Finnish national men's ice hockey team
 |
|
| Nickname(s) |
Leijonat / Lejonen (The Lions) |
|---|---|
| Association | Finnish Ice Hockey Association |
| General Manager | Jere Lehtinen |
| Head coach | Lauri Marjamäki |
| Assistants | Ari Hilli Waltteri Immonen Kalle Kaskinen |
| Captain | Lasse Kukkonen |
| Most games | Raimo Helminen (331) |
| Most points | Raimo Helminen (207) |
| IIHF code | FIN |
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| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | 3  1 |
| Highest IIHF | 2 (first in 2011) |
| Lowest IIHF | 7 (2005) |
| First international | |
 Sweden 8–1 Finland  (Helsinki, Finland; 29 January 1928) |
|
| Biggest win | |
Finland 20–1 Norway  (Hämeenlinna, Finland; 12 March 1947) |
|
| Biggest defeat | |
 Canada 24–0 Finland (Oslo, Norway; 3 March 1958) |
|
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 56 (first in 1939) |
| Best result |
 Gold: 2 – 1995, 2011
|
| Canada Cup / World Cup | |
| Appearances | 6 |
| Best result |
 Runner-up (2004) |
| Olympics | |
| Appearances | 14 (first in 1952) |
| Medals |
 Silver (1988, 2006) Bronze (1994, 1998, 2010, 2014) |
The Finnish men's national ice hockey team, or Leijonat / Lejonen (The Lions in Finnish and Swedish), as it is called in Finland, is governed by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Finland is considered a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden and the United States.
In the 1995 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, Finland achieved its first ever gold in international ice hockey. Finland reached the final with a 5-0 victory over France in the quarterfinals, and a 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic in the semifinals. In the finals, the Finns faced off against their hockey rivals and host of the 1995 tournament, Sweden. In the first period of the final, left wing Ville Peltonen scored a natural hat trick, and then assisted on Timo Jutila's first period goal to give Finland a 4-0 lead, on the way to an eventual 4-1 victory.
At the 1998 Olympic men's ice hockey tournament, Team Finland came away with Bronze, after defeating Canadian national team 3–2. Teemu Selänne led the tournament in goals scored (4) and total points achieved (10). The tournament was the first in which professional players from the National Hockey League (NHL) were allowed to participate, allowing national teams to be constructed using the best possible talent from each country. The 1998 Olympic tournament therefore came to be known as the "Tournament of the Century". Unlike previous Olympics where athletes could choose five-star hotel accommodations (such as the USA Men's Basketball team), NHL players were required to stay in the Olympic Village like other athletes.
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