Emma Laaksonen Award
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 a player who best contributes to the scoring of their team while "playing fair," that is to say, while incurring very few penalties. Winners typically exceed one point per game and are issued fewer than ten penalty minutes (PIM) over a full season. It is named after defenceman Emma Terho (née Laaksonen), former captain of the Finnish women's national ice hockey team and general manager of Kiekko-Espoo Naiset. Despite being named after a defenceman, it has only ever been awarded to forwards.
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| League | Naisten Liiga |
| Awarded for | Fair play player |
| Presented by | Finnish Ice Hockey Association |
| History | |
| First award | 2011 |
| First winner | Christine Posa |
| Most wins | Saila Saari (2) |
| Most recent | Emmanuelle Passard, 2022 |
The trophy was first awarded in 2011, to Christine Posa of the Espoo Blues.[1] Saila Saari is the sole player to have received the trophy twice, first in 2013, while playing with JYP Jyväskylä, and again in 2018, while playing with Oulun Kärpät.[2] 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.[3] The current trophy holder is Emmanuelle Passard, who won the award while playing with HIFK Helsinki for the 2021–22 season.[4] A French national, Passard is the first international player to win the award and also the first to be so honored while incurring zero penalty minutes in a season.
Award winners
| Season | Winner | Team | GP | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Christine Posa | Espoo Blues | 26 | 28 | 4 |
| 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 |
| 2018–19 | Emilia Vesa | Team Kuortane | 28 | 21 | 4 |
| 2019–20 | Viivi Vainikka | Team Kuortane | 30 | 52 | 6 |
| 2020–21 | Johanna Juutilainen | KalPa Kuopio | 25 | 35 | 2 |
| 2021–22 | Emmanuelle Passard | HIFK Helsinki | 28 | 33 | 0 |
Source: Elite Prospects[5]
All time award recipients
| Player | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| Saila Saari | 2 | 2013 |
| 2018[2] | ||
| Sanni Hakala | 1 | 2016 |
| Johanna Juutilainen | 1 | 2021[6] |
| Satu Niinimaki | 1 | 2012 |
| Tanja Niskanen | 1 | 2017 |
| Tiina Paananen | 1 | 2014 |
| Emmanuelle Passard | 1 | 2022[4] |
| Christine Posa | 1 | 2011[1] |
| Noora Tulus | 1 | 2015 |
| Viivi Vainikka | 1 | 2020[7] |
| Emilia Vesa | 1 | 2019[3] |
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; Jääkiekkon SM-liiga Oy. Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2019–2020 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. p. 554. ISSN 0784-3321. OCLC 476321083. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- Mennander, Pasi (13 June 2022). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2021–22 palkitut pelaajat ja tähtikentät". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- "Awards - Naisten Liiga (W) Fair Play Player (Emma Laaksonen Award)". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- Niemeläinen, Jonne (16 March 2021). "Huikeat tehot kerännyt 19-vuotias KalPa-hyökkääjä Elisa Holopainen palkittiin Naisten Liigan runkosarjan parhaana – huomenna edessä kauden tärkein peli". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Jääkiekkon SM-liiga Oy (2020). Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2021: Suomen Jääkiekkoliiton ja Liiga Kausijulkaisu 2020–2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. p. 528. Retrieved 13 November 2020.