KalPa

The Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena.

KalPa
CityKuopio
LeagueLiiga
Founded1929 (1929)
Home arenaData Group Areena
ColoursBlack, gold
         
Owner(s)KalPa Hockey Oy
Sami Kapanen
Kimmo Timonen
Scott Hartnell
General managerKimmo Kapanen
Head coachSami Kapanen
CaptainTommi Jokinen
Affiliate(s)SaPKo
Websitewww.kalpa.fi

Team history

Established in 1929 as Sortavalan Palloseura in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuopio in 1945 after its original hometown had been annexed by the Soviet Union. During its Sortavala years, the club was not active in ice hockey, but competed in association football, bandy, and pesäpallo instead. Ice hockey was introduced in 1947, and in 1956 KalPa officially replaced the more traditional Kuopio club KuPS 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 players Sami Kapanen and Kimmo Timonen. Kapanen is the majority owner, controlling 50.5% of the franchise. Timonen owns 8%, while Timonen's former teammate Scott 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, Timonen, Kapanen, and fellow NHL player Adam Hall were playing for KalPa. After winning the Mestis championship, KalPa returned to SM-liiga 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.

Honors

SM-liiga

Mestis

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

Spengler Cup

Players

Current roster

Source: eliteprospects.com[1]As of February 12, 2020.

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
25 Otto Leskinen D R 23 2015 Pieksämäki, Finland
6 Joona Riekkinen D L 21 2017 Kuopio, Finland
5 Mikael Seppälä D L 26 2013 Ylivieska, Finland
7 Saku Vesterinen D R 21 2018 Siilinjärvi, Finland
91 Leevi Aaltonen LW L 19 2018 Mikkeli, Finland
10 Frank Gymer C L 24 2017 Helsinki, Finland
15 Toni Hyvärinen RW R 32 2018 Kuopio, Finland
61 Joni Ikonen C L 23 2014 Siilinjärvi, Finland
42 Tommi Jokinen C R 31 2016 Siilinjärvi, Finland
84 Jyri Junnila RW L 35 2018 Raahe, Finland
28 Mikko Juusola C L 22 2017 Kuusamo, Finland
81 Kai Kantola (A) C/RW R 32 2017 North York, Ontario, Canada
8 Aleksi Klemetti LW L 21 2017 Kuhmo, Finland
29 Henri Knuutinen LW L 23 2016 Kiuruvesi, Finland
41 Juuso Könönen LW L 22 2017 Kuopio, Finland
46 Jussi Timonen D L 37 2008 Kuopio, Finland
40 Mikko Nuutinen RW R 29 2015 Kuopio, Finland
12 Topi Piipponen LW L 23 2015 Siilinjärvi, Finland
67 Julius Rantaeskola RW L 27 2019 Helsinki, Finland
82 Alexander Ruuttu C R 27 2016 Chicago, Illinois, USA
14 Balázs Sebők C/RW L 25 2016 Budapest, Hungary
11 Ville-Vesa Vainiola C L 35 2016 Rauma, Finland

Honored members

NHL alumni

References
  1. "Team Roster / KalPa". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2020-02-12.


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