KalPa Naiset is a Finnish ice hockey team in the Naisten Mestis. Founded in 1990, the team plays at the Kuopion jäähalli in Kuopio, the largest city in Finland's eastern-central province of North Savo; Lippumäen jäähalli serves as a secondary venue. It is opperated by Juniori-KalPa ry, a club comprising many youth and recreational teams that is affiliated with but distinct from KalPa, a men's professional ice hockey team that plays in the Liiga and is operated by KalPa Hockey Oy.
KalPa played in the Finnish premier league during 1990 to 2001 and 2009 to 2026. They were the Aurora Borealis Cup runners-up in 2021, for which they earned Finnish Championship (SM) silver medals, and also won SM bronze five times, in 1995, 1996, 2017, 2023, and 2024.
Contents
History
KalPa Naiset has been in continuous opperation since the team made its debut in the 1988–89 season of the Naiseten I-divisioona ('Women's 1st-division;' renamed Naisten Mestis in 2012). Despite attracting the highest attendance in the league across ten games played in 1988–89, the team finished the season in last place. Nana Lamberg led the team in scoring, with two goals, and Tuula Kuhmoinen and Marika Lentz tied for second, with one goal and one assist each.
The 1990–91 season marked KalPa's debut in the Naisten SM-sarja, the Finnish Championship league for women's ice hockey in Finland. They finished the regular season in a tie with SaiPa for last place, after both teams amassed just four points across twelve games. KalPa then lost a tie-breaker game to SaiPa and had to play a best-of-three relegation series against the first-placed team in Group A of the Naisten I-divisioona, JoKP. The series was pushed to game three before KalPa secured their place in the Naisten SM-sarja with a 4–3 victory over JoKP in the decisive match.
KalPa qualified for the Aurora Borealis Cup playoff final for the first time in 2020. They were set to face the reigning champions, Kiekko-Espoo, and were guaranteed at least a SM silver medal, which would have been the highest finish in team history to that point, when the playoffs were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the first game of the series could be played. With the cancellation of the season no Finnish Championship (SM) medals were awarded in 2020.
The team remained among the best performing teams in the league through the following season and were finally able to challenge Kiekko-Espoo for the Aurora Borealis Cup in the 2021 playoff finals. They fell short of the championship title but earned Finnish Championship silver medals as the finals runners-up and secured the best playoff finish in team history.
Voluntary relegation
Juniori-KalPa ry, the team's parent club, announced in April 2026 that it had selected not to apply for an Auroraliiga license on behalf of KalPa Naiset for the 2026–27 season. The club asserted that the application was not submitted because internal assessment had determined that its operating association did not have the capacity to build and support a competitive Auroraliiga team due to financial limitations and concerns regarding operational changes required under the licensing system.
On 29 April, KalPa Naiset players posted a collective message on the team's Instagram account detailing steps they had taken to keep the team in the Auroraliiga and to highlight "questions about the [Juniori-KalPa] association's values, commitment to equality, and long-term desire to develop the club as a whole" raised by the decision. The players had asked Juniori-KalPa ry to apply for an Auroraliiga license with an exception allowing for team operations to be transferred during the season to a proposed association called KalPa Naiset ry. The team's proposal included a plan for the transfer of team operations under the leadership of an operations board that had already been mustered, a sponsorship group comprising more than 25 local businesses, and eighteen players committed to play for the Auroraliiga team.
The club responded via press release a day after the player message was posted, reiterating that the team would not play in the 2026–27 Auroraliiga season and asserting that the decision was motivated by a desire to create a stronger foundation for women's ice hockey in the future. The press release contained no information regarding how the association intended to strengthen its women's program or its rejection of the player proposal, nor did it respond to any of the specific questions raised in the player message.
Season-by-season results
This is a partial list of the most recent seasons completed by KapPa.Note: Finish = Rank at end of regular season; GP = Games played, W = Wins (3 points), OTW = Overtime wins (2 points), OTL = Overtime losses (1 point), L = Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points, Top scorer: Points (Goals+Assists)
Players and personnel
2025–26 roster
As of 24 September 2025
Coaching staff and team personnel
Head coach: Artturi Rouhiainen
Assistant coach: Jere Hakkarainen
Assistant coach: Sami Tapaninen
Goaltending coach: Joonas Rantanen
Conditioning coach: Tiia Kukkonen
Conditioning coach: Jaakko Uhlbäck
Team managers: Mari Leskinen
Equipment managers: Jarno Hakkarainen & Jari Hämäläinen
Team captains
Johanna Juutilainen, 2010–11
Isa Rahunen, 2011–12
Marjo Voutilainen, 2012–13
Venla Hovi & Anni Kettunen, 2013–14
Johanna Juutilainen, 2015–2018
Tanja Niskanen, 2018–19
Tiina Ranne & Emma Ritari, 2019–20
Emma Ritari, 2020–21
Johanna Juutilainen, 2021–2024
Elli Mäkelä, 2024–25
Lunasa Sano, 2025–
Head coaches
Mikko Miettinen, 0–2000
Seppo Tirronen, 2000–
Marjo Voutilainen, 2016–2022
Mika Väärälä, 2022–2024
Artturi Rouhiainen, 2024–
Awards and honours
Finnish Championship
Aurora Borealis Cup Runners-up (1): 2021
Third Place (4) : 1995, 1996, 2017, 2023. 2024
Sources:
Individual awards
Riikka Nieminen Award (Player of the Year)
2023–24: Elisa Holopainen
2022–23: Elisa Holopainen
2020–21: Elisa Holopainen
2019–20: Tanja Niskanen
2018–19: Elisa Holopainen
Katja Riipi Award (Best forward)
2023–24: Elisa Holopainen
2022–23: Elisa Holopainen
2021–22: Elisa Holopainen
2020–21: Elisa Holopainen
2019–20: Elisa Holopainen
2018–19: Elisa Holopainen
Marianne Ihalainen Award (Top point scorer)
2018–19: Elisa Holopainen
Tiia Reima Award (Top goal scorer)
2022–23: Elisa Holopainen
2021–22: Matilda Nilsson
2020–21: Matilda Nilsson
2019–20: Elisa Holopainen
2018–19: Elisa Holopainen
Sari Fisk Award (Best plus–minus)
2019–20: Matilda Nilsson
Emma Laaksonen Award (Fair-play player)
All-Stars
First Team
2023–24: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Sanni Rantala (D)
2022–23: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Sanni Rantala (D)
2020–21: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Matilda Nilsson (RW)
2019–20: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Matilda Nilsson (RW), Tanja Niskanen (C)
2018–19: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Tanja Niskanen (C)
2014–15: Matilda Nilsson (F)
Second Team
2022–23: Jenna Kaila (LW), Adalmiina Makkonen (D), Tiina Ranne (G)
2020–21: Tiina Ranne (G)
2019–20: Tiina Ranne (G)
2018–19: Matilda Nilsson (RW)
2017–18: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Matilda Nilsson (RW)
Team records
Various individual KalPa Naiset player records achieved through the end of the 2022–23 season.
Regular season
Single-season records
Most points: Tanja Niskanen, 79 points (29 games; 2018–19)
Most points in a season, defenseman: Sanni Rantala, 39 points (30 games; 2022–23)
Most goals: Elisa Holopainen, 41 goals (28 games; 2022–23)
Most assists: Tanja Niskanen, 48 assists (29 games; 2018–19)
Best points per game, over ten games played:
Elisa Holopainen, 3.00 P/G (19 games; 2023–24)
Marjo Voutilainen, 3.00 P/G (14 games; 1997–98)
Most penalty minutes: Kirsi Hänninen, 66 PIM (23 games; 1995–96)
Best save percentage (Sv%), over five games played: Tiina Ranne, .942 Sv% (18 games; 2019–20)
Best goals against average (GAA), over five games played: Jenna Juutilainen, 1.49 GAA (10 games; 2022–23)
Most shutouts in a season: Tiina Ranne, 3 shutouts (accomplished in three different seasons)
20 games; 2022–23
18 games; 2018–19
14 games; 2020–21
Career records
Most points: Tanja Niskanen, 488 points (301 games; 2006–2022)
Most points, defenseman: Tanja Koljonen, 103 points (137 games; 2016–2023)
All-time scoring leaders
The top regular season point scorers in KalPa Naiset history, as of June 2024.
Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; = 2024–25 KalPa player
Notable alumni
Years active with KalPa listed alongside player name.
Elisa Holopainen, 2016–2021 & 2022–2024
Venla Hovi, 2012–2014
Kirsi Hänninen, 1995–96
Kati Kovalainen, 1993–1996
Rose Matilainen, 1993–1996
Terhi Mertanen, 1999–2001
Matilda Nilsson, 2014–2021
Tanja Niskanen, 2006–2008, 2009–2015 & 2016–2022
Oona Parviainen, 1993–1999
Tuula Puputti, 1992–1995
Isa Rahunen, 2006–2013
Sanni Rantala, 2022–2024
Saila Saari, 2020–21
Riikka Sallinen, 1995–96
Eve Savander, 2013–14
Marjo Voutilainen, 1995–2001 & 2010–2014
International player(s)
Emma Hall, 2024–25
Nozomi Kiribuchi, 2015–16
Sarah Knee, 2022–23
Kokoro Ota, 2024–25