JYP Naiset or JYP Jyväskylä Naiset is a Finnish ice hockey team in the Naisten Mestis. Their

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

is the Jyväskylän harjoitusjäähalli ('Jyväskylä training ice hall') in Jyväskylä, Central Finland. JYP Naiset have won the Aurora Borealis Cup three times, in 1997, 1998, and 2016. The team is the successor of two teams: JyP Hockey Team (HT) Naiset, which existed from 1989 to 2000 and used the name JYP Naiset during the period 1997 to 2000, and Jyväskylän Hockey Cats (JyHC), which was founded in 1996 and was known as the Cats Jyväskylä during 2004 to 2009 and JYP Naiset from 2009 to present. They are the women's representative team of the ice hockey club JYP Juniorit ry and are loosely affiliated with JYP Jyväskylä of the Liiga.

History

JyP HT/JYP

The first JYP Naiset franchise was founded in 1989 as JyP HT Naiset by the ice hockey club JYP Jyväskylä Oy. The team competed in the

Naisten I-divisioona Naisten Mestis (; from ''Mestaruussarja'' meaning 'Championship series') is the second-highest women's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was founded as Naisten I-divisioona (Women's First Division) in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Associ ...

during 1989 to 1995 and in the Naisten SM-sarja (renamed Naisten Liiga in 2017) during 1995 to 2000. JyP HT Naiset won the Finnish Championship in 1997 and, after changing their name to JYP Naiset for the 1997–98 season, claimed the championship title again in 1998. In both championship seasons, the team was led by top point scorers

Tiina Paananen Tiina O. Paananen (born 5 July 1972) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player. She was a member of the Finnish women's national ice hockey teams that won bronze medals at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 1997 and 1999. Paananen played nine ...

, Riikka Sallinen (, previously Villilä),

Rose Matilainen A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that c ...

, and

Kirsi Hänninen Kirsi Maaria Hänninen (born 3 October 1976 in Joensuu, Finland) is a Finnish retired ice hockey Defenceman (ice hockey), defenceman and pesäpallo player. She played 116 games with the Finland women's national ice hockey team, Finnish national ...

, and backstopped by the goaltending of Tuula Puputti. They followed the back-to-back championship victories with a silver medal finish in 1999 and in fourth place in 2000. After the conclusion of the 1999–2000 season, the team was merged with the Jyväskylän Hockey Cats (JyHC) and a number of its players continued to play with JyHC. Other notable players from the JyP HC Naiset/JYP Naiset era include

Pirjo Ahonen Pirjo Hannele Ahonen (née Nieminen, previously Blomqvist; born 5 November 1970) is a Finnish retired ice hockey defenceman and bandy player and a former member of the Finnish women's national ice hockey team and national bandy team. In ice ...

, Katja Lehto,

Riikka Noronen Riikka Noronen (born 23 November 1982) is a Finnish ice hockey coach and retired forward, currently an assistant coach with Tampereen Ilves Naiset. The all-time leading point scorer in the Naisten Liiga, she also holds the records for youngest p ...

Sanna Peura Sanna can refer to: Places *Sanna, Nordland, an island in Træna municipality, Nordland county, Norway *Sanna, Ardnamurchan, a village in the far west of Scotland *Sänna, a village in Rõuge Parish, Võru County, Estonia *Sanna (Inn), a river in ...

, and

Hanne Sikiö Hanne Erika Sikiö (born 19 March 1978) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player. She represented in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2002 Winter Olympics and at three IIHF Women's World Championship tournaments, winning bronze in 1999 and ...

, among others.

Hockey Cats

Jyväskylän Hockey Cats (JyHC) was a women's ice hockey club, which was spun off from the JYP Jyväskylä in 1996 and run by the independent association Hockey Cats ry. The club operated several junior women's teams in addition to the representative women's team, which played in the Naisten II-divisioona and

until it making its Naisten SM-sarja debut in the 1999–2000 Postseason qualification/relegation series (; also called the qualifiers). The 1999–2000 Naisten SM-sarja season was the only instance in which both the original JYP Naiset franchise and JyHC played in the same league, though they played in separate postseason divisions – JYP in the playoffs and JyHC in the qualifiers – and never faced one another. After the season concluded, JYP Naiset was merged with the Jyväskylän Hockey Cats and the unified team took JYP's place in the Naisten SM-sarja.

JyHC/Cats Jyväskylä

The team, which changed its name from JyHC to the Cats Jyväskylä in 2004, found middling success in the Naisten SM-sarja, never finishing above fourth place or below sixth in the league rankings during the period from 2000 to 2009. Former JYP Naiset player Rose Matilainen served as JyHC/Cats Jyväskylä head coach for the 2000–01 to 2006–07 seasons. Notable players from the 2000–2009 JyHC/Cats Jyväskylä era include forwards Emmi Leinonen, Niina Mäkinen, Riikka Noronen, Saila Saari, and

Anne Tuomanen Anne Tuomanen (born 15 April 1987) is a Finnish retired ice hockey winger and former member of the Finnish national team, who played in the Naisten Liiga (NSML) for fifteen seasons. She was a member of the bronze medal-winning Finnish team at ...

; defencemen Pirjo Ahonen and

Vilma Tarvainen Vilma is a feminine first name. People named Vilma include: *Vilma Abrahamsson (born 1999), Swedish football player *Vilma Bánky (1901–1991), Hungarian silent film actress *Vilma Bardauskienė (born 1953), Lithuanian long jumper * Vilma Beck ...

; and goaltenders Anna-Kaisa Lemberg, Tuula Puputti, and

Meeri Räisänen Meeri Räisänen (born 2 December 1989) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and member of the Finnish national ice hockey team, currently playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Connecticut Whale. As a member of the Finnish natio ...

. The JyHC/Cats Jyväskylä were also able to attract several international players, including American goaltender Lisa Davis, Canadian defenceman Sheila Kocay, and Swiss national team goaltender Riitta Arnold-Schäublin.

JYP

In 2009, the Cats Jyväskylä became affiliated with the JYP Jyväskylä club and changed their name to JYP Naiset, through the team remained under the management of Hockey Cats ry. The team struggled in the first season after the name change, facing potential relegation in the 2009–10 season before saving themselves in the qualifiers. In 2010, 22 year old

Mika Väärälä Mika Väärälä (born 22 January 1988) is a Finnish ice hockey coach and the current head coach of KalPa Naiset in the Naisten Liiga (NSML). Coaching career Väärälä started coaching at age 22, as head coach of JYP Naiset in the Naisten SM-s ...

stepped in to the head coaching position and the team measurably improved, qualifying for the playoffs in 2011 and 2012, though they lost in the quarterfinals in both years. Over the 2010 to 2012 period, JYP was able to retain star skaters, like Saila Saari and Suvi Vacker, while also attracting Finnish national ice team talent, including Jenni Hiirikoski and Meeri Räisänen (who returned to the team in this period). JYP reached a period of historic success in the subsequent seasons, becoming one of the top two dominant teams in the Naisten SM-sarja. The era coincided with Hiirikoski being named team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 2012–13 and her impact on the culture of the team and the ability of the club to attract other Finnish national team players was arguably an essential element to the triumphs of team. Over the following several seasons, JYP welcomed a number of elite new players, including

Sanni Hakala Sanni Hakala (born 31 October 1997) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national team. She played more than seven seasons with HV71 in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) after beginning her career in the ...

and

Rosa Lindstedt Rosa Lindstedt (born 24 January 1988) is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national ice hockey team, currently serving as captain of Brynäs IF Dam in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). She won bronze medals at the 201 ...

in 2012, IIHF Hall of Fame inductee Riikka Sallinen (, previously Villilä) in 2013, and

Tiina Ranne Tiina Ranne (born 6 December 1994) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender, currently playing with KalPa Kuopio of the Naisten Liiga and the Finnish national team. She previously played for Team Oriflame Kuortane, JYP Jyväskylä Naiset, and HP ...

and Marjo Voutilainen in 2014; in addition to Katja Saari assuming the head coaching position in 2013. The team was bolstered by the influx of talent and, though Saari and Hiirikoski continued to be relied upon as the top point earners, the impact of the new players can be seen in the consistent climbing of their individual point totals from 39 and 37 points respectively in the 28 games of the 2012–13 season to both players notching 61 points in the 28 games of the 2014–15 season. JYP qualified for the Aurora Borealis Cup playoff final in every season of Hiirikoski's captaincy but were defeated three consecutive times by the powerhouse Espoo Blues in 2013, 2014, and 2015. For the 2015–16 season, the club signed even more elite players and iced one of the most skilled rosters in league history, which included Ranne and Räisänen in goal; Hiirikoski, Lindstedt, Emma Ritari, and

Ella Viitasuo Ella Viitasuo (born 27 May 1996) is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national team. She most recently played during the 2022–23 season with HV71 of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). Viitasuo represented Finland ...

at the blue line; and Hakala,

Sari Kärnä Sari Kärnä (born 2 April 1988) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player. She won a silver medal at the 2011 Winter Universiade and bronze medals at the IIHF World Women's Championships in 2015 and 2017 as a member of the Finnish national team. ...

Tanja Niskanen Tanja Niskanen (born 11 September 1992) is a Finnish ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national team, currently playing in the Naisten Liiga with KalPa Naiset. Following her second Olympic bronze medal win in February 2022, she ...

, Saari, Sallinen, and Voutilainen leading the forward ranks alongside longtime depth players. In the regular season, Hiirikoski scored 17 goals and notched 62 assists in 28 games played, setting the all-time league records for assists in a season and points earned by a defenceman. The efforts of previous seasons were finally rewarded and they claimed the Finnish Championship title, sweeping HPK Kiekkonaiset in the 2016 Aurora Borealis Cup finals. Despite having its most successful season in eighteen years, JYP Naiset was financially relegated from the Naisten SM-sarja in the summer of 2016, after its operating association, Hockey Cats ry, declared bankruptcy.

JYP

The women's representative team of Hockey Cats ry ceased in 2016, but the club’s secondary team, called JYP-Team, and its junior teams were absorbed by JYP Juniorit ry, the junior affiliate of JYP Jyväskylä Oy. JYP-Team had previously competed in the Naisten Mestis, where it continued to compete after the merger under the name JYP Naiset. Only five JYP Naiset players from the 2015–16 Naisten Liiga team appeared with the 2016–17 Naisten Mestis team as most 2015–16 players chose to transfer to other Naisten Liiga teams or sign with teams in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). JYP Naiset team found consistent success in the Mestis, ranking first in the league twice over the next four seasons and never finishing lower than third. The team gained promotion to the lower division of the Naisten Liiga in the 2020–21 season but were unable to retain their placement and were relegated at the end of the season.

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the most recent seasons completed by JYP Naiset.
Note: Finish = Rank at end of regular season; GP =

Games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

, W = Wins (3 points), OTW = Overtime wins (2 points), T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses (1 point), L = Losses, GF =

Goals for A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame i ...

, GA = Goals against, Pts =

Points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

, Top scorer:

( Goals+ Assists)

Players and personnel

Team captaincy history

JyP HT Naiset/JYP Naiset (JYP Jyväskylä Oy) *

Ira Salmela Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name * Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

, 1993–94 & 1995–96 *

, 1996–1998 JyHC/Cats Jyväskylä/JYP Naiset (Hockey Cats ry) * Riikka Sallinen, 2000–01 * Mirka Peltonen, 2005–06 * Vilma Tarvainen, 2007–08 * Maarit Lahtinen, 2008–2010 * Vilma Tarvainen, 2010–11 * Piia Perälä, 2011–12 * Jenni Hiirikoski, 2012–2016 JYP Naiset (JYP Juniorit ry) *Kati Rein, 2016–17 * Tiina Paananen, 2017–18 * Zaida Holmström, 2018– Source: Elite Prospects

Head coaches

JyP HC Naiset/JYP Naiset (JYP Jyväskylä Oy) *

Jussi Melkko Jussi () is a male given name. In Finnish language, Finnish originally it is short for Juhani or Juho, Finnish for Johannes/John (first name), John, but is also recognized as a name in its own right for official purposes. It can also be short for Ju ...

, 1996–1999 JyHC/Cats Jyväskylä/JYP Naiset (Hockey Cats ry) * Seppo Lahtinen, –2000 *Rose Matilainen, 2000–2007 *

, 2010–2013 *Katja Saari, 2014–2016 JYP Naiset (JYP Juniorit ry) *Mikko Viitanen, 2016–17 *Perttu Silvennoinen, 2017–18 *Mikko Viitanen, 2018–19 *Patrick Kåla, 2019–20 *Joni Aho, 2020–21 * Shiela Gagnon, 2021–

Retired numbers

* #13 Riikka Sallinen, 2020

Team honours

Finnish Championship

* Champions ''(3)'': 1996–97, 1997–98, 2015–16 * Runners-up ''(4)'': 1998–99, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15

Individual honours

Riikka Nieminen Award The Riikka Nieminen Award () is an ice hockey trophy, seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the Naisten Liiga Player of the Year. It is named after Riikka Sallinen (née Nieminen), now retired, who is widely considered th ...

(Player of the Year) ** 2013 – Jenni Hiirikoski ** 2014 – Jenni Hiirikoski ** 2015 – Jenni Hiirikoski ** 2016 – Jenni Hiirikoski *

Tuula Puputti Award The Tuula Puputti Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded seasonally by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the best goaltender of the Naisten Liiga and its predecessor, the Naisten SM-sarja. It is named after Tuula Puputti, the first Olympic ...

(Goaltender of the Year) ** 2013 – Meeri Räisänen ** 2014 – Meeri Räisänen *

Päivi Halonen Award The Päivi Halonen Award ( fi, Päivi Halonen -palkinto) is an ice hockey trophy awarded seasonally by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the best defenceman in the Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier divi ...

(Defenceman of the Year) ** 2013 – Jenni Hiirikoski ** 2014 – Jenni Hiirikoski ** 2015 – Jenni Hiirikoski ** 2016 – Jenni Hiirikoski *

Katja Riipi Award The Katja Riipi Award () is an ice hockey trophy, seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the best forward of the Naisten Liiga, previously the ''Naisten SM-sarja''. Best forward in the Naisten Liiga was first awarded in the ...

(Forward of the Year) ** 2016 – Tanja Niskanen *

Marianne Ihalainen Award The Marianne Ihalainen Award ( fi, Marianne Ihalainen -palkinto) an ice hockey trophy seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the regular season top point scorer of the Naisten Liiga (ice hockey), Naisten Liiga and its predec ...

(Most points) ** 1997 – Riikka Sallinen (, previously Villilä) **2016 – Jenni Hiirikoski *

Sari Fisk Award The Sari Fisk Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the player with the best Plus–minus (sports), plus–minus at the end of the regular season of the Naisten Liiga (ice hockey), Naisten Liiga. It i ...

(Best plus/minus) ** 2015 – Saila Saari *

Emma Laaksonen Award The Emma Laaksonen Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the fair play player of the year of the Naisten Liiga, called the until 2017. The award recognizes a player who best contributes to the scoring ...

(Fair-play player) ** 2013 – Saila Saari ** 2014 – Tiina Paananen (b. 1985) ** 2016 – Sanni Hakala *

Karoliina Rantamäki Award The Karoliina Rantamäki Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the playoff MVP of the Naisten Liiga, called the Naisten SM-sarja during 1982 to 2017. The Naisten SM-sarja Playoff MVP trophy was first ...

(Playoff MVP) ** 2016 – Riikka Sallinen (, previously Villilä) * Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year) **2015 – Katja Saari **2016 – Katja Saari

Notable alumni

Years active with JYP Naiset listed alongside player name. *

, 2012–2016 * Jenni Hiirikoski, 2010–2016 *

, 1994–95 & 1996–2000 *

, 2015–16 * Katja Lehto, 1994–95 & 1996–2000 * Anna-Kaisa Lemberg, 2001–02 *

, 2012–2016 *

, 1996–2000 *

, 2015–16 *

, 1995–2001 & 2004–2009 *

(b. 1972), 1996–2002 *Tiina Paananen (b. 1985), 2001–2018 *

, 1995–2000 & 2001–02 * Tuula Puputti, 1996–1999 & 2002–2005 *

, 2014–2016 *

, 2011–2014 & 2015–2017 * Saila Saari, 2008–2016 * Riikka Sallinen, 1989–1992, 1994–95, 1996–2002 & 2013–2016 *

, 1998–99 *

, 1999–2011 *

, 2015–16 * Marjo Voutilainen, 2014–2016

International players

* Riitta Arnold-Schäublin, 2007–08 * Lisa Davis, 2008–2010 * Sheila Gagnon (), 2008–2010 * Lea Schmid, 2011–12 * Emily Usset, 2017–18

References

Content in this article is translated from the existing Finnish Wikipedia articles at :fi:Jyväskylän Hockey Cats and :fi:JYP, and the existing German Wikipedia article at :de:JYP Naiset.

External links

* Team information and statistics fro
Eliteprospects.com
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(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:JYP Jyväskylä Naiset Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) teams Sport in Jyväskylä