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Tampereen Tappara
City	Tampere
League	Liiga
Founded	1955
Home arena	Hakametsä
Colours	Blue, orange, white
Owner(s)	Tamhockey Oy
General manager	Mikko Leinonen
Head coach	Jukka Rautakorpi
Captain	Kristian Kuusela
Championships	1953, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2003, 2016, 2017
Website	www.tappara.fi

Tappara (Finnish for "Battle axe", Finnish pronunciation: [ˈtɑpːɑrɑ]) is a Finnish 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.

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 TBK, 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.

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 and placed second three seasons in a row from 2013 to 2015. In 2014 and 2015 the final series were decided in a decisive seventh game, but Kärpät won both titles 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. In 2018, Tappara reached the Finals for a record-breaking 6th year in a row, but lost to Kärpät in 6 games.

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.^[2] The 2022 Ice Hockey World Championships has been granted for Finland and in the application process the plan was to play the games in Tampere and Helsinki.^[3] Host cities haven't been confirmed yet, though.^[4] Tampereen jäähalli will be converted into a venue for other indoor sports when the new arena is opened.

Current roster

Updated October 17, 2018.^[5]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
7001320000000000000♠32		Niklas Bäckström	G	L	40	2018	Helsinki, Finland
7001230000000000000♠23		Aleksi Elorinne	D	L	28	2014	Joensuu, Finland
7001740000000000000♠74		Antti Erkinjuntti	W	L	32	2018	Rovaniemi, Finland
7001370000000000000♠37		Elias Fälth	D	R	37	2018	Nacka, Sweden
7001300000000000000♠30		Christian Heljanko	G	L	21	2016	Porvoo, Finland
7001610000000000000♠61		Juhani Jasu	C	R	30	2016	Eurajoki, Finland
7001440000000000000♠44		Jan-Mikael Järvinen	C	L	30	2011	Pirkkala, Finland
7001360000000000000♠36		Joonas Järvinen	D	L	29	2018	Turku, Finland
7001110000000000000♠11		Matti Järvinen	C	L	29	2017	London, England
7001260000000000000♠26		Jere Karjalainen	W	R	26	2014	Helsinki, Finland
7001130000000000000♠13		Valtteri Kemiläinen	D	R	26	2016	Jyväskylä, Finland
7001710000000000000♠71		Kristian Kuusela	W	R	35	2017	Seinäjoki, Finland
7001670000000000000♠67		Anton Levtchi	W	L	22	2015	Varkaus, Finland
7001680000000000000♠68		Joona Luoto	W	L	21	2016	Tampere, Finland
7001280000000000000♠28		Jarkko Malinen	C	L	30	2018	Kuopio, Finland
7001960000000000000♠96		Sami Moilanen	W	L	19	2018	Sipoo, Finland
7001620000000000000♠62		Otto Mäkinen	C	L	20	2017	Tampere, Finland
7001180000000000000♠18		Tuukka Mäntylä	D	L	37	2018	Tampere, Finland
7001200000000000000♠20		Niko Ojamäki	W	R	23	2017	Pori, Finland
7001520000000000000♠52		Otso Rantakari	D	R	24	2016	Helsinki, Finland
7001420000000000000♠42		Otto Rauhala	C	L	23	2014	Ylöjärvi, Finland
7001560000000000000♠56		Juho Rautanen	D	L	21	2018	Mäntsälä, Finland
7001730000000000000♠73		Kimmo Rautiainen	G	L	20	2016	Savonlinna, Finland
7001350000000000000♠35		Kasper Simontaival	W	R	16	2018	Tampere, Finland
7001270000000000000♠27		Kristian Tanus	C	L	18	2018	Tampere, Finland
7001150000000000000♠15		Toni Utunen	D	L	18	2016	Kokkola, Finland
7001330000000000000♠33		Veli-Matti Vittasmäki	D	L	28	2017	Turku, Finland
7001670000000000000♠67		Tomáš Záborský	W	L	30	2017	Trencin, Slovakia

Notable players

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Janne Ojanen
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Tuukka Mäntylä
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Ville Nieminen
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Jori Lehterä
  

  
  

  
  

Honours

Champions

• 
  SM-liiga Kanada-malja (10): 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2003, 2016, 2017


• 
  SM-sarja Kanada-malja (7): 1953, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1975


• 
  Finnish Cup (1): 1957

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 (2): 1990, 2008


• 
  SM-sarja (9): 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1973


• 
  Finnish Cup (2): 1964, 1966

International

• 
  IIHF European Cup (1):1980


• 
  IIHF European Cup (2):1983, 1988

Retired numbers

• 2 - Kalevi Numminen
  


• 3 - Pekka Marjamäki
  


• 7 - Timo Jutila
  


• 8 - Janne Ojanen
  


• 10 - Timo Susi
  

Head coaches

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tappara.

• 
  Official website (in Finnish)