| Tampereen Ilves | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Tampere |
| League | Liiga |
| Founded | 1931 (1931) |
| Home arena | Nokia Arena (capacity: 13,455) |
| Colours | Green, yellow, black |
| Owner(s) | Ilves-Hockey Oy |
| General manager | Risto Jalo |
| Head coach | Tommi Niemelä |
| Captain | Eemeli Suomi |
| Affiliates | KOOVEE Ilves Naiset |
| Farm club(s) | Koovee |
| Website | ilves.com |
 | |
| Championships | |
| Playoff championships | 1936,1937,1938,1945,1946,1947,1950,1951,1952,1957,1958,1960,1962,1966,1972,1985 |
| Active departments of Ilves | ||||||||||||||||||
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Tampereen Ilves, commonly known asIlves, (pronounced[ˈilʋes];Finnish for "Lynx") is a Finnish professionalice hockey team based inTampere. They play in theLiiga at theNokia Arena.
The colors of Ilves, green, yellow, and black, were taken from what was then thecoat of arms of the city of Tampere.
With sixteen championships, Ilves is the second most successful hockey team in the Finnish championship league, theLiiga, after their local rivalTappara. The club was founded in the spring of 1931, and it played its first game against Tampereen Palloilijat the next winter. In the late 1930s, Ilves won three Finnish championship titles as the first Tampere-based hockey team.[1]
AfterWorld War II, Ilves started playing its home games at the then new Koulukatu ice rink. It had another championship spree in 1945–1947 when it stayed undefeated for over four years (albeit playing only 36 games during that period).[citation needed]
In 1954, Ilves was for the first and so far only timerelegated to the second highest level of Finnish hockey but managed to return to the top tier only one year later.[citation needed]
The current logo was designed by Rauno Broms in 1963. In 1965, Ilves moved, along with its local rivalsTappara andKooVee, to the newHakametsä arena, where they played until 2021.[citation needed]
The last Finnish Cup competition in hockey was held in 1971. Ilves won the title and has therefore been the reigning champion since. In 1972, it also won another league championship; its 15th championship in total.[citation needed]
During the late 1970s, Ilves went through lean times. Finally, when Koovee, which was in no better condition, was relegated at the end of the 1979–80 season, the two clubs decided to sign an agreement of cooperation. The best players of Koovee moved to Ilves, the most notable of them beingRisto Jalo.[citation needed]
In 1985, Ilves claimed its 16th and most recent championship. Along with Risto Jalo, the key players of that team wereRaimo Helminen,Mikko Mäkelä,Ville Siren, andJukka Tammi. Repeating this success proved difficult, however, when in the following summer four players left the team to play in theNHL.[citation needed]
In the late 1980s, Ilves had another brief stint of moderate success when coached bySakari Pietilä. It finished first after the regular season in 1988 but was eliminated in the first round of playoffs. The next year it came away with a bronze medal, and finally in 1990 it reached the finals, only to lose toTPS.[citation needed]
For most of the 1990s, the club struggled with financial problems and unclear issues concerning ownership. In sports performance, the low point was in the spring of 1995, when Ilves finished last in the SM-liiga and had to fight the lower league teamsSaPKo andSaiPa for their place among the elite for the next year.[citation needed]
Ilves managed to avoid relegation and was promptly reborn as a viable championship candidate, reaching the semifinals in 1997 and the finals a year after that.[citation needed]
The 2000s were a fairly mediocre period in Ilves history. After their bronze medal win in 2001, Ilves lost in the first round of the playoffs in six of the next seven seasons and missing the playoffs altogether in 2003. They managed to avoid relegation in 2010, 2012 and 2013.[citation needed]
SM-sarjaAaro Kivilinna memorial award: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952[citation needed] SM-sarjaKanada-malja: 1957, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1972[citation needed]
SM-sarja Aaro Kivilinna memorial award: 1935, 1948, 1949[citation needed] SM-sarja Kanada-malja: 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970[citation needed]
SM-sarja Aaro Kivilinna memorial award: 1934, 1939, 1941, 1943[citation needed] SM-sarja Kanada-malja: 1963, 1964, 1967, 1974, 1975[citation needed]SM-liigaKanada-malja: 1985 SM-liiga Kanada-malja: 1990, 1998 SM-liiga Kanada-malja: 1983, 1989, 2001, 2022, 2023Updated 19 June 2025.[2]
Source: Ilves-Historia[4]
Number24 has not been officially retired, but is not in use. It was last worn byVeikko Suominen, who died during the 1978–79 season.[citation needed]
Tommi NiemeläJoonas TanskaPasi SaarinenJarkko NäppiläMarkus KorhonenTimo Peltomaa
In addition to hockey and football, Ilves has afutsal team in Finnish league which has won the Finnish championship five times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2011) and the cup competition twice (2006, 2010), afloorball team at second highest level and aringette team competing in theSM Ringette league. It has numerous boys' and girls' junior teams in ice hockey, soccer, floorball (boys only), and ringette (girls only), making the organization the largest sports club in Finland.[citation needed]
In the past, Ilves has also competed inAmerican football,basketball,bowling,figure skating,handball, andvolleyball. It has won a bronze medal in American football and a silver one in handball. Also, Ilves has won the Finnish Cup in handball.[citation needed]
