Jukka-Pekka Moilanen Oulun Kärpät is the Finnish Champion of the year 2005 and 2004.Kärpät has now three championships, the first one came in 1981. As other achievements in the Finnish National League Kärpät has silver medals from the years 1987 and 2003 and bronze medals from 1980, 1984, 1985, and 1986.

Contacts:
League office: Lekatie 6, Oulu
Puh. +358 8 815 5700
Fax +358 8 815 5701
toimisto@oulunkarpat.fi

Chairman Seppo Arponen
seppo.arponen@pp.inet.fi
+358 400 670 594

Managing Director Juha Junno
juha.junno@oulunkarpat.fi
+358 40 521 9546

Oulun Kärpät
Founding year: 1946
Years in the main league: 1960-61, 1965-66, 1967-68, 1977-89 and 2000- Raksila Arena: The Home Arena of Oulun Kärpät was built in 1975. The latest reform of the Arena will be finished due September 2004.

The History of Kärpät

The idea of Oulun Kärpät was created by a few young, athletic men in 1946. The first athletic club was established for football and bandy but soon . in 1949 . the club devoted to ice hockey as its main issue. The first ice rink built in Oulu made it possible for eager sportsmen to put up a hockey team.

The Finnish Championship League was founded 1975 and Kärpät took their place in the league in 1977. In the 1980´s Kärpät won the club´s first medals in the league: Oulun Kärpät was the Champion in 1981, and four bronze medals were won afterwards during the same decade.

During the late 1980´s many financial difficulties and problems in sports were disturbing the development of the club. Because of these Kärpät fell off into the lower series in 1990. The rise towards the League begun again about ten years ago, after the team had played a season in the third division. The last four years Oulun Kärpät has played in the National Championship League and has taken always its place in the play offs. Last spring . year 2004 . team Kärpät won the League Championship for the second time.

Since the year 2000 club Kärpät has been one of the best teams in the main league, also from the ecomical point of view. The club.s economy has been well taken care of and Kärppä-fans are loyal to their own people and very supportive. The number of visitors in the Raksila Arena has been lingering well above the average line for years.

Since the club was established, the youthwork has been highly valued part of the club. Most of the players in the latest championship team have been brought into the team through the club´s own junior program. More than 20 of the Kärppä youngsters are currently playing, have played, or are drafted by NHL.

The team

Kärpät won the second Finnish Championship in a row in spring 2005. The team also achieved the rank of the Second Best Team in Europe. Silver medals were hung around Kärppä-players’ necks while the golden ones were given to the winner of IIHF Tournament – Avangard Omsk. Kärpät was the only team among the ECC Tournament participants able to re-new their championship. In January 2006 Kärpät will play in St.Petersburg again in the tournament into which the following teams will take part: Dynamo Of Moscow (Russia), HC Pardubise (Czech Republic), Frölunda (Sweden), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Kärpät (Finland), and HC Davos (Switzerland).

Oulun Kärpät is playing moving and fast icehockey, and there are many highly skilled players in the team. The fans and the friends of hockey enjoy watching this exceptionally entertaining style of playing the game.

The backbone of Kärpät is the strong core of young players brought up by the club´s own junior program. Now Kärpät has three world top players from Czech Republic supporting this core: the three-times the Wolrd Champion Viktor Ujcik, the fastest skater in the Finnish League Petr Tenkrat and high-skilled and experienced Michal Bros.

The age average in the team is 24,5 years.

The head coach of Kärpät is Kari Jalonen, the assistant coach Mikko Haapakoski and the goal keepers are being trained by Ari Hilli. Man responsible for the weight training of the team is Harri Hakkarainen.

Fans and friends

The team Oulun Kärpät has an exceptional place in the hearts of all the hockey people in whole Northern Finland. The success of Kärpät is success for them all, and it´s strengthening their northern idendity. After Championship 2005 and 2004 there were wild celebrations during next few days, not only in Oulu, but also in numerous places all around Northern Finland. Estimated 30,000 people from all areas of Northern Finland were gathered on the marketplace of Oulu to celebrate their team's success.

Kärpät has a strong fan-club in Oulu. Adding to that the team has many active but rather small fan groups all over the Finland.

The city of Oulu

In 2005 Oulu will be celebrating its 400th anniversary. The sixth largest city in Finland has more than 120,000 inhabitants and spreads on 411.1 square kilometres of land. Oulu is located on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia and was once a great harbor city.

Oulu is known of its high- standard university and general education programmes. The second largest university in Finland lies within the city borders. Oulu has made itself known over the world for its technological know-how and knowledge. The city is pursuing the goal of becoming he first .wireless city. in the world.

Oulu is a coastal city on the Northern part of the Baltic Sea with good communication links to the largest European centres and its airport is the second busiest in Finland. In conclusion, the city is a natural gateway to the Euroarctic Barents region. The strong and well developed infrastructure of Oulu offers flexible links both to Europe and to the Northern regions of North-West Russia.