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User:Spitzmauskc/sandbox/Emilia Kyrkkö

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Spitzmauskc/sandbox/Emilia Kyrkkö
Born (2004-02-24) 24 February 2004 (age 20)
Nokia, Finland
Height 169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 68 kg (150 lb; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NSML team Team Kuortane
National team  Finland
Playing career 2020–present

Emilia Kyrkkö (born 24 February 2004) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and member of the Finnish national team, currently playing in the Naisten Liiga (NSML) with Team Kuortane.

Playing career

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Kyrkkö began playing ringette as a child in her hometown. At age nine or ten, she joined the youth department of NoU Ringette [fi], the ringette side of the multi-sport club Nokian Urheilijat (NoU).[1][2] In the 2015–16 season with NoU under-16 (U16), she played as a skater and was the youngest player on the team but she had fully switched to goaltending by the following season, which she played with NoU U14.[3] She continued playing ringette as a net minder with various youth teams of NoU and BLD Ringette, ultimately playing seven seasons of the sport.[4][5]

Youth

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Around age eleven,[2] Sanni Vanhanen invited her to practice with the boys' ice hockey team she played with in the youth department of HC Nokia [fi] and Kyrkkö decided to join as the only other girl on the team.[1][6][7] HC Nokia youth teams played in two or more skill levels (AAA, AA, A, etc.; see minor ice hockey) of an age class and each team’s players would be rotated through the various levels on a week-by-week basis while continuing to practice as a single unit.[8] This system gave Kyrkkö the opportunity to tend goal at three skill levels in the E1 (U12) leagues and two skill levels in the D2 (U13) leagues during 2016–17 season.[7][9][10]

She and Vanhanen remained the only girls on their HC Nokia team in the 2017–18 season, during which the team played in the E1 AAA, D2 AA, and D2 AAA leagues.[8][11][12][13] Across eighteen games in the D2 AAA with HC Nokia Oranssit, she recorded a 91.52 save percentage.[7] The season also played host to her debut in girls' ice hockey, as she played games with Ähtärin Kiekko-Haukat [fi] (KieHa) junior teams in the girls' B (U18) league and in the C (U16) and A (U20) girls' national championship tournaments.[14]

In the 2018–19 season, she moved to the youth ice hockey department of KOOVEE in Tampere and was the starting goaltender for the club's team playing in the boys' D1 (U14) AAA. Across 31 starts in the D1 AAA with KOOVEE Power, she recorded 947 saves and an 88.01 save percentage.[7] In the same season, she played her first games in a national women's league while on loan to Ruoveden Seurakunnan Atleetit (RuoSkA) for two Naisten Suomi-sarja games, posting shutouts in both matches.[1][15]

She started the following season with KOOVEE Power in the boys' C2 (U15) AAA preliminaries but the team immediately struggled, winning just one game in the eighteen-game preliminary series and finishing with a goal difference of –124.[16] Kyrkkö played in seven games of the C2 AAA preliminaries and faced 434 shots on goal (an average of over 60 per game), ending the series with an 85.71 save percentage. Concurrent to the C2 AAA preliminaries, she also played with both KOOVEE Power and KOOVEE Sport in the boys' C2 AA preliminaries and went on to play in the C2 AA regular season with both as well, recording an 88.94 save percentage across eleven C2 AA games over the full season.[7]

Naisten Liiga

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Ahead of the 2020–21 season, Kyrkkö joined Team Kuortane, the national women's development program of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Members of the team attend and live at the Kuortaneen urheilulukio, where they balance studies with 20–25 hours per week of training in addition to playing in the Naisten Liiga, the elite women's national league in Finland.[5]

NCAA

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In March 2023, Mira Jalosuo, an assistant coach with the St. Cloud State Huskies women's ice hockey program and former Finnish national team player, indicated Kyrkkö had committed to play college ice hockey at St. Cloud State University as an incoming freshman for the 2024–25 season.[17]

International play

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2019 EC

– 2 gp, 0.67 GAA, .947 Sv%

2020 Winter Youth Olympics

– Finnish flag bearer in the opening ceremony[18]

– only female ice hockey player to represent Finland at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

– won silver medal with Team Black in the 3x3 mixed NOC tournament[19]

– split the net with Italian goaltender Carlotta Regine

2022 WW18

– won bronze

– best goaltender[20]

2022–23 EHT

– 2 shutouts at 5N-Füssen[21][22]

Personal life

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Kyrkkö was born on 24 February 2004 in Nokia, Finland to Johanna and ** Kyrkkö.[23] She grew up in Mutala, a village in the Ylöjärvi municipality of Finland’s landlocked south-eastern Pirkanmaa region, as the second-eldest of six siblings.[24][25] Her younger brother, Julius (born 2005), was her teammate during the seasons she played in the youth department of HC Nokia.[8]

Fanny and Eemel (2011), Julius (2005), Hugo (2003)

Away from ice hockey, she enjoys video gaming and frisbee golf.[23]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L Min GA SO SV% GAA GP W L Min GA SO SV% GAA
2020–21 Team Kuortane NSML 13 5 7 749:22 30 1 .934 2.40 2 0 1 74:56 5 0 .928 4.00
2021–22 Team Kuortane NSML 16 4 10 942:23 62 0 .904 3.95 – – – – – – – –
2022–23 Team Kuortane NSML 24 9 12 1430:18 56 3 .925 2.35 4 1 3 248:00 12 0 .937 2.90
Naisten Liiga totals 53 18 29 3122:03 148 4 6 1 4 322:56 17 0 .934 3.16

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP W L MIN GA SO SV% GAA
2020 Team Black YOG  
2022 Finland U18 WW18   4 2 2 238:44 6 2 .9586 1.51
2023 Finland WW 5th 0 – – 0:00 – – – –

Awards and honors

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Award Year
Naisten Liiga
Player of the Month September 2022[26]
International
World U18 All-Star Team 2022[27]
World U18 Bronze Medal 2022[28]
World U18 Best Goaltender 2022[29]
World U18 Best save percentage 2022[30]
World U18 Top-3 Player on Team 2022[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Seppä, Lassi (24 October 2022). "Naiskiekon suuri suomalainen maalivahtilupaus kehittyy Kuortaneella − "Siellä oppii, millaista on olla urheilija"". Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b Hyyryläinen, Jaana (23 November 2022). "Naisleijonien nuori maalivahtilupaus sai kiekko-oppinsa HC Nokiassa ja kehuu nyt seuran junioripolkua – "Sillä on valtava rooli naisten jääkiekon kehittämisessä"". Nokian Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Kyrkkö Emilia (Nokian Urheilijat Ringette)". Suomen Ringetteliitto. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  4. ^ Aarnivala, Pekka (3 February 2017). "Noora Rädyltä oppia ringettemolareille". Nokian Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b Seppä, Lassi (26 October 2022). "Noora Räty seuraa lahjakasta Emilia Kyrkköä matkalla kohti Naisleijonia − "Paketti pysyy kasassa ja nopeus kontrollissa"". Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  6. ^ Pellinen, Leeni; Schemeikka, Silja (6 June 2022). Mennander, Pasi (ed.). "#30 Emilia Kyrkkö". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e Aalto, Markku. "Pelaajat: Emilia Kyrkkö". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Hockey Club Nokia 2017-2018" (PDF). HC Nokia. p. 20–21. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  9. ^ "2016-2017 E1 AAA, Häme – E1 AAA-jatkosarja – Kokoonpano: HC Nokia Oranssit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). January 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  10. ^ "2016-2017 E1 AA, Häme – E1 AA-jatkosarja lohko 2b – Kokoonpano: HC Nokia Mustat". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). January 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  11. ^ "2017-2018 E1 AAA – E1 AAA, lohko 2 – Kokoonpano: HC Nokia Oranssit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). September 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  12. ^ "2017-2018 D2 AA – D2 AA alkusarja, lohko 10 – Kokoonpano: HC Nokia Mustat". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). September 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  13. ^ "2017-2018 D2 AAA – D2 AAA jatkosarja, lohko 3 – Kokoonpano: HC Nokia Oranssit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). January 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  14. ^ "B/C -tytöt – Kausi 2017-2018". Ähtärin Kiekko-Haukat (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  15. ^ Kivi, Marko (15 January 2019). "Jääkiekko: RuoSkA aloitti naisten Suomi-sarjan kahdella voitolla". Ruovesi (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  16. ^ Ruissalo, Pekka (5 February 2020). "Ylöjärveläinen Emilia Kyrkkö tähtää maalivahtimaailman huipulle – "Haaveilen kansainvälisestä pelaajaurasta"". Tamperelainen (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  17. ^ Jalosuo, Mira [@MiraJalosuo] (21 March 2023). "Unfortunately only coaches are keeping track of the commits. 2023 Sundelin, 2024 Kyrkkö and Yrjölä are coming over so future is super bright 😎" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Steiss, Adam (9 January 2020). "Flame On in Lausanne". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games – Mixed NOC 3-on-3 Tournament, Women – Team Roster: BLACK" (PDF). Lausanne 2020. 9 January 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  20. ^ Palojärvi, Otto (14 June 2022). "Tyttöleijonille MM-pronssia – kaksi suurlupausta iskussa". Päivän Lehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  21. ^ Uusitalo, Timo (17 January 2023). "Jenni Hiirikosken maali liikaa Tshekille – Emilia Kyrkkö taas nollapeliin". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  22. ^ Steiss, Adam (15 January 2020). "Stars are golden in women's 3-on-3". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  23. ^ a b Seppä, Lassi (25 October 2022). "Emilia Kyrkkö asennoituu jääkiekkoon ammattimaisesti, muttei unohda huumoria − "Johtui maali virheestäni tai ei, takaisin sitä ei sieltä taululta miettimällä saa"". Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  24. ^ Mäkinen, Ville (2 January 2023). "Mutalalainen Emilia Kyrkkö haluaa Naisleijoniin ja tähyää myös Pohjois-Amerikan yliopistopeleihin". Ylöjärven Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  25. ^ Suoranta, Outi (16 April 2022). "Ylöjärveläinen Johanna Kyrkkö ostaa viikossa maitoa 12–15 litraa, leipää 6–7 pussia ja puurohiutaleita 4–5 pakettia – lue vanhempien vinkit kasvavien lasten ruokahuoltoon". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  26. ^ Mennander, Pasi (3 October 2022). "Team Kuortaneen Emilia Kyrkkö Naisten Liigan syyskuun pelaaja". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  27. ^ "2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Media All Stars" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  28. ^ "2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Bronze Medal Game, Game 21" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  29. ^ "2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Best Players Selected by the Directorate" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  30. ^ "2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Goalkeepers" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  31. ^ "2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Best Players of Each Team Selected by Coaches". International Ice Hockey Federation. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
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