Tappara (; Finnish for "

Battle axe A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-ha ...

") is a Finnish 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 ...

team playing in the

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 at ''

Tampere Deck Arena Nokia Arena (originally Tampere Deck Arena, fi, Tampereen Kannen areena) is an indoor arena in Tampere, Finland. It hosts ice hockey games, including the 2022 Men's World Championship, and large cultural events. It is also the home arena of Il ...

'' in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...

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 Bot ...

. The team has won 18 Finnish league championships (1959, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2003, 2016, 2017, 2022). The team continued the traditions of TBK, who won three national championships in a row in 1953, 1954 and 1955.

Team history

Early days and the transition from TBK to Tappara

The predecessor of Tappara TBK (Tammerfors Bollklubb) was established in 1932 by the Tampere Swedish School (Tampereen Ruotsalainen Yhteiskoulu) as its own sports club. After winning the Finnish championship in 1953, 1954 and 1955. In 1955, the TBK Ice-hockey department founded Tappara to as its new club to make it more accessible to non-Swedish locals and give it opportunity to grow as a club, at the same time the Ice-Hockey division of TBK stopped as an Icehockey club at the highest competitive level. Most of the players transferred from TBK to Tappara. Tappara used TBK's colors and got their place in the top league. Tappara played its first official game in the same year, 1955. The transition was led by team president Harry Lindblad.

First period of success as Tappara (1956–1964)

Tappara went on to win three championships (1959, 1961, and 1964), three second places (1958, 1960, and 1963), and three third places (1956, 1957, and 1962) in just nine years. Their winning streak was followed by a more silent period, with Tappara even playing one season (1965–1966) at the second highest level, gaining immediate promotion back to the top flight. In 1965, an indoor arena

Tampereen jäähalli Tampere Ice Stadium ( fi, Tampereen jäähalli, often called ''Hakametsä'') is an indoor sports arena in Tampere, Finland. It is primarily used for ice hockey, and it was the former home arena of Ilves and Tappara of the Finnish Liiga, until ...

was built in Hakametsä to be the home arena of Tappara and their local rivals, Ilves and Koo-Vee. 1965 World Ice Hockey Championships were also held there in the same year.

Second period of success (1975–1988)

Tappara fans had to wait until the mid-seventies until Tappara started to be successful again, thanks to some legendary players such as the goalkeeper Antti Leppänen and the defender Pekka Marjamäki. The bronze medals in 1973 and silver medals in 1974 were followed by Finnish championship in 1975. This successful period was even longer than the first period of glory in the 1950s and early sixties. Tappara also won the Finnish championships in 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, and the long streak ended by winning three consecutive championships in 1986–1988. Many fans regard the Tappara team of the late 1980s – coached by

Rauno Korpi Rauno "Rane" Korpi (born June 25, 1951 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish ice hockey coach. He coached Tappara to three consecutive Finnish Championships in SM-liiga during the years 1986-1988. He has also won one additional Finnish Championship Gol ...

– as their strongest of all time. Behind the senior players such as Timo Susi and Erkki Lehtonen, the likes of

Teppo Numminen Teppo Kalevi Numminen (born July 3, 1968) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for Tappara and TuTo of the SM-liiga and the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars ...

(a long-term defender in NHL) and

Janne Ojanen Janne Juhani Ojanen (born April 9, 1968) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player who is the all-time leading scorer in Finland's SM-liiga with 799 points. He spent the majority of his career playing for SM-liiga team Tappara. Playing ...

(Tappara icon) led the way as new talented youngsters. In 1988, the Finland national team gained its first success by winning the Olympic silver medal in Calgary, and Tappara players formed a substantial part of the Finnish team. Tappara players, Erkki Lehtonen and Janne Ojanen, were the goal scorers for Finland in the decisive win against the Soviet Union.

Recent days and success in mid-2010s

During the 1990s, Tappara did not gain any notable success besides finishing third in the league in spring 1990. In 1992, the once so mighty team even had to fight for its place at the top level in relegation playoffs against Oulun Kärpät. A glimpse of glory was, however, achieved on the international level, as Tappara player

Timo Jutila Timo Juhani "Juti" Jutila (born 24 December 1963 in Tampere, Finland) is a retired Finnish ice hockey defenceman. Jutila was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres (4th round, 68th overall) in 1982 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Jutila's ice hockey ca ...

captained the Finnish national team to win the ice hockey world championship in 1995. In the early 2000s, Tappara played some good seasons, winning silver medals in both 2001 and 2002. In 2003 – to the surprise of many – Tappara won the Finnish championship, coached by

Jukka Rautakorpi Jukka Tapio Rautakorpi (born December 17, 1963 in Kauhajoki, Finland) is a Finnish ice hockey coach. Career Shortly after his playing career ended, Rautakorpi began his coaching career starting out with the under-16 team of JYP Jyväskyl� ...

. After that, Tappara reached 3rd place in the top league in 2008 but that achievement was followed by some difficult seasons. Tappara qualified only once to the playoffs between 2009 and 2012. All changed in the 2012–13 season when Tappara made it to the finals for the first time since the 2003 championship, but lost to Ässät. In 2014 and 2015 Tappara came even closer to the title. Both final series were decided in a decisive seventh game and both of the games Kärpät won in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. In 2016, Tappara finally won the championship after beating

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

in the finals. In 2017, Tappara won the regular season for the first time since 2002, advanced to the finals for the fifth time in a row and won another championship against

KalPa Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena. Team history Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuop ...

. In 2018, Tappara reached the finals for a record-breaking 6th year in a row, but lost to Kärpät in 6 games. The great streak of final appearances came to an end in 2019 when HPK defeated Tappara in the semi-finals in six games. The medal streak continued however, as Tappara won the

bronze medal game Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

against HIFK.

Home arena

Tappara has played their home games in

since it was built in 1965. The local rival Ilves used the same arena. The arena was the first indoor arena in Finland and it is located in the neighborhood of Hakametsä. Originally the capacity was 10,200 spectators, but it has declined in various renovations over the years. In its current form, the arena accommodates 7,300 spectators. A new arena was built in the city center of

on a covered

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or ...

. The new Nokia arena opened in December 2021. The arena is the main stage of the 2022

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

. The old rink continues as a venue for indoor sports. The ice-hockey club KooVee and the junior teams of Tappara and Ilves will use this location for official games.

Current roster

Updated December 11, 2022.

Notable players

* Seppo Ahokainen *

Teemu Aalto Teemu Matias Aalto (born 30 March 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He played in the for Ilves in the Finnish Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the ...

* Nick Angell *

Niklas Bäckström Niklas Oskar Bäckström (; born 13 February 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltending coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played ten seasons for the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames in the Natio ...

Aleksander Barkov Aleksander Aleksandrovich "Sasha" Barkov (russian: Александр Александрович Барков; born 2 September 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League ...

Aleksander Barkov Jr. Aleksander Aleksandrovich "Sasha" Barkov (russian: Александр Александрович Барков; born 2 September 1995) is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League ...

André Benoit André Benoit (born January 6, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played for several professional teams including the Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis Blues of the National Ho ...

Luciano Borsato Luciano Roberto Borsato (born January 7, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Borsato played five seasons in the National Hockey League for the Winnipeg Jets. Playing career Borsato was drafted in the 7th round, 135th overa ...

* Justin Braun * Alain Côté * Dale Clarke * Thomas Draper * Jonas Enlund *

Theoren Fleury Theoren Wallace "Theo" Fleury (born June 29, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, author, and motivational speaker. Fleury played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks of t ...

Kurtis Foster Kurtis Foster (born November 24, 1981) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 408 career games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Junior hockey Peterborough Petes (1997–2002) F ...

* Josh Green *

Jari Grönstrand Jari Grönstrand (born November 14, 1962) is a Finnish retired professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League 1986 and 1991, and in the SM-liiga between 1982 and 1986, and again from 1991 to 1994. He played for Tappara, M ...

* Janne Grönvall *

Steve Guolla Stephen K. Guolla (born March 15, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers and the New Jersey Devils. Guolla is a 2016 Michi ...

* Hannu Haapalainen *

Jannik Hansen Jannik Hansen (born 15 March 1986) is a Danish former professional ice hockey right winger. Hansen began playing professionally at the age of 16 with both the Rødovre Mighty Bulls of the Danish league and the Malmö Redhawks of the Swedish J ...

Greg Hawgood Gregory William Hawgood (born August 10, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Pengu ...

Martti Jarkko Martti Jarkko (born November 26, 1953 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. He played for Tappara and TPS in Finland and Iserlohner EC in Germany. He was inducted into the Finn ...

* Hannu Kamppuri *

Pertti Koivulahti Pertti Antero Koivulahti (7 June 1951 – 11 March 2019) was a professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. Born in Tampere, Finland, he played for Tappara. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame The Finn ...

Petri Kontiola Petri Kontiola (born October 4, 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre currently playing for Ilves of the Liiga. Kontiola has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, the organization that ...

Lasse Korhonen Lasse Korhonen is a Finnish ice hockey player who played professionally in Finland for Tappara Tappara (; Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. They play at '' Tampere Deck Arena'' in T ...

Jiří Kučera Jiří Kučera (born March 28, 1966) is a Czech professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of HC Litvinov. During his playing career he played for HC Plzen and Dukla Jihlava in his home country and for Tapp ...

Patrik Laine Patrik Laine (; born 19 April 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey winger who currently plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. Laine formerly played in his native Finland with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga befor ...

* Pekka Laksola * Jori Lehterä * Tero Lehterä * Mika Lehto * Antero Lehtonen * Erkki Lehtonen * Mikko Leinonen * Antti Leppänen * Lasse Litma * Mikko Luoma *

Toni Lydman Toni Petteri Lydman (born 25 September 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He first played competitively in his native Finland with Tappara, and HIFK of the SM-liiga before enjoying a lengthy career in the National H ...

* Pekka Marjamäki *

Jussi Markkanen Jussi Markkanen (born May 8, 1975) is a Finnish professional ice hockey executive and former goaltender. He is currently serving as general manager of SaiPa. Markkanen played extensively in various European professional leagues as well as the N ...

* Jiří Marusak * Markus Mattsson * Derek Mayer * Roman Meluzín *

Reijo Mikkolainen Reijo Kalevi Mikkolainen (born May 14, 1964 in Pirkkala, Finland) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. He won a silver medal with the Finland team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. He played for Tappara, Ilves, an ...

Tuukka Mäntylä Tuukka Matias Mäntylä (born 25 May 1981) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 5th round (153rd overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Mäntylä came through the y ...

* Jason Muzzatti * Esko Niemi *

Ville Nieminen Ville Juhani Nieminen (born April 6, 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward who played over 400 games in the National Hockey League. Playing career Nieminen started his professional hockey career with Tappara in the Finnis ...

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 ...

Kalevi Numminen Veijo Kalevi Numminen (born 31 January 1940 in Tampere, Finland) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. He played for Tappara. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986. Numminen has also c ...

* Stefan Öhman *

* Mike O'Neill *

Olli Palola Olli Palola (born 8 April 1988) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who currently plays professionally for Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing career Palola saw his first action in the Finnish top-flight Liiga durin ...

Jukka Peltola Jukka Peltola (born 26 August 1987) is a Finnish professional ice hockey Forward who is currently playing under contract with Tappara of the Liiga. Playing career Peltola played throughout the first 12 seasons of his professional career with T ...

* Pasi Petriläinen *

Lasse Pirjetä Lasse Pirjetä (born April 4, 1974) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He represented several teams in the Finnish SM-liiga, Frölunda HC in the Swedish Elitserien and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins in the ...

Esa Pirnes Esa Pirnes (born April 1, 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey centre. He began and concluded his 21 year career playing for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga. Pirnes was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 6th round (174th ...

* Jukka Porvari *

Pasi Puistola Pasi Puistola (born September 16, 1978) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player. References External links * 1978 births Finnish ice hockey defencemen Ilves players Porin Ässät (men's ice hockey) players Tappara playe ...

Andrew Raycroft Andrew Joseph Ernest Raycroft (born May 4, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Originally drafted by the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) 135th overall in 1998, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy wi ...

* Matti Rintakoski *

Anssi Salmela Anssi Salmela (born 13 August 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with EHC Biel of the National League (NL). Playing career Undrafted, Salmela's professional career started in the 2003–04 season with ...

* Pekka Saravo *

Bedřich Ščerban Bedřich Ščerban (born 31 May 1964, in Jihlava) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He competed at three Winter Olympics. Ščerban began his career with HC Dukla Jihlava of the Czech Extraliga in 1986. In 1991, he mo ...

Jaromír Šindel Jaromír Šindel (born November 30, 1959 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia) is an ice hockey player who played for the Czechoslovak national team. He won a silver medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known ...

Mike Stapleton Michael Patrick Stapleton (born May 5, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League from 1986 until 2001. Throughout his career Stapleton played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Pi ...

* Timo Susi * Pertti Valkeapää *

Ari Vallin Ari Vallin (born March 21, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. In summer 2015, he was transferred from Oulun Kärpät to KooKoo ''KooKoo'' is the debut solo album by American singer Debbie Harry, released on July 2 ...

Jarkko Varvio Jarkko Varvio (April 28, 1972) is a Finnish former ice hockey player who had a very brief stint in the NHL. Varvio was drafted by Minnesota North Stars in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He was the top scorer at the 1992 Men's World Ice Hockey Champ ...

Vesa Viitakoski Vesa Ilmari Viitakoski (born February 13, 1971 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is a former professional ice hockey player. Career Viitakoski started his professional career in his home town, Lappeenranta, playing for two seasons in the local club, S ...

File:Tbk45.jpg, TBK in 1945 File:Esko Niemi.jpg, Esko Niemi File:Ojanen Janne Tappara 2008 1.jpg, Janne Ojanen File:Tuukka Mäntylä.jpg, Tuukka Mäntylä File:Ville Nieminen.jpg, Ville Nieminen File:Jori Lehterä.jpg, Jori Lehterä File:Christian Heljanko Tappara 2021.jpg, Christian Heljanko File:Patrik Laine.jpg, Patrik Laine

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 ''(11)'': 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2003, 2016, 2017, 2022 * SM-sarja Kanada-malja ''(7)'': 1953, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1975 *

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup ( fi, Suomen cup; sv, Finlands cup) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the ...

''(1)'': 1957

Runners-up

''(13)'': (1958, 1960, 1963, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1981, 2001, 2002, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 * SM-sarja ''(4)'': 1958, 1960, 1963, 1974 *

''(3)'': 1990, 2008, 2019 * SM-sarja ''(9)'': 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1973 *

''(2)'': 1964, 1966

International

* Nordic Trophy ''(1)'':

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

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 ...

''(1)'': 2021–22 * IIHF European Cup ''(1)'': 1980 * IIHF European Cup ''(2)'': 1983, 1988 *

Tampere Cup Tampere Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament held in Tampere, Finland. It is hosted by two local teams, Tappara and Ilves. The most successful team is one of the hosts, Tappara with four titles. Metallurg Magnitogorsk has won the tournament th ...

''(6)'': 1996, 1999, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022

Retired numbers

*2 -

*3 - Pekka Marjamäki *7 -

*8 -

*10 - Timo Susi *12 - Erkki Lehtonen

Head coaches

* Jaakko Hietaniemi 1937-1950 * Jarl Ohlson 1950–61, 1965–66 * Aulis Hirvonen 1961-63 * Erkki Hytönen 1963-65 * Reijo Ojanen 1966-67 * Matti Haapaniemi 1967-68 * Esko Luostarinen 1968-1970 *

1970–1979, 1991-1992 *

1979–1982, 1985–1991, 1997-1998 * Olli Hietanen 1982-1984 * Esko Niemi 1984 * Jorma Kurjenmäki 1984-1985 *

Pertti Hasanen Pertti is a Finnish masculine given name.http://verkkopalvelu.vrk.fi/Nimipalvelu/default.asp?L=1 nimipalvelu Notable people *Pertti Ahlqvist, blues musician *Pertti Haikonen, footballer * Pertti Hasanen, ice hockey goalkeeper * Pertti Honkanen, ...

1992-1993 *

Boris Majorov Boris Aleksandrovich Mayorov (born February 11, 1938, in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a retired ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for HC Spartak Moscow HC Spartak Moscow (russian: ХК Спартак Москв� ...

1993-1994 * Kaj Matalamäki 1994–1995, 2005 *

1995–1997, 1999–2003, 2005–2006, 2012–2014, 2017- * Ismo Läntinen 1998-1999 * Mika Saarinen 2003-2005 *

Mikko Saarinen Mikko Saarinen (4 April 1946 – 29 December 2022) was a Finnish boxer. He competed in the men's light middleweight event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and c ...

2005, 2008-2010 * Rauli Urama 2006-2008 * Sami Hirvonen 2010-2011 *

Risto Dufva Risto Dufva (born May 1, 1963) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently the head coach of Vaasan Sport of the Finnish ice hockey league (Liiga). Dufva played with JYP Jyväskylä during the 1990–91 SM-liiga seas ...

2011-2012 *

Jussi Tapola Jussi Tapola (born June 13, 1974) is a Finnish ice hockey coach. He was the head coach for Kunlun Red Star in Beijing, China of the KHL. Career Tapola spent his playing days in Finnish lower leagues, mostly turning out for Ahmat Hyvinkää. ...

2014-2017

References

External links

* {{SM-liiga Sport in Tampere Liiga teams 1932 establishments in Finland 1955 establishments in Finland Liiga