Kalevi Numminen

As both a player and a coach Kalevi Numminen will always be associated with the Finnish ice hockey team Tappara. Numminen joined the team as a player in 1957, winning his first league title two years later. He had further success with the club, winning a another two league titles (1961, 1964) and being named on the SM-liiga All-Star team in 1963 and 1967. He was only 29-years-old when he retired as a player in 1969, having played in more than 200 matches for Tappara. Numminen’s international career ran in parallel with his domestic career, which saw him compete at seven editions of the World Championships and two Olympic Games. In 1962 he was part of the Finnish team that won silver at the European Ice Hockey Championships.

Almost immediately after ending his playing career Numminen turned to coaching with his former team, leading them from 1970 until 1979. Under his leadership Tappara won the Finnish championship on three occasions (1975, 1977, 1979), with him being named as the best coach in the league in 1977. Numminen also spent two spells as the head coach of the Finnish national team, the first from 1973 to 1974, followed by a longer stint from 1977 until 1982. He led the team at five editions of the World Championships and the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

Since 1977 the Kalevi Numminen trophy had been awarded annually to the best coach in the Finnish league. Numminen was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986 and the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2011. His sons Teemu and Teppo both played professional ice hockey, with Teppo playing in more than 1,300 NHL games and winning two silvers and a bronze at the Olympics.