JYP is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team playing in the Finnish top division

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...

. They play in

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

, Finland, at the LähiTapiola Areena.

History

JYP was founded in 1923. First it was the ice hockey section of the sports club ''Jyväskylän Palloilijat'' The current full name of the club is, having been registered as an

osakeyhtiö (; " stock company"), often abbreviated to Oy (), is the term for a Finnish limited company (e.g., Ltd, LLC, or GmbH). The Swedish-language term is , often abbreviated (in Finland) to Ab. The Swedish abbreviation is sometimes included, as ...

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 Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

pesäpallo Pesäpallo (; ; , colloquially known in Finnish as pesis and also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other ...

(Finnish baseball),

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, 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 playin ...

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 (appro ...

. 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 Jyväskylän Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly referred to as JJK Jyväskylä or simply JJK, is a Finnish football club, based in Jyväskylä. JJK plays its home matches at Harjun Stadion. History Early years 1923–1992 Jyväskylän Palloilija ...

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 The 1985–86 SM-liiga season was the 11th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland. 10 teams participated in the league, and Tappara Tampere won the championship. Standings Playoffs Semifinals * Tappara - Kärpät 3:0 (8 ...

. 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 silver in Moscow's World ...

– 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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

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

Players

2020–21 roster

Honours

Champions

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

Kanada-malja The Kanada-malja, or Poika (Literally "''Boy''" or "''Son''"), is an ice hockey club championship trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Finnish SM-liiga playoffs. Kanada-malja is Finnish language, Finnish for "Canada Bowl"; the trophy is s ...

''(2)'': 2008–09, 2011–12

Runners-up

''(2)'': 1988–89, 1991–92 *

''(5)'': 1992–93, 2009–10,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 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 team ...

: * Winners (1):

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

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 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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 a ...

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 Jari Juhani Lindroos (born 31 January 1961 in Pieksämäki, Finland) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. He played for JYP, Jokerit and Kärpät and competed with the Finland national ice hockey team at ...

* Steve Martins * Jyri Marttinen *

Michael Nylander Michael Gunnar Nylander (born 3 October 1972) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre and coach. He played for fifteen seasons in the NHL, and represented the Swedish national team in multiple Olympics and World Championships. Play ...

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

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. He is a current broadcaster as a studio analyst and color commentator with FanDuel Sports Network Ohio and Monday Night Hockey. During his National Ho ...

* Pavel Torgayev *

Petr Ton Petr Ton (born 8 October 1973) is a Czech former professional ice hockey winger. Ton played in the Czech Extraliga for HC Kladno, HC Sparta Praha and HC Kometa Brno. He also played in the Finnish SM-liiga for Jokerit, Blues, JYP and Oulun Kär ...

* Sinuhe Wallinheimo *

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 Ho ...

* Robert Rooba

Honored members

Ari-Pekka Siekkinen Ari-Pekka is a Finnish-language compound given name, composed of Ari (name), 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 Nur ...

*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 who is currently a free agent. Playing career Auvitu left his native France in 2008 to continue his development with JYP Jyväskylä of Finland. He logged his fir ...

Olli Määttä Olli Määttä (born 22 August 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2012 NHL entry draft ...

Joonas Nättinen Joonas Aleksanteri Nättinen (born January 3, 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is an unrestricted free agent. He was selected in the third round, 65th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Playing c ...

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 Magn ...

Tuomas Pihlman Tuomas Pihlman (born 13 November 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 (NHL). Playi ...

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 Finns, Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently a free agent. He last played for Genève-Servette HC of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). He was drafted in the fourth r ...

References

External links

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