Lahti Pelicans
Finnish Liiga club founded in 1996, co-owned by Bottas and Nurminen.
The Lahti Pelicans, also known as the Lahden Pelicans, are a professional ice hockey team from Finland that competes in the Liiga. The club was established in 1996 and plays its home games at Wemasto Areena in the city of Lahti. Among its co-owners are former NHL player Pasi Nurminen and Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas.
The team’s roots trace back to Viipurin Reipas, a sports club founded in Vyborg in 1891. That club won Finland’s first ice hockey championship in 1928, fielding a roster made up mostly of bandy players. After Vyborg was lost to the Soviet Union during the Winter War and again in the Continuation War, the club moved to Lahti, keeping its original name until it became Lahden Reipas in 1964.
Lahden Reipas played five seasons in the SM-sarja between 1965 and 1970, with its best finish being sixth place in 1965–66. In 1975, a new entity called Kiekkoreipas took over the hockey operations from Lahden Reipas. Kiekkoreipas topped the newly formed First Division in 1975–76 and earned promotion to the SM-liiga after finishing second in the qualifying series. The team spent nine seasons in the SM-liiga, achieving its highest regular-season finish of fifth in 1978–79. Its only playoff appearance came in 1981–82, when it placed sixth and lost 2–0 to eventual champions Tappara in the opening round. After that season, several key players left, and the team’s performance declined, leading to relegation at the end of the 1984–85 season. Kiekkoreipas spent four more years in the First Division, coming close to a return in 1987–88 but losing a best-of-five promotion playoff 3–2 to KooKoo.
Following the 1988–89 season, a new organization called Hockey Reipas was formed to manage the men’s team, while Kiekkoreipas continued with junior hockey. The 1989–90 season was a success: the team finished second in the First Division and earned promotion to the SM-liiga by beating KooKoo 3–1 in the playoffs. That promotion-winning squad was expensive, featuring proven talent like center Matti Hagman, 1988 Olympic silver medalist Erkki Laine, and two Czechoslovakian world champions from the 1985 team: goaltender Jaromír Šindel and winger Oldřich Válek. The 1990–91 season was a modest success, with Hockey Reipas finishing seventh and setting club records for wins (21) and points (44).
Quick Facts
- Team
- Lahti Pelicans
- Text Colour
- #000000
- City
- Lahti
- League
- Liiga
- Founded
- 1996
- Arena
- Wemasto Areena
- Capacity
- 4,403
- Owner
- Pasi Nurminen / Sami Kallinen / Jarno Lindeman / Petri Kumpulainen / Tomi Veijalainen / Valtteri Bottas
- Coach
- Sami Kapanen
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Pelicans trace their lineage through several predecessor clubs dating back to Viipurin Reipas, which won the first Finnish Ice Hockey Championship in 1928 with a team of bandy players. After Vyborg was lost to the Soviet Union, the club relocated to Lahti and underwent multiple reorganizations: Lahden Reipas (1964–1975), Kiekkoreipas (1975–1989), Hockey Reipas (1989–1992), and Reipas Lahti (1992–1994). Kiekkoreipas spent nine seasons in SM-liiga, reaching the playoffs once in 1981–82. Hockey Reipas earned promotion in 1990 but went bankrupt after the 1991–92 season. Reipas Lahti was relegated in 1994 after setting a league record of 40 losses in 48 games.
Reader's Guide
The Lahti Pelicans were formed in 1996, adopting the pelican mascot and green-and-yellow colors to replace the traditional white, orange, and black. The rebranding revived public interest, with average attendance rising from below 1,000 to over 1,400. After five seasons in the First Division, the Pelicans earned promotion to SM-liiga in 1999 by sweeping KalPa 3–0 in the final round, allowing just six goals in nine playoff games. Their return to the top flight was rocky: they finished last in 1999–2000 and were relegated, but were restored when the league expanded to 13 teams. The 2000–01 season saw a turnaround, with the team finishing seventh and setting club records in wins (22) and points (55). In 2001–02, they tied the club's highest SM-liiga finish at fifth and recorded their first-ever playoff win, an overtime victory against TPS. The team is co-owned by former NHL goaltender Pasi Nurminen and Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas.
Did You Know?
- The team was renamed Lahti Pelicans in 1996, abandoning traditional white, orange, and black for green and yellow.
- In 2001–02, the Pelicans recorded their first-ever playoff win, an overtime goal by Toni Koivunen against TPS.
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