Tappara

Tappara (Finnish for "Battle axe", Finnish pronunciation: [ˈtɑpːɑrɑ]) is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. They play at Tampereen jäähalli in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 14 Finnish league championships with its current name (1959, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2003, 2016, 2017).[1] The team continued the traditions of TBK, who won three national championships in a row in 1953, 1954 and 1955.

Tampereen Tappara
CityTampere
LeagueLiiga
Founded1955
Home arenaHakametsä
ColoursBlue, orange, white
     
Owner(s)Tamhockey Oy
General managerMikko Leinonen
Head coachJussi Tapola
CaptainKristian Kuusela
Championships1953, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2003, 2016, 2017
Websitewww.tappara.fi

Team history

Early days

Tappara was established in 1955 in Tampere and a major part of the players came to the newly founded team from local team Tammerfors Bollklubb, when Tappara inherited their place in the national top league. Tappara also borrowed TBK's colors for themselves 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.[2]

First period of success (1956–1964)
Tappara championship squad in 1961

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 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 – as their strongest of all time. Behind the senior players such as Timo Susi and Erkki Lehtonen, the likes of Teppo Numminen (a long-term defender in NHL) and Janne Ojanen (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 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. 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. In 2016, Tappara finally won the championship after beating HIFK in the finals.[1] 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. 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 against HIFK.

Home arena

Tappara has played their home games in Tampereen jäähalli since it was built in 1965. The local rival Ilves uses 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 is being built in the city center of Tampere on a covered rail yard. The arena is supposed to open in 2021.[3] The arena is the main stage of the 2022 Ice Hockey World Championships.[4] There has been a plan to convert the old rink into a venue for indoor sports when the new arena is opened, yet the future of the historical monument remains unclear.[5]

Current roster

Updated December 4, 2020.[6]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
9 Charles Bertrand RW R 30 2019 Paris, France
24 Ben Blood D L 31 2018 Plymouth, Minnesota
30 Christian Heljanko G L 23 2016 Porvoo, Finland
49 Dominik Hrachovina G L 26 2020 Brno, Czech Republic
13 Valtteri Kemiläinen D R 29 2016 Jyväskylä, Finland
72 Santtu Kinnunen D R 21 2020 Lahti, Finland
71 Kristian Kuusela (A) RW R 37 2017 Seinäjoki, Finland
76 Anton Levtchi LW L 25 2015 Varkaus, Finland
28 Jarkko Malinen C L 32 2018 Kuopio, Finland
96 Sami Moilanen LW L 22 2018 Sipoo, Finland
73 Michal Moravčík D L 26 2020 Klatovy, Czech Republic
55 Blake Parlett D R 31 2020 Bracebridge, ON, Canada
81 Jukka Peltola (C) C L 33 2020 Tampere, Finland
42 Otto Rauhala C L 25 2014 Ylöjärvi, Finland
5 Jere Rouhiainen D L 25 2019 Tampere, Finland
35 Kasper Simontaival RW R 19 2018 Tampere, Finland
67 Jiří Smejkal C L 24 2020 České Budějovice, Czrch Republic
20 Michael Špaček C R 23 2020 Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic
4 Teemu Suhonen D L 32 2019 Kuopio, Finland
27 Kristian Tanus C L 20 2018 Tampere, Finland
15 Toni Utunen D L 20 2016 Kokkola, Finland
93 Lassi Vanhatalo LW L 23 2018 Tampere, Finland
23 Olavi Vauhkonen RW R 32 2019 Helsinki, Finland
11 Patrik Virta (A) C R 24 2019 Hämeenlinna, Finland

Notable players


  • Janne Ojanen
  • Tuukka Mäntylä
  • Ville Nieminen
  • Jori Lehterä

Honours

Champions

Runners-up
  • SM-liiga (13): (1958, 1960, 1963, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1981, 2001, 2002, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018
  • SM-sarja (4): 1958, 1960, 1963, 1974
  • SM-liiga (3): 1990, 2008, 2019
  • SM-sarja (9): 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1973
  • Finnish Cup (2): 1964, 1966

International

Retired numbers

Head coaches

References
  1. "Tampereella juhlitaan – Tappara on Suomen mestari!". Ilta-Sanomat. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  2. Lahti, Janne (2002-02-07). "TBK / Tappara". Uta.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  3. "Tampereen kansi ja areena". kansiareena.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  4. "Tampere sai seuraa – Helsinki jääkiekon MM-kisojen 2022 kakkosisännäksi". iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). 28 Oct 2019. Retrieved 5 Feb 2020.
  5. "Nouseeko Tampereelle uusi Luminary ja miten käy jäähallin? – Kaupunki esitteli Hakametsän alueen uudistamista yleisölle: "Uudenlaisia ratkaisuja tarvitaan"". aamulehti.fi (in Finnish). 3 Oct 2019. Retrieved 5 Feb 2020.
  6. "Joukkue (Tappara)" (in Finnish). www.tappara.fi. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
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