Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional

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 which competes in the Finnish

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

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

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 Olvi Areena.

Team history

Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in

Sortavala Sortavala (russian: Сортавала; Finnish and krl, Sortavala; sv, Sordavala); till 1918 Serdobol (russian: Сердоболь) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finnish bord ...

, the club relocated to

in 1945 after its original hometown had been annexed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. During its Sortavala years, the club was not active in ice hockey, but competed in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

, and

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 ...

instead. Ice hockey was introduced in 1947, and in 1956 KalPa officially replaced the more traditional Kuopio club

KuPS Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish football club, based in the ninth most populated city of Finland, Kuopio. KuPS plays in Finland's Premier League, Veikkausliiga. KuPS has won the Finnish championship six times, the Finnish Cup 4 times ...

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 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 ...

players

Sami Kapanen Sami Hannu Antero Kapanen (born 14 June 1973) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played 12 NHL seasons for the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers. He is the majority owne ...

and

Kimmo Timonen Kimmo Samuel Timonen (born 18 March 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Chicago Blackhawks. Timonen had play ...

. Kapanen is the majority owner, controlling 50.5% of the franchise. Timonen owns 8%, while Timonen's former teammate

Scott Hartnell Scott Wesley Hartnell (born April 18, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets. 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 The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Timonen, Kapanen, and fellow NHL player

Adam Hall Adam John Hall (born August 14, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey player. A second round selection of the Nashville Predators in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Hall played in the National Hockey League for the Nashville Predators, ...

were playing for KalPa. After winning the

Mestis Mestis (from fi, Mestaruussarja, meaning 'Championship series') is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division'). ...

championship, KalPa returned to

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 ...

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

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 195 ...

: 1990–91, 2016-17 * SM-liiga Kanada-malja: 2008–09

Mestis

: 2003-04, 2004–05

Finnish Liiga A-juniors (U20)

* Finnish Liiga A-juniors (U20): 2007–08, 2017–18

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss tea ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Players

Current roster

Honored members

*1 - Pasi Kuivalainen *24 -

*27 -

Jouni Rinne Jouni Rinne (born 12 March 1956) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. He played for Lukko, HPK, KalPa, KooKoo, and YJK. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005. Rinne is the only Finnis ...

*44 -

NHL alumni

(2004–05) *

Teemu Hartikainen Teemu Hartikainen (born 3 May 1990) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with Genève-Servette HC of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). Playing career In nine games with the KalPa U18 squad i ...

(2008–10) *

Olli Jokinen Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen (born December 5, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut. He has also played for the Ne ...

(1994–95) *

Kasperi Kapanen Samu Kasperi Kapanen (born 23 July 1996) is a Finnish professional ice hockey right wing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He made his Liiga debut playing with KalPa during the 2012–13 SM-liiga season. Kapanen was ...

(2012–15) *

(1990–94, 2004–05, 2008–10, 2011–14) *

Jarmo Kekäläinen Jarmo Kekäläinen (born July 3, 1966) is a Finnish professional ice hockey executive and former player who briefly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. Kekäläinen serves as the general manager ...

(1983–85, 1991–92) *

Mikko Koskinen Mikko Koskinen (born 18 July 1988) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for HC Lugano of the National League (NL). Koskinen was drafted in the second round, 31st overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. Playin ...

(2011–13) *

Artturi Lehkonen Artturi Lehkonen (born 4 July 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lehkonen was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (55th overall) of the 2013 NHL Ent ...

(2012–14) *

Juuso Riikola Juuso Riikola (born 9 November 1993) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing with IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). His brother, Simo-Pekka also played professionally. Playing career Riikola made his S ...

(2012–18) * Craig Smith (2012) *

Derek Stepan Derek Kenneth Stepan ( ; born June 18, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey center. He is currently under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played in the NHL for the New York Rang ...

(2012–13) *

Jeremy Stevenson Jeremy Joseph Stevenson (born July 28, 1974) is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who last played for the Kalamazoo Wings of the International Hockey League. Early life Born in San Bernardino, California, Ste ...

(2007–08) *

Alexandre Texier Alexandre Texier (born 13 September 1999) is a French professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for the ZSC Lions of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL) on loan from the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey ...

(2017–19) *

(1991–94, 2004–05) *

Jussi Timonen Jussi Timonen (born June 29, 1983) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He is the younger brothe ...

(2001–02, 2008–17)

References

External links

*
KalPa junior official web site
* Meltzer, Bil
NHL.com article on KalPa
Retrieved 2007-11-07. Kuopio Liiga teams 1929 establishments in Finland Liiga KalPa {{Finland-sport-stub