Venla Hovi
Venla Hovi | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Tampere, Finland | 28 October 1987||
Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
Weight | 67 kg (148 lb; 10 st 8 lb) | ||
Position | Forward | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Tampereen Ilves Niagara Purple Eagles HPK Hämeenlinna KalPa Kuopio Herlev Hornets Manitoba Bisons Calgary Inferno | ||
National team |
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Playing career | 2003–2019 | ||
Venla Hovi, née Heikkilä, (born 28 October 1987) is a Finnish retired ice hockey forward. She played with the Finnish national team and won bronze medals at the 2010 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games and at the 2008, 2009, and 2017 IIHF Women's World Championships, and a silver medal at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship. Hovi announced her retirement from top athletic competition the day following the achievement of silver at the 2019 Worlds.[1][2]
Following her retirement, Hovi has served as an on-ice instructor with True North, the Winnipeg Jets' hockey development program. She is the first woman ever to be hired as a coach by the organization and is one of a small number of women working as on-ice instructors in the NHL or NHL affiliated programs.
Playing career[]
In her native Finland, Hovi played in the Naisten SM-sarja (Women's Finnish Championship Series) with , Tampereen Ilves, HPK Hameenlinna, and KalPa.[3]
Canada[]
Hovi played in Canada with the University of Manitoba Bisons of U Sports. Playing out of the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her contributions helped the Bisons defeat the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in the 2018 U Sports Women's Ice Hockey Championship and secure the team's first Golden Path Trophy.[4] She was additionally recognized at the University of Manitoba as the 2017-18 Bison Sports Female Athlete of the Year.[5][6]
Hovi played with the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) for the 2018–19 season. Coincidentally, she would score the first goal of her CWHL career against her Finnish national team teammate, Noora Räty, in a game versus the Shenzhen KRS Rays. Qualifying for the 2019 Clarkson Cup Finals, the Inferno would defeat Les Canadiennes de Montreal by a 5–2 tally to win the second Cup in franchise history. With the win, Hovi became the first player from Finland to win the Clarkson Cup.[7][8]
Personal life[]
Hovi has a Bachelor's degree in Communications and Applied Linguistics from the University of Vaasa. She studied in the post graduate program for Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language at the University of Manitoba.[9]
For the 2018-19 season she served as Assistant Coach to the University of Manitoba Bisons women's ice hockey program.[10]
As of July 2019, Hovi had been hired by True North as a coach in the Winnipeg Jets' Hockey Development program. She was the first woman ever to be hired as a coach by the organization and one of a small number of women working as on-ice instructors in any capacity for a NHL organization. She will be working alongside other instructors to teach players of all ages and skill levels. Reflecting on her new role, Hovi said, "It's been different but also a really fun change for myself. I don't think I should be limited to just coaching females. Same thing, Dave [Cameron (True North head on-ice instructor)] shouldn't just be coaching guys."[11]
Career statistics[]
Event | Goals | Assists | Points | Shots | PIM | +/- |
2010 Winter Olympics | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
2018 Winter Olympics | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Awards and honors[]
- Manitoba Bisons Female Athlete of the Year (2017-18)[17]
Player of the Game, Gold Medal Game, 2018 U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship
References[]
- ^ Foster, Meredith (15 April 2019). "Venla Hovi announces retirement". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Levine, Justin (25 April 2019). "Venla Hovi Announces Retirement From Professional Women's Hockey". The Puck Authority. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Player Profile: Venla Hovi". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Ates, Murat. "Q&A: Venla Hovi, three time Finnish Olympian, on her love of Winnipeg and the future of women's hockey". The Athletic. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Venla Hovi and Justus Alleyn selected as the 2017-18 Bison Sports Athletes of the Year". University of Manitoba Athletics. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Ates, Murat (21 September 2018). "From Tampere to the Olympics, Winnipeg, and beyond: the lifelong journey of Venla Hovi". The Athletic. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Staffieri, Mark (20 June 2019). "IIHF: Venla Hovi | Finland". Women's Hockey Life. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Bell, Jason (3 May 2019). "Ex-U of M player supports her hockey sisters in quest for working wage". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Jalonen, Pekka (19 October 2016). "Winnipegissä kolmaskin suomalaiskiekkoilija - ei ihan pärjää palkkavertailussa Patrik Laineelle" [There's a third Finnish hockey player in Winnipeg - not a good wage comparison to Patrik Laine] (in Finnish). Iltalehti. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Team Staff Profile: Venla Hovi". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ McIntyre, Mike (5 July 2019). "True North, Bisons coach starting at the Finnish line of her sparkling international hockey career". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights". 8 September 2017.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights". 8 September 2017.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights". 8 September 2017.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights". 8 September 2017.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights". 8 September 2017.
- ^ "Venla Hovi and Justus Alleyn selected as the 2017-18 Bison Sports Athletes of the Year". gobisons.ca/. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com
- Venla Hovi at Olympedia
- Venla Hovi at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- 1987 births
- Living people
- Finnish women's ice hockey forwards
- Ice hockey people from Tampere
- Clarkson Cup champions
- Calgary Inferno players
- Manitoba Bisons women's ice hockey players
- Niagara Purple Eagles athletes
- Ilves Naiset players
- HPK Kiekkonaiset players
- KalPa Naiset players
- Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics
- Olympic bronze medalists for Finland
- Olympic ice hockey players of Finland
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
- Finnish expatriate ice hockey people in Canada
- Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
- Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Denmark
- Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Universiade medalists in ice hockey
- Universiade silver medalists for Finland
- Competitors at the 2011 Winter Universiade