Oulun Kärpät
| Oulun Kärpät | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Oulu |
| League | Liiga |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Home arena | Oulun Energia Areena (capacity 6,614) |
| Colours | Black, yellow, white |
| General manager |
 Juha Junno
|
| Head coach |
Kai Suikkanen
|
| Captain |
Lasse Kukkonen
|
| Website | www.oulunkarpat.fi |
Oulun Kärpät (Finnish for "Oulu Ermines", sometimes referred to as Kärpät Oulu) is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Oulu and playing in the top-tier Finnish Liiga. Kärpät have claimed the Finnish championship title seven times, and have been the most successful Finnish ice hockey team in the 2000s and 2010s.
In the spring of 1946, three young men decided to found a new sports club in Oulu. At the constitutional meeting on May 15, the club was named "Oulun Kärpät 46". At first, Kärpät played football (soccer) and its first winter sport was bandy.
In the first annual meeting in January 1947, an ice hockey section was established. At the beginning of the new decade, Kärpät was somewhat successful in ice hockey and it became the main sport of the club. The first game at the highest level, then known as "SM-sarja" was played on the December 4, 1960, against HJK of Helsinki, but the visit to the highest level was short and Kärpät lost their position in the series. They made it to the highest level again in 1965–66, but again lost their position. The third try in 1967–68 did not produce a better performance, as Kärpät lost all their games.
From the first years onwards, Kärpät placed emphasis on working with junior players. The team's E-juniors won the first Finnish championship in 1971.
When the SM-liiga was founded in August 1975, Kärpät were still playing level below in the first division. The team earned promotion to the elite league after the 1976-77 seasons. In their debut season in SM-liiga, Kärpät managed to finish seventh out of ten teams. During their second season in the top level in 1978-79, however, the team struggled and finished last in the regular season, but proved victorious in the relegation league and retained their place in the top league. On the positive side, Kärpät's Kari Jalonen was awarded Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy for the best rookie in league after the season.
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