JYP is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team playing in the Finnish top division

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. They play in

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, at the LähiTapiola Areena.

History

JYP was founded in 1923. First it was the ice hockey section of the sports club ''Jyväskylän Palloilijat'' until 1977. Then they separated from that sports club to be an independent hockey club called JyP HT. The current full name of the club is ''JYP Jyväskylä Oy'', having been registered as an osakeyhtiö since 1999. JYP has won the Finnish SM-liiga twice, in 2009 and 2012, having been the losing side in the play-off finals in 1989 and 1992.

Early years

JYP was founded in 1923 as Jyväskylän Palloilijat (''Jyväskylä's Ballsport players'' in English). Originally the club was

multi-sport club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

having competitive departments in football,

pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; sv, boboll, both names literally meaning "nest ball", colloquially known in Finnish as pesis, also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland a ...

(Finnish baseball), bandy and later

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. In 1977 JyP divided due to financial reasons and ice hockey department began with new club, JyP HT (officially Jyväskylän Palloilijat Hockey Team) while football department formed JyP-77 (

JJK Jyväskylä JJK Jyväskylä (JJK; full name Jyväskylän Jalkapalloklubi) is a Finnish football club, based in Jyväskylä. JJK plays its home matches at Harjun Stadion. History Early years 1923–1992 Jyväskylän Palloilijat (abbreviated JyP), the p ...

nowadays). The new club started in I Division, the then-second tier of Finnish hockey. JyP HT promoted to the top tier for the 1985-86 SM-liiga season. With ambitious aims, they were fifth after regular season and surprisingly eliminated out of play-offs by only two points. At the next season, the target was in play-offs but seventh place was not enough. When the beginning of the third season was disappointment, head coach

Erkka Westerlund Erkka Westerlund (born 30 March 1957, in Pernå, Finland) was the head coach of the Finnish national men's ice hockey team. He was appointed head coach on November 1, 2004, and his contract ended in May 2007, after winning World Championship Sil ...

– subsequently Finnish national team coach – got sacked.

Partnership with the Boston Bruins

On 8 September 2010, JYP entered into a partnership agreement with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), to enable player transfer and training between the two teams and their developmental systems.

Players

2020–21 roster

Honours

Champions

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

Kanada-malja The Kanada-malja is an ice hockey club championship trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Finnish Liiga playoffs. Kanada-malja is Finnish for "Canada Bowl"; the trophy is so named because it was donated by Canada's Finnish community in 19 ...

''(2)'': 2008–09, 2011–12

Runners-up

''(2)'': 1988–89, 1991–92 *

''(5)'': 1992–93, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016–17

European titles

European Trophy European Trophy (previously named ''Nordic Trophy'' between 2006 and 2009) was an annually held ice hockey tournament, traditionally composed of teams from the higher-level ice hockey leagues in countries across Europe. With 32 participating teams ...

: * Winners (1):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Champions Hockey League The Champions Hockey League is a European first-level ice hockey tournament. Launched in the 2014–15 season by 26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament features top teams across Europe. Backgrou ...

: * Winners (1): 2018

Notable players

Jaroslav Bednář Jaroslav Bednář (born 9 November 1976) is a Czech professional ice hockey winger, who currently plays with HC Vrchlabí in the Czech.2 Liga Playing career Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Bednář began his career with Slavia Prague in 1994 an ...

Dwight Helminen Dwight Edward Helminen (born June 22, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey center who most recently played with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. His brother Lars plays with Linz EHC of the EBEL. Playing career Helminen was born in ...

Juha-Pekka Hytönen Juha-Pekka Hytönen (born May 22, 1981) is a Finnish ice hockey forward currently playing for JYP Jyväskylä. Career Juha-Pekka Hytönen started his career in JYP Jyväskylä junior teams. In 1999 he was chosen to Finnish national U18 team and n ...

Jarkko Immonen Jarkko Immonen (born April 19, 1982) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Mikkelin Jukurit of the Liiga. Playing career Immonen made his debut in Finland's second-tier league Mestis with TuTo Hockey during the 20 ...

* Steve Kariya * Jari Lindroos * Steve Martins * Jyri Marttinen * Michael Nylander *

Mika Noronen Mika Noronen (born 17 June 1979) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 71 games n the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks between 2000 and 2006. The rest of his career, which laste ...

Rich Peverley John Richard Peverley (born July 8, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He spent four years with the St. Lawrence University hockey team before turning professional, then playing three years for several teams in both the ...

* Antti Pihlström *

Jody Shelley Jody Shelley (born February 7, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. During his National Hockey League (NHL) career he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. ...

* Pavel Torgayev * Petr Ton *

Sinuhe Wallinheimo Mika Sinuhe Wallinheimo (born March 9, 1972 in Jyväskylä, Finland) is a Finnish politician and former professional ice hockey goaltender. As the last team he represented JYP in the SM-liiga. After his sporting career he entered politics and wa ...

Duvie Westcott Druval "Duvie" Westcott (born October 30, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for the Hamburg Freezers of the ''Deutsche Eishockey Liga'' (German Ice Hockey League). Westcott played his whole National Hoc ...

Robert Rooba Robert Rooba (born 2 September 1993) is an Estonian professional ice hockey left winger who currently plays for JYP of the Liiga. Rooba also represents Estonia in international hockey competitions, serving as team captain. Playing career Roob ...

Honored members

Ari-Pekka Siekkinen Ari-Pekka is a Finnish-language compound given name, composed of Ari and Pekka. Notable people with the name include: * Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (born 1989), Finnish swimmer * Ari-Pekka Nikkola (born 1969), Finnish ski jumper * Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari (b ...

*10 Pertti Rastela *13

Riikka Sallinen Hanna-Riikka Sallinen ( Nieminen, previously Välilä; born 12 June 1973) is a Finnish retired ice hockey, bandy, rinkball, and pesäpallo player. She is one of the most highly decorated players to have ever competed in international ice hockey. ...

*19 Pentti Mikkilä *30 Risto Kurkinen

NHL alumni

Yohann Auvitu Yohann Auvitu (born July 27, 1989) is a French professional ice hockey defenceman for Genève-Servette HC of the National League (NL). Playing career Auvitu left his native France in 2008 to continue his development with JYP Jyväskylä of Finl ...

Olli Määttä Olli Määttä (born 22 August 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2012 NHL Entr ...

Joonas Nättinen Joonas Aleksanteri Nättinen (born January 3, 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing career In 2008, Nättinen as a JYP-trained player began playing in the SM-liiga for the Espoo ...

Harri Pesonen Harri Pesonen (born August 6, 1988) is a Finnish professional ice hockey left winger for the SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). He previously played in the NL with Lausanne HC and in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Metallurg Magnit ...

Tuomas Pihlman Tuomas Pihlman (born November 13, 1982) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey Left Wing who played in the Finnish Liiga with JYP Jyväskylä. He also played in 15 games for the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League The Nat ...

Raimo Summanen Raimo Olavi Summanen (born March 2, 1962) is a former professional ice hockey forward and the current head coach of HIFK of the Finnish Elite League. He is also a former coach of the Finnish national team. He was selected by the Edmont ...

Sami Vatanen Sami Vatanen (born 3 June 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for Genève-Servette HC of the National League (NL). He was drafted in the fourth round, 106th overall, by the Anaheim Ducks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Playing car ...

References

External links

JYP official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jyp Sport in Jyväskylä Liiga teams 1923 establishments in Finland Liiga Ice hockey clubs established in 1923