Linda Leppänen née Välimäki (born 31 May 1990) is a Finnish retired ice hockey forward and coach. Representing Finland, she won bronze medals at the Winter Olympic Games in 2010 and 2018 and at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 2015 and 2017, and a silver medal at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship. In total, she played 167 matches with the Finnish national team. Leppänen announced her retirement from top athletic competition several months after achieving her career highlight world championship silver medal.[1]
| Linda Leppänen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Leppänen playing in an Ilves exhibition match in December 2022 | |||
| Born |
31 May 1990 Ylöjärvi, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Weight | 69 kg (152 lb; 10 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Ylöjärven Ilves Espoo Blues Espoo United Tampereen Ilves | ||
| Coached for | Tampereen Ilves | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| Playing career | 2002–2019 | ||
| Coaching career | 2020–2022 | ||
Leppänen served as head coach of Ilves Tampere in the Naisten Liiga (NSML) during the 2020–21 and 2021–21 seasons. She resigned from the position in April 2022, motivated by a desire to spend more time with her three young children.[2][3]
Career statistics
edit| Event | Goals | Assists | Points | Shots | PIM | +/- |
| 2010 Winter Olympics | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 | −2 |
References
edit- ^ Merk, Martin (24 July 2019). "Linda Valimaki retires". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Lahtinen, Matias (20 February 2020). "Ilveksen naisten jääkiekkojoukkueen ensi kauden päävalmentajaksi maajoukkueessa meritoitunut Linda Välimäki". Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Raunio, Antti (1 April 2022). "Linda Leppänen ei jatka Ilveksen päävalmentajana: "En ole mitään sulkenut elämästäni pois"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 April 2022.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com
- Linda Leppänen at Olympics.com
- Linda Leppänen at Olympedia (archive)
- Linda Leppänen at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
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