The Lahti Pelicans, commonly referred to as the Lahden Pelicans, are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga, Finland. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Wemasto Areena. The team is co-owned by (among others) former National Hockey League (NHL) player Pasi Nurminen and Formula One racecar driver Valtteri Bottas.
History
Viipurin Reipas (1891–1964) Viipurin Reipas was a sports club located in Vyborg. They won the first ever Finnish Ice Hockey Championship in 1928 with a team consisting mostly of bandy players. After Vyborg was taken from Finland by Soviet Union during the Winter War and again in the Continuation War, the club relocated to Lahti where it continued under its original name until renamed to Lahden Reipas.
Lahden Reipas (1964–1975)
Reipas spent five seasons in SM-sarja from 1965 to 1970. Their best finish was sixth in 1965–66.
Kiekkoreipas (1975–1989) Kiekkoreipas was formed in 1975 to take over hockey operations from Lahden Reipas. They finished top of the league in recently formed First Division in 1975–76 and won promotion to SM-liiga after finishing second in the qualifying series.
Kiekkoreipas spent nine seasons in SM-liiga. In 1978–79 they achieved their highest regular season position, finishing fifth. Their sole playoff appearance came in 1981–82 when they finished sixth and lost to eventual champions Tappara 2–0 in the opening round. After the 1981–82 season, many key players left the club and the team started to gradually fall in the standings. Kiekkoreipas was relegated at the end of the 1984–85 season.
Kiekkoreipas spent four seasons in the First Division and came close to returning to SM-liiga after the 1987–88 season when they lost the best-of-five promotion playoffs to KooKoo 3–2.
Hockey Reipas (1989–1992) After the 1988–89 season, a new organization called Hockey Reipas was formed to take over the men’s team from Kiekkoreipas, who continued to take care of junior hockey operations. The 1989–90 season was a success on the ice as the team finished second in the First Division and earned promotion to SM-liiga by beating KooKoo in the playoffs 3–1.
However, the team that won the promotion was an expensive one featuring proven talent such as center Matti Hagman, 1988 Olympic silver medalist Erkki Laine and two World Champions from Czechoslovakia's 1985 team, goaltender Jaromír Šindel and winger Oldřich Válek.
The 1990–91 season was a modest success. Hockey Reipas finished seventh and recorded club records in wins (21) and points (44). The team remained in the playoff contention to the penultimate day of the season, but two major setbacks in the final stages of the season were too big to overcome. First, Šindel suffered a season-ending injury and shortly after, Válek was banned until November for hitting a referee in Turku.
In the spring of 1991, the team's poor financial status was apparent and many key players left the team. Hockey Reipas spent most of the 1991–92 season in the bottom two. However, a season-ending six-game unbeaten streak and a replay win against Tappara was enough to lift the team into tenth place and out of relegation playoffs.
Formation of Reipas Lahti and relegation (1992–1994) Hockey Reipas finally went bankrupt after the 1991–92 season. A new organization, titled Reipas Lahti, was quickly formed to take over Hockey Reipas' operations. The new organization was led by chairman Kari Naskinen while Esko Nokelainen remained as a head coach. The unclear situation caused a mass exodus of players during the off-season. Prospects Marko Jantunen and Niko Marttila left for KalPa and HPK, respectively. Goaltender Jaromír Šindel was signed by Tappara. Other notable departures were forwards Tommy Kiviaho and Jyrki Poikolainen and defencemen Teemu Sillanpää and Jarmo Jokilahti.
Despite signing defenceman Jiří Látal from the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers, the 1992–93 season was a disaster, as the team recorded a new league record of 39 losses in 48 games. When Reipas lost the first game of the relegation series against KooKoo, Nokelainen was finally fired from the club. He was replaced by Kari Mäkinen. Reipas went unbeaten for the rest of the series, winning four of the remaining five games. Reipas finished first in the series and secured a place in SM-liiga for the next season.
The 1993–94 off-season saw the departures of another two prospects, defenceman Erik Kakko and centre Toni Sihvonen. Poor finances limited the summer signings, but former crowd favourite Oldřich Válek returned after his two-year spell in Norway. Válek was a shadow of his former self, recording just 2 goals in 17 games before his contract was terminated. Mäkinen continued as a head coach but lasted just seven games, all of which the team lost. He was replaced by Jukka-Ville Jääsalmi, who managed to guide the team to just 14 points in 41 games. The 40 losses in 48 games were a new league record. On relegation series Reipas finished last, marking the end of a four-year spell in the top flight.
First division years (1994–1999) After the relegation, the team underwent a massive overhaul. Only a few players from the 1993–94 roster remained and many spots were filled by players from the under-20 team. Russian Sergei Grisintshov was appointed as head coach. 1994–95 season saw the team finish eighth, missing the playoffs.
The following season saw the return of veteran defenceman Kari Eloranta from Rögle BK and a slight improvement on ice as the team finished sixth. Even with improved results, Grisintshov was sacked with just five games remaining of the regular season. He was replaced by Eloranta, who continued as a player-coach. Reipas made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round by SaPKo. The public interest was waning and in 1995–96 the average attendance was well below 1,000 per game.
Before the 1996–97 season, the team was renamed to Lahti Pelicans. "Pelican" was adopted as the team mascot and the traditional colours of white, orange and black were abandoned in favour of green and yellow. On ice, the team also continued to improve, finishing third in the regular season with 55 points. A new image and improved results also sparked a new-found interest by the public, as the average attendance rose to over 1,400 per game. In the playoffs, Pelicans were eliminated in the first round by Haukat 3–2.
The 1997–98 season would see another top three finish. In the playoffs, the Pelicans first swept FPS 3–0 and came close to relegating KalPa, losing the best-of-five series 3–2. The final game was decided in overtime.
In 1998–99, the Pelicans finished second with 67 points, 19 points behind the winners Oulun Kärpät. The playoffs were a different story, as Pelicans swept both Hermes and Sport in three games while Kärpät were eliminated by TuTo in the first round. In the final round, the Pelicans beat KalPa 3–0 and were promoted to SM-liiga after a five-year absence. The Pelicans allowed just six goals in nine games during the playoff run. Acquired mid-season, veteran winger Jouko Myrrä scored a team-leading seven goals in the playoffs.
Return to SM-liiga (1999–2002) The 1999–2000 season, the team's first season in SM-liiga, would prove to be a difficult one. Despite opening the campaign with two wins, a 17-game winless streak with just three ties followed. The team recorded just eight wins and 24 points in 54 games, finishing last 15 points behind Ässät. On the first round of relegation playoffs, the Pelicans swept Diskos 3–0 and went on to face Oulun Kärpät in the final round. The Pelicans lost the series 3–1 and were relegated. However, their top flight status was restored as the SM-liiga was expanded to 13 teams and closed from promotion.
Despite adding much needed veteran presence to the team, the 2000–01 season started slowly and by late November, the Pelicans was placed second-to-last, just few points ahead of Ässät. A five-game winning streak before Christmas turned the season around and the team finished seventh, securing their second-ever playoff appearance and recording club records in wins (22), ties (11), goals scored (170) and points (55). Journeyman winger Tommi Turunen had a career season with 55 points while Jan Latvala's 35 points were a club record for defenceman.
The 2000–01 postseason would prove out to be short as Pelicans lost 3–0 to TPS, who would eventually win their third straight championship.
The 2001–02 season saw a strong start for the team as they went nine games unbeaten and topped the league. The Pelicans could not maintain the momentum throughout the season, finishing fifth, and tying the club record for highest ever SM-liiga finish. The team also set new club records in wins (31) and points (68). Mikko Peltola's 38 assists were a new club record.
In the playoffs, the Pelicans were eliminated by TPS 3–1, but managed to record club's first ever playoff win by winning Game 2 in overtime by Toni Koivunen's goal.
Financial troubles (2002–2005) After the successful 2001–02 season, six of the ten leading scorers and head coach Kari Eloranta left the team. His replacement was his former assistant coach, Petteri Hirvonen. The following season 2002–03 saw a turn for the worse as the Pelicans finished second-to-last with 36 points, seven points ahead of bottom-placed Ilves.
The 2003–04 season started dismally and on October 22, 2003, after just two wins and four ties in 15 games, Hirvonen was fired. He was replaced by his assistant coach, Petteri Sihvonen, who led the team to just five regulation time wins in 41 games. The Pelicans finished last, nine points behind SaiPa. Dwindling attendance and dire financial straits led to the wholesale of key players during the season and finally in February 2004, the club applied for debt restructuring.
Defenceman Erik Kakko returned for the 2004–05 season, but the team did not fare any better. Under the guidance of rookie coach, Petri Matikainen, the team finished last for the second time in a row, recording just seven regulation time wins in 56 games. In April 2005, finally saw the arrival of new ownership led by Pasi Nurminen, who had played 16 games for the Pelicans during the season due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
Return to playoffs (2005–2009) Matikainen left Pelicans after just one season and he was replaced by Jami Kauppi. Despite stronger financial situation, the team continued to under perform and on October 26, 2005, Kauppi was fired after recording just 2 wins in 16 games. He was first replaced by general manager Ilkka Kaarna and on January 7, 2006, by former Finland national team head coach Hannu Aravirta. Coaching changes turned the 2005–06 season around, but a strong second half wasn't enough to lift the team into the playoffs. The Pelicans finished 12th, five points adrift of the last playoff spot.
The 2006–07 season saw the return of Marko Jantunen as well as a return to playoffs after a five-year absence. The Pelicans finished tenth and recorded their first ever playoff series win by beating TPS in the preliminary round 2–0. During the quarter-finals, they were eliminated in four-straight games by eventual champions Kärpät. The Pelicans managed to score just two goals in the series. Jantunen lead the team in scoring with 41 points alongside centre Matias Loppi.
During the 2007–08 season, the Pelicans set new records in wins (33), goals scored (176), fewest goals against (142) and total points (98), finishing sixth and earning a place in the quarter-finals. Their quarter-final match-up was Jokerit, who went on to win the best-of-seven series in six games. After the season, starting goalie Antti Niemi signed with NHL's Chicago Blackhawks. Loppi set new club records in points (58) and assists (40).