
6 Finland Venla Nurmi D L 24 2021 Alavus, South Ostrobothnia, Finland
49 Finland Veera Paroinen F L 18 2021
15 Finland Emilia Pekkarinen F L 24 2021
45 Finland Veera Pohjala D L 22 2021
55 Finland Tiina Ranne G L 28 2017 Harjavalta, Satakunta, Finland
7 Finland Sanni Rantala D R 20 2022 Riihimäki, Kanta-Häme, Finland
22 Finland Salla Rantanen F L 30 2012 Riihimäki, Kanta-Häme, Finland
25 Finland Tuuli Repo D L 27 2021 Kuopio, North Savo, Finland
9 Finland Vilma Sneck F L 21 2022
23 Finland Emmi Tirkkonen F L 19 2020
Austria Esther Väärälä F L 38 2023 Vienna, Austria

Coaching staff and team personnel

  • Head coach: Mika Väärälä
  • Assistant coach: Pekka Romppanen
  • Conditioning coach: Tarja Koski
  • Team managers: Taina Lappi & Maarit Paroinen
  • Equipment managers: Jari Hämäläinen, Irina Ivanoff, & Harri Mäkkeli

Team captains

  • Johanna Juutilainen, 2010–11
  • Isa Rahunen, 2011–12
  • Marjo Voutilainen, 2012–13
  • Venla Hovi & Anni Kettunen, 2013–14
  • Johanna Juutilainen, 2015–2018
  • Tanja Niskanen, 2018–19[5]
  • Tiina Ranne & Emma Ritari, 2019–20[6]
  • Emma Ritari, 2020–21
  • Johanna Juutilainen, 2021–

Head coaches

  • Mikko Miettinen, 0–2000
  • Seppo Tirronen, 2000–
  • Marjo Voutilainen, 2016–2022
  • Mika Väärälä, 2022[7]

Awards and honours

Finnish Championship

Sources: [8][9][10]

Player awards

  • 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen[11]
  • 2019–20: Tanja Niskanen
  • 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen
  • 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen
  • 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen
  • 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen
  • 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen
  • 2022–23: Elisa Holopainen
  • 2020–21: Matilda Nilsson
  • 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen
  • 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen
  • 2019–20: Matilda Nilsson
  • 2020–21: Johanna Juutilainen
  • 2016–17: Tanja Niskanen
  • Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year)
  • 2019–20: Marjo Voutilainen

Player of the Month

  • November 2022: Elisa Holopainen[12]
  • September 2020: Elisa Holopainen[13]
  • September 2019: Matilda Nilsson[14]

All-Stars

First Team

  • 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen (W), Matilda Nilsson (W)
  • 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen (W), Tanja Niskanen (C), Matilda Nilsson (W)
  • 2018–19: Tanja Niskanen (C), Elisa Holopainen (W)
  • 2014–15: Matilda Nilsson (W)
  • 2013–14: Venla Hovi (W)

Second Team

  • 2020–21: Tiina Ranne (G)
  • 2019–20: Tiina Ranne (G)
  • 2018–19: Matilda Nilsson (W)
  • 2017–18: Matilda Nilsson (W), Elisa Holopainen (W)
  • 2016–17: Matilda Nilsson (W), Tanja Niskanen (C)

Team records

As of 10 April 2022

Single-season records

Career records

  • Most career goals: Tanja Niskanen, 257 goals (301 games; 2006–2022)
  • Most career assists: Tanja Niskanen, 231 assists (301 games; 2006–2022)
  • Most career points: Tanja Niskanen, 488 points (301 games; 2006–2022)
  • Best career points per game, over 30 games played: Elisa Holopainen, 1.91 points per game (129 games; 2016–2021)
  • Most career points, defenceman: Emma Ritari, 102 points (251 games; 2009–2021)
  • Most career penalty minutes: Salla Rantanen, 306 PIM (236 games; 2012–2022)
  • Most games played, skater: Tanja Niskanen, 301 games (2006–2022)
  • Most games played, goaltender: Jenna Juutilainen, 115 games (2009–2022)

All-time scoring leaders

The top regular season point scorers in KalPa Naiset history.

As of April 2021

Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game;   = 2022–23 KalPa player

Points
Nat PlayerPosGPGAPtsP/G
Finland Tanja NiskanenF 3012572314881.62
Finland Johanna JuutilainenF 2801281983261.16
Finland Matilda NilssonF 1891641403041.61
Finland Elisa HolopainenF1291331142471.91
Finland Marjo VoutilainenF 177861011871.06
Finland Salla RantanenF23687911780.75
Finland Kati KovalainenF7072 35 107 1.53
Finland Emma RitariD25134681020.41
Finland Tanja KoljonenD1121770870.78
Finland Eija RahunenF802854821.02
Finland Tiina PaananenF58 4635811.40

Source(s): Elite Prospects[15]

Notable alumni

Years active with KalPa listed alongside players' names.[16]

International player(s)

  • Japan Nozomi Kiribuchi, 2015–16

References

  1. Pulkkinen, Aki-Petteri (27 May 2020). "Näkemys: Naiskiekolle ei jäänyt kaudesta mitään käteen − Korona ryösti vuoden työn". Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  2. "Naisten Liiga (W) - KalPa, 2022-2023 Roster". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  3. "2022-2023 Naisten Liiga – Kokoonpano KalPa". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  4. "Joukkue 2022-2023". KalPa Naiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  5. Foster, Meredith (30 November 2018). "Q&A with Tanja Niskanen". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  6. "Naisten Liigan avausturnaus Kuopiossa - esittelyssä kauden 2019-2020 joukkue". Juniori-KalPa ry (in Finnish). 4 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  7. Ruotsalainen, Annu (6 April 2022). "KalPa Naisten päävalmentaja vaihtuu – KMH Budapestin kanssa kolme mestaruutta voittanut valmentaja Mika Väärälä siirtyy Kuopioon". Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  8. Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Liiga. Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2019–2020 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. ISSN 0784-3321. OCLC 476321083.
  9. "Juniori-KalPa ry - KalPan naisille SM-hopeaa". Juniori-KalPa ry (in Finnish). 26 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. Löfman, Heikki (18 March 2023). "KalPa juhlii pronssia – HPK taipui Niiralassa". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. Niemeläinen, Jonne (16 March 2020). "Huikeat tehot kerännyt 19-vuotias KalPa-hyökkääjä Elisa Holopainen palkittiin Naisten Liigan runkosarjan parhaana – huomenna edessä kauden tärkein peli". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. Mennander, Pasi (1 December 2022). "KalPan Elisa Holopainen Naisten Liigan marraskuun pelaaja". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  13. Mennander, Pasi (1 October 2020). "KalPan Elisa Holopainen Naisten Liigan syyskuun pelaaja". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 13 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. Mennander, Pasi (2 October 2019). "KalPan Matilda Nilsson Naisten Liigan syyskuun pelaaja". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  15. "KalPa - All Time Regular Season Player Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 10 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. "KalPa - All Time Overall Totals Player Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
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