After a five-year break, the Finnish player’s Stanley Cup victory will be celebrated on Midsummer’s morning.
Reijo Ruotsalainen, Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen won the Stanley Cup in Edmonton twice at the same time. IL ARCHIVE
If the Colorado Avalanche wins the fifth NHL final in Finnish time early Saturday morning, the team’s strikers will become About Mikko Rantan and Artturi Lehkonen the first Finnish Stanley Cup winners in five years.
A historic victory would make the Colorado goalkeeper coach Jussi from Parkkila would become the first Finnish coach to win the Stanley Cup.
Only 12 Finnish players have previously been named in the most prestigious trophy in hockey. The most wins can be found From Jari Kurr and From Esa Tikkanenwho won the championship as many as five times.
In addition to them, the champions have won the championship at least twice Reijo Ruotsalainen and Olli Määttä. Määttä, who has celebrated in Pittsburgh for two consecutive years, is also the last Finnish champion.
Finnish Stanley Cup winners
Jari Kurri (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990)
Esa Tikkanen (1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994)
Reijo Ruotsalainen (1987, 1990)
Jere Lehtinen (1999)
Ville Nieminen (2001)
Teemu Selänne (2007)
Valtteri Filppula (2008)
Antti Niemi (2010)
Tuukka Rask (2011)
Kimmo Timonen (2015)
Teuvo Teräväinen (2015)
Olli Määttä (2016, 2017)
In order for a player’s name to be engraved on the side of the Stanley Cup, he must have been in the championship team in at least one final match or alternatively in at least 41 regular season matches.
For this reason, a few Finns who have joined the championship teams are not counted as official champions.
They are attackers Raimo Summanen, Kari Jalonen and Janne Pesonen as well as serving as third guards for the championship teams Ari Ahonen, Antti Raanta, Ville Husso and Christopher Gibson.
However, the aforementioned players have received Stanley Cup rings. When Colorado wins, this list would be followed by a new name, the team’s third guard Justus Annunen.
In addition to the players, ten Finnish talent scouts have been awarded the title of Stanley Cup champion. Three of them have been named in the trophy, for which the winning club can choose up to 52 names.
This honor has long been awarded to Edmonton, a talent scout Matti Väisänen as well as still working for their clubs in Colorado Joni Lehto and Tampa Bay Kari Kettunen.
Colorado leads the NHL final against Tampa Bay with 3-1 victories. The last time the club won the championship was 21 years ago, when the team played Ville Nieminen.