Vilma Tanskanen (born 14 April 1995) is a Finnish retired

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 ...

player. As a member of the Finnish national team, she won a bronze medal at the

2015 IIHF Women's World Championship The 2015 IIHF Women's World Championship was the 16th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The competition also served as qualifications for the 2016 competition. Venues included the Malmö Isstadion, and Rosengårds I ...

and played in the

2016 IIHF Women's World Championship The 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship was the 17th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was contested in Kamloops, Canada from 28 March to 4 April 2016. Venues included the Sandman Centre, and the McArthur Island S ...

and the women's ice hockey tournament at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia.

Playing career

As a teen, Tanskanen played four seasons in the

Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten Lii ...

, the top-tier of women's ice hockey in Finland. While attending the

Kuortaneen urheilulukio Kuortaneen lukio ja urheilulukio or the Kuortane Lukio and Sports Academy is a general and sports-specialised in Kuortane, Finland. The sports academy is overseen by the Finnish Olympic Committee and affiliated with the Kuortane Olympic Trainin ...

in Kuortane for

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

during 2011 to 2014, she played with Team Oriflame under head coach Jari Risku. For the 2014–15 season, she returned to her youth club, Keski-Uudenmaan Juniorijääkiekkoilun Tuki (KJT), to play with its women's representative team,

KJT Haukat KJT or kjt may also refer to: *IATA code for Kertajati International Airport in northeastern West Java, Indonesia. *Katarina Johnson-Thompson Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson (born 9 January 1993) is an English athlete primarily known as an elit ...

, which had secured promotion to the Naisten Liiga from the Naisten Mestis at the conclusion of the 2012–13 season. When KJT Haukat failed to qualify for the 2015 playoffs, Tanskanen signed with the

Espoo Blues Naiset Kiekko-Espoo Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga. They play in the Tapiola district of Espoo, Finland at the ('training arena') of the Tapiolan urheilupuisto. The team was founded as Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS) in 1989 and has al ...

for the post-season, contributing a goal and an assist in six playoff games as the team claimed Aurora Borealis Cup.

NCAA

In 2015, she and Team Oriflame teammate Anna Kilponen both joined the

North Dakota Fighting Hawks women's ice hockey The North Dakota Fighting Sioux women's ice hockey team was the college ice hockey team at the Grand Forks campus of the University of North Dakota. They were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competed in National Col ...

program in the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

(WCHA)

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

of the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

. A defense-minded forward, Tanskanen had modest offensive production during her time with the Fighting Hawks, notching 6 points (4 goals+2 assists) across 33 games in the 2015–16 season and 7 points (3+4) across 32 games of the 2016–17 season. The

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

suddenly terminated its women's ice hockey program in the spring of 2017, forcing Tanskanen and many of her teammates to scramble for transfer opportunities with other NCAA Division I programs. Ultimately, Tanskanen joined the

Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey The Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey team is a college ice hockey program representing Mercyhurst University in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the College Hockey America (CHA) conference. They play in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Me ...

program in the

College Hockey America College Hockey America (CHA) is a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is made up of five women’s teams, with two in Pennsylvania; two in New Y ...

(CHA) conference for her final two years of college eligibility. She was joined by North Dakota Fighting Hawks

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

teammates

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and Emma Nuutinen, who was also a fellow Finnish national team member. Her production increased dramatically at Mercyhust and she tallied a career high 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points across 33 games in the 2017–18 season – tying with Brooke Hartwick for first on the team in goals and ranking second on the team for scoring behind Maggie Knott, while playing four fewer games than either Hartwick or Knott. Her breakout season was recognized with selection to the All-CHA Conference First Team.

International play

Tanskanen was selected for the

Finland women's national ice hockey team The Finnish women's national ice hockey team represents Finland at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championships, the Olympic Games, the Four Nations Cup, and other international-level wome ...

in the

. She played in all six games, not recording a point. Tanskanen made two appearances with the

Finland women's national under-18 ice hockey team The Finnish women's national under-18 ice hockey team () is the national women's junior ice hockey team of Finland, which represents Finland at the International Ice Hockey Federation's Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship and other intern ...

, at the IIHF World Women's U18 Championships, with the first in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

.IIHF - Team Finland Stats - 2013 U-18 World Championship
/ref>

Career statistics

International career

Through 2013-14 season

References

External links

* * * 1995 births Living people Finnish women's ice hockey forwards Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for Finland Ice hockey people from Vantaa Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden North Dakota Fighting Hawks women's ice hockey players Mercyhurst Lakers women's ice hockey players Linköping HC (women) players Espoo Blues Naiset players Team Kuortane players {{Finland-icehockey-player-stub