Back جوكريت Arabic چوكريت ARZ Йокерит (хоккей клубы) Bashkir Jokerit Czech Jokerit Danish Jokerit German Jokerit Spanish Jokerit Estonian Jokerit Finnish Jokerit French
| Jokerit | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | Jokers, Jesters |
| City | Helsinki, Finland |
| League | Mestis |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Home arena | Keravan jäähalli and Helsinki Ice Hall (capacity: 1,500 and 8,200) |
| Colours | |
| Owner(s) | Jokerit Helsinki Oy |
| General manager | Antti-Jussi Niemi |
| Head coach | Tero Määttä |
| Captain | Saku Forsblom |
| Website | www |
 | |
| Championships | |
| SM-sarja / SM-Liiga | 1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2002 |
| European Cup | 1994, 1995 |
| Continental Cup | 2003 |
 Current season | |
Helsingin Jokerit (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjokerit], English: Jokers or Jesters of Helsinki) is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, which competes in Mestis. For the 2023–24 season, Jokerit plays its home games at the Keravan jäähalli in Kerava and at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki.[1][2]
Founded in 1967, the team has a rich history of success, having secured six league championships as a prominent member of the Finnish SM-liiga in the years 1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002. Additionally, Jokerit has three European championships to its name, having triumphed in the IIHF European Cup in 1994 and 1995, as well as the IIHF Continental Cup in 2003.[3][4]
From the 2014–15 season onwards, Jokerit became part of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Western Conference, marking Finland as the first Nordic country to have a team competing in this international league.[5]
However, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Jokerit made the decision to withdraw from the 2022 KHL playoffs.[6] This move was followed by the termination of several team sponsor and supplier contracts, including the home arena's name rights holder Hartwall, as a response to the invasion.[7] As a result, on 5 April 2022, Jokerit officially announced their decision to withdraw from the league entirely.[8]
Jokerit intended to return to Finland and expressed their intentions to join the Liiga. However, before they could submit the formal application, Liiga announced that they would not be accepting any new applications for at least the next two seasons.[9] Nevertheless, Jokerit remained determined to return to ice hockey in Finland.
On 31 March 2023, they submitted their application to join Mestis, the second-tier league in Finland. On 3 May, Mestis announced that they had accepted Jokerit's application for the 2023–24 season which began on 21 September, marking the return of Jokerit to Finnish leagues after a decade.[2]
- ^ "Jokerit lyö isot panokset Keravan jäähalliin vain 13 ottelun takia – uusi koti kutsuu jo seuraavalla kaudella". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). 10 June 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Helsinki's Jokerit find suburban home after Russian KHL exodus". News. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Jokerit Achievements". Jokerit Hockey Club. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Jokereiden Tarina". www.helsinginjokerit.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Harkimo vie Jokerit KHL:ään ensi vuonna". 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ Mountjoy, Matthew (24 February 2022). "Finnish Team Jokerit Helsinki Quits Russian Based KHL Over Ukrainian Invasion". Last Word On Hockey. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Hartwall Arena on jäämässä historiaan – IS: Juomayhtiö haluaa nimensä pois hallista, taustalla Venäjän sotatoimet Ukrainassa". Helsingin Uutiset (in Finnish). 24 February 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Jokerit, Riga won't return to KHL for 2022-23 season". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Liigalta kova veto: Jokerit ei pääse SM-liigaan ensi kaudeksi!". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 July 2023.