HIFK Naiset

For other teams of the parent club, see HIFK.
HIFK Naiset
City Helsinki
League Naisten Liiga
Founded 1982
Refounded 2018
Home arena Pirkkolan jäähalli
Colours Red, white, dark blue
     
Owner(s) HIFK Ishockey rf
General manager Saara Niemi
Head coach Saara Niemi
Captain Karoliina Rantamäki
Affiliate HIFK Akatemia
Parent club(s) HIFK
Website Official website
Franchise history
1982–1989 HIFK Naiset
2018–present HIFK Naiset
(Stadin Gimmat)
Championships
Regular season titles 1 (2022–23)
Aurora Borealis Cup 1 (2023)
Current uniform
Current season

HIFK Naiset, also known as Stadin Gimmat (lit. 'Girls of Stadi', a nickname for Helsinki), are an ice hockey team in the Finnish Naisten Liiga. They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki at the Pirkkolan jäähalli (lit. 'Pirkkola ice hall'). The team is operated by Oy HIFK-Hockey Ab, the same organization that owns the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga – HIFK Naiset are one of only two Naisten Liiga teams owned directly by a Liiga team.

The original HIFK Naiset was one of the ten founding teams from the inaugural 1982–83 Naisten SM-sarja season but they were financially relegated in 1989 and the club chose not to pursue women's ice hockey for the following several decades. The current team was established in 2018 and gained promotion to the Naisten Liiga from the second-tier Naisten Mestis at the end of their debut season in 2018–19.

History

Original team, 1982–1989

HIFK Naiset was one of the original ten teams to play in the inaugural season, 1982–83, of the Naisten SM-sarja, 'Women's Finnish Championship Series' (renamed Naisten Liiga in 2017). The team struggled early on, forced to compete with fellow Helsinki-based team Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK) for top talent. HIFK finished in the bottom half of the league in their first five seasons, ranking seventh of ten teams in 1982–83, ninth of twelve in 1983–84, eighth of thirteen in 1984–85, fifth of eight in 1985–86, and sixth of eight in 1986–87.

The team's fortunes turned in the 1987–88 season and they earned a 7-2-5 (win-tie-loss) record with a +3 goal differential and claimed third place in the Naisten SM-sarja playoffs, earning Finnish Championship bronze. With a 1988–89 roster that included three members of the newly-created Finnish women's national ice hockey team – defencemen Johanna Ikonen and Maria Turki (Novitsky), and forward Ulla Saarikko – HIFK continued their upward trajectory, posting an 8-2-4 record with a +20 goal differential and claiming Finnish Championship bronze for the second consecutive season.

Despite the marked improvement of the team, HIFK was financially relegated after the 1988–89 season and no senior women's representative team or any programs for women and girls existed in the club for the following twenty-five years.

Season-by-season results

This is a list of all seasons completed by HIFK Naiset, including the original HIFK Naiset (1982–1989) and Stadin Gimmat-HIFK Naiset (2018–present).

Note: Finish = Rank at end of regular season; GP = Games played, W = Wins (3 points), OTW = Overtime/shootout wins (2 points), T = Ties (1 point), OTL = Overtime/shootout losses (1 point), L = Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points, Top scorer: Points (Goals+Assists)

Season League Preliminaries and regular season Post season results
Finish GP W OTW T OTL L GF GA Pts Top scorer
1982–83 Naisten SM-sarja 7th 8 3 – 0 – 5 43 26 6 Did not qualify
1983–84 Naisten SM-sarja 9th 8 2 – 0 – 6 27 42 4 Did not qualify
1984–85 Naisten SM-sarja 8th 9 3 – 0 – 6 26 29 6 Did not qualify
1985–86 Naisten SM-sarja 5th 14 3 – 4 – 7 36 40 10 Did not qualify
1986–87 Naisten SM-sarja 6th 14 6 – 0 – 8 33 39 12 Did not qualify
1987–88 Naisten SM-sarja 3rd 14 7 – 2 – 5 35 32 16 Won bronze medal
1988–89 Naisten SM-sarja 3rd 14 8 – 2 – 4 53 33 18 Won bronze medal
2018–19 Naisten Mestis 1st 26 24 1 – 0 1 159 26 74 Mi. Klemola 50 (23+27) Promoted to Naisten Liiga
2019–20 Naisten Liiga 7th 30 15 2 – 3 10 124 74 52 E. Passard 47 (28+19) Lost quarterfinals, 0–3 (Kärpät)
2020–21 Naisten Liiga 3rd 27 16 4 – 1 6 104 57 57 E. Passard 37 (19+21) Won bronze medal, 2–1 (Ilves)
2021–22 Naisten Liiga 2nd 29 26 0 – 0 3 137 41 78 M. Nilsson 55 (37+18) Lost final, 2–3 (K-Espoo)
2022–23 Naisten Liiga 1st 36 29 3 – 0 4 197 57 93 M. Pejzlová 82 (32+50) Won Championship, 3–0 (K-Espoo)

Players and personnel

2023–24 roster

As of 14 September 2023
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
7 Nelly Andersson D R 16 2022 Kotka, Kymenlaakso, Finland
13 Veera Huotari F L 25 2020 Oulu, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa, Finland
9 Nellie Karlberg F L 19 2022
23 Johanna Kemppainen (A) F L 26 2019 Mäntsälä, Uusimaa, Finland
22 Eveliina Kitula D R 18 2022 Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
20 Erica Korhonen F L 18 2022 Kirkkonummi, Uusimaa, Finland
92 Olivia Kylliäinen D R 19 2020 Lappeenranta, Etelä-Karjala, Finland
33 Kiia Lahtinen G L 20 2019 Porvoo, Uusimaa, Finland
34 Emmi Laitajärvi G – 16 2023
91 Julia Liikala (A) F L 22 2021 Peräseinäjoki, Etelä-Pohjanmaa, Finland
88 Athéna Locatelli (A) D L 32 2020 Bourg-de-Péage, ARA, France
12 Ilona Palin D L 17 2021
18 Michaela Pejzlová F L 26 2020 Pardubice, Czechia
29 Anni Pere F L 20 2018 Loviisa, Uusimaa, Finland
11 Karoliina Rantamäki (C) F L 45 2019 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
72 Clara Rozier F R 26 2020 Évian, ARA, France
76 Pauliina Salonen F L 18 2023 Turku, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland
15 Mikaela Saukkonen D L 23 2018 Hyvinkää, Uusimaa, Finland
31 Blanka Škodová G L 26 2023 Šternberk, Olomoucký kraj, Czechia
39 Sara Suhonen F L 18 2022 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
30 Miia Vainio G L 19 2022 Nurmijärvi, Uusimaa, Finland
86 Sanni Vanhanen F L 18 2022 Nokia, Pirkanmaa, Finland
26 Satu-Maaria Vihervuori D L 19 2019 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
4 Siiri Yrjöla D L 19 2020 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland

Coaching staff and team personnel

  • Head coach: Saara Niemi
  • Assistant coach: Martin Andler
  • Assistant coach: Antti Borgenström
  • Goaltending coach: Aleksi Kiviranta
  • Conditioning coach: Simon Dannapfel
  • Conditioning coach: Joonas Lahtinen
  • Conditioning coach: Margot Vander Ghinst
  • Physical therapist: Joonas Lahtinen
  • Team manager: Nina Forelius
  • Equipment managers: Oliver Karlberg & Timo Nikunen

Team captaincy history

Head coaches

Awards and honors

Finnish Championship

Source:

Player awards

  • 2022–23: Siiri Yrjölä
  • 2022–23: Michaela Pejzlová
  • 2022–23: Sanni Vanhanen
  • Scholar-Athlete of the Year
  • 2022–23: Michaela Pejzlová
  • 2020–21: Anni Hietaharju

All-Stars

  • 2021–22: Iina Kuusela (G), Matilda Nilsson (RW), Krista Parkkonen (D), Michaela Pejzlová (C)
  • 2020–21: Athéna Locatelli (D), Krista Parkkonen (D), Michaela Pejzlová (C)

Player of the Month

Team records and leaders

The player records detailed here include statistics since the team joined the Naisten Liiga in the 2019–20 season only, as complete player statistics for HIFK Naiset during the 1982–83 through 1988–1989 Naisten SM-sarja seasons are not available. Records valid through the conclusion of the 2022–23 season.

Single-season records

Source:

Career records

  • Most goals: Emmanuelle Passard, 65 goals (85 games; 2019–2022)
  • Most assists: Michaela Pejzlová, 97 assists (74 games; 2020–2023)
  • Most points: Michaela Pejzlová, 161 points (74 games; 2020–2023)
  • Most points, defenceman: Athéna Locatelli, 68 points (88 games; 2019–2023)
  • Best points per game, over 30 games played: Michaela Pejzlová, 2.18 P/G (74 games; 2020–2023)
  • Most penalty minutes: Krista Parkkonen, 75 PIM (69 games; 2019–2022)
  • Most played, skater: Johanna Kemppainen, 117 games (2019–2023)
  • Most played, goaltender: Iina Kuusela, 36 games (2020–2023)
  • Best save percentage: Iina Kuusela, .934 SV% (36 games; 2020–2023)
  • Best goals against average: Kiia Lahtinen, 1.50 GAA (32 games; 2019–2023)
  • Most shutouts: Iina Kuusela, 9 shutouts (36 games; 2020–2023)

Source:

All-time scoring leaders

The top point scorers (goals + assists) since HIFK joined the Naisten Liiga in 2019, as of April 2023.

Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Points
Nat Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Michaela Pejzlová F 74 64 97 161 2.18
Clara Rozier F 89 46 56 102 1.15
Julia Liikala F 27 15 18 33 1.22
Emmanuelle Passard F 85 65 55 120 1.41
Johanna Kemppainen F 117 45 44 89 0.76
Karoliina Rantamäki F 87 31 61 94 1.08
Athéna Locatelli D 88 12 56 68 0.77
Siiri Yrjölä D 87 22 45 67 0.77
Matilda Nilsson F 29 37 18 55 1.90
Emilia Vesa F 28 22 31 53 1.89
Krista Parkkonen D 69 14 35 49 0.71
Sanni Vanhanen F 22 18 22 40 1.82
Miressa Mäkelä F 44 18 17 35 0.80
Mikaela Saukkonen D 102 10 25 35 0.34
Fanny Jalonen F 54 12 22 34 0.63
Nenna Mehtonen D 86 9 20 29 0.34

Sources: Finnish Ice Hockey Association, Elite Prospects

Notable alumnae

Main category: HIFK Naiset players

Seasons active with Kiekko-Espoo listed alongside player name.

International players