Emma Laaksonen Award
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| League | Naisten Liiga |
| Competition | Naisten Liiga regular season |
| Awarded for | Fair play player of the year |
| Local name | Emma Laaksonen -palkinto (Finnish) |
| Country | Finland |
| Presented by | Finnish Ice Hockey Association |
| History | |
| First award | 2011 |
| Editions | 10 |
| First winner | Christine Posa |
| Most wins | Saila Saari (2) |
| Most recent | Viivi Vainikka, 2020 |
The Emma Laaksonen Award (Finnish: Emma Laaksonen -palkinto) is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the fair play player of the year of the Naisten Liiga, called the Naisten SM-sarja until 2017. The award recognizes the player who best contributes to their team while "playing fair," that is to say, incurring very few penalties. Winners typically exceed one point per game and are issued fewer than 10 penalty minutes (PIM) over a full regular season. It is named after defenceman Emma Terho (née Laaksonen), former captain of the Finnish women's national ice hockey team and current general manager of Kiekko-Espoo. Despite being named after a defenceman, the trophy has only ever been awarded to forwards.
The trophy was first awarded in 2011, to Christine Posa of the Espoo Blues. Saila Saari is the lone player to have received the trophy twice, first in 2013, while playing with JYP Jyväskylä, and again in 2018, while playing with Oulun Kärpät. Emilia Vesa, recipient for the 2018–19 season, is the only honoree to have won the trophy while scoring less than one point per game. The most recent winner is Viivi Vainikka in the 2019–20 season, while playing with Team Kuortane.
Award winners
| Season | Winner | Team | GP | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Christine Posa | Espoo Blues | 26 | 28 | 4 | [1] |
| 2011–12 | Satu Niinimäki | Ilves Tampere | 19 | 28 | 2 | |
| 2012–13 | Saila Saari | JYP Jyväskylä | 28 | 39 | 2 | |
| 2013–14 | Tiina Paananen | JYP Jyväskylä | 28 | 31 | 8 | |
| 2014–15 | Noora Tulus | Espoo Blues | 25 | 38 | 8 | |
| 2015–16 | Sanni Hakala | JYP Jyväskylä | 23 | 36 | 4 | |
| 2016–17 | Tanja Niskanen | KalPa Kuopio | 22 | 36 | 6 | |
| 2017–18 | Saila Saari | Kärpät Oulu | 26 | 44 | 8 | [2] |
| 2018–19 | Emilia Vesa | Team Kuortane | 28 | 21 | 4 | [3] |
| 2019–20 | Viivi Vainikka | Team Kuortane | 30 | 52 | 6 | [4] |
Source: Elite Prospects[5]
All time award recipients
| Player | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| Saila Saari | 2 | 2013, 2018 |
| Sanni Hakala | 1 | 2016 |
| Satu Niinimaki | 1 | 2012 |
| Tanja Niskanen | 1 | 2017 |
| Tiina Paananen | 1 | 2014 |
| Christine Posa | 1 | 2011 |
| Noora Tulus | 1 | 2015 |
| Viivi Vainikka | 1 | 2020 |
References
- ^ Mennander, Pasi (11 March 2011). "Naisten SM-sarjan palkinnot 2010–11 – Tässä nimilista!". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ Mennander, Pasi (8 March 2018). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2017–18 palkitut pelaajat, erotuomarit ja tähtikentät". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Liiga. Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2019–2020 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. p. 554. ISSN 0784-3321. OCLC 476321083. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Jääkiekkon SM-liiga Oy (2020). Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2021: Suomen Jääkiekkoliiton ja Liiga Kausijulkaisu 2020–2021 [Ice Hockey Book 2021: The Finnish Ice Hockey Association and Liiga Guide & Record Book 2020–2021] (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. p. 237. ISSN 0784-3321. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Naisten Liiga (W) Awards – Fair Play Player (Emma Laaksonen Award)". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved 12 November 2020.