Heikki Riihiranta
Encyclopedia
Heikki "Hexi" Riihiranta (born October 4, 1948 in Helsinki
, Finland
) is a retired professional ice hockey
player who played in the SM-liiga
and World Hockey Association
.
in Helsinki club HIFK
but was moved to play Defence
by then HIFK Player-Coach and former NHL'er
Carl Brewer
.
Riihiranta had a good career in Finland and was one of the premier players for the National Team
at his time.
Riihiranta played for 3 full seasons in Winnipeg Jets, a Canadian WHA
team.
After his retirement as a player in 1983, he was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1991 for his doings as a player.
During his time, Riihiranta worked with 3 different Head Coaches. The coaches were: Pentti Matikainen
, Curt Lindström
and Hannu Aravirta
.
Riihiranta had his finest moment when he shed tears in the players bench after Finland won the World Championships over Sweden in 1995.
Riihiranta retired from his position after the 2003 Ice Hockey World Championship's.
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) is a retired professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player who played in the SM-liiga
SM-liiga
The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...
and World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
.
Career in Finland
Riihiranta started out his career as an ForwardForward (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a forward is a player position on the ice whose primary responsibility is to score goals. Generally, the forwards try to stay in three different lanes, also known as thirds, of the ice going from goal to goal. It is not mandatory however, to stay in a lane. Staying in a lane aids in...
in Helsinki club HIFK
HIFK (ice hockey)
HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897...
but was moved to play Defence
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
by then HIFK Player-Coach and former NHL'er
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
Carl Brewer
Carl Brewer
Carl Thomas Brewer was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He had attended De La Salle College prior to his hockey career....
.
Riihiranta had a good career in Finland and was one of the premier players for the National Team
Finnish national men's ice hockey team
The Finnish men's national ice hockey team, or Leijonat / Lejonen , as it is called in Finland, is governed by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association...
at his time.
Career in WHA
Heikki Riihiranta was one of the first Finns move to play in North America.Riihiranta played for 3 full seasons in Winnipeg Jets, a Canadian WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
team.
After his retirement as a player in 1983, he was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame
Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame
The Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame is part of the Vapriikki Museum Centre in Tampere, Finland and was created in 1979 to honor those individuals who have contributed to Finnish ice hockey...
in 1991 for his doings as a player.
Team Manager for Finnish National Team
In 1993, Heikki Riihiranta was named as the Team Manager for Finnish National Ice Hockey Team.During his time, Riihiranta worked with 3 different Head Coaches. The coaches were: Pentti Matikainen
Pentti Matikainen
Pentti Matikainen is a Finnish hockey coach and general manager. He was selected the SM-liiga coach of the year in 1984. As the coach of the Finnish national ice hockey team, he led Finland to silver medals in the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 1992 World Championships, and to third place in the...
, Curt Lindström
Curt Lindström
Curt "Curre" Lindström is a Swedish ice hockey coach.-Career on international level:He coached Team Finland from 1993 to 1997, winning Finland's first Ice Hockey World Championships gold medal in 1995, and a silver world championships medal as well as Olympic bronze...
and Hannu Aravirta
Hannu Aravirta
Hannu Aravirta is a Finnish ice hockey player and an ice hockey coach for the Finnish national men's team, SM-liiga and Elitserien.-Career as player:...
.
Riihiranta had his finest moment when he shed tears in the players bench after Finland won the World Championships over Sweden in 1995.
Riihiranta retired from his position after the 2003 Ice Hockey World Championship's.