The 2016–17 Mestis season was the 17th season of Mestis, the second highest level of ice hockey in Finland after Liiga. Previous season's champion Jukurit got a place in the Liiga. IPK got promoted from Suomi-sarja at the end of last season. Espoo United got a place in Mestis after Espoo Blues suffered bankruptcy and the league was exceptionally played with 13 teams.

At the end of the season SaPKo won both the regular season and the playoffs. Hokki and IPK retained their place in Mestis, while JYP-Akatemia was relegated. Hokki faced bankruptcy during the off-season and thus Imatran Ketterä were awarded a place in Mestis for the next season.

Clubs Team City Home arena, capacity Founded Head coach Espoo United Espoo Espoo Metro Areena, 6,982 2016 Timo Hirvonen Hermes Kokkola Kokkolan jäähalli, 4,200 1953 Antti Karhula Hokki Kajaani Kajaanin Jäähalli, - 1968 Jari Laukkanen Iisalmen Peli-Karhut Iisalmi Kankaan jäähalli, - 1966 Jukka Niiranen17.1.2017 Janne Sinkkonen Jokipojat Joensuu Mehtimäki Ice Hall, 4,800 1953 Ari Aaltonen20.2.2017 Jouni JYP-Akatemia Jyväskylä Synergia Areena, 4,618 2008 Jukka Ahvenjärvi KeuPa HT Keuruu Keuruun Jäähalli, 1,100 1995 Mikko Heiskanen Kiekko-Vantaa Vantaa Trio Areena, 3,700 1994 Simo Mälkiä LeKi Lempäälä Masku Areena, 800 1904 Miikka Kuusela Peliitat Heinola Versowood Areena, 2,975 1984 Marko Tuomainen Rovaniemen Kiekko Rovaniemi Lappi Areena, 3,500 1979 Petteri Hirvonen13.2.2017 Juha Juujärvi SaPKo Savonlinna Talvisalo ice rink, 2,833 1929 Pasi Räsänen Tuto Turku Marli Areena, 3,000 1929 Miika Elomo

Regular season Top eight advance to the Mestis playoffs while the bottom two face the top two teams from Suomi-sarja for a relegation playoff. Since the highest series of Finnish hockey is a closed series no team will be promoted to Liiga.

Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Penalty minutes.

Playoffs Playoffs are being played in three stages. Each stage is a best-of-7 series. The teams are reseeded after the quarterfinals, so that the best team by regular season performance to make the semifinals faces the worst team in the semifinals.

Bracket

Relegation qualification Bottom three teams of Mestis face the top two teams of Suomi-Sarja in a relegation qualification, where two top teams will get a place in Mestis for the next season. Each team will play against each other twice.

Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Penalty minutes.

See also 2016–17 Liiga season

References