Emma Laaksonen Award
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| League | Auroraliiga |
| Awarded for | Fair play player |
| Presented by | Finnish Ice Hockey Association |
| History | |
| First award | 2011 |
| First winner | Christine Posa |
| Most wins | Johanna Juutilainen (3) |
| Most recent | Johanna Juutilainen, 2026 |
The Emma Laaksonen Award (Finnish: Emma Laaksonen -palkinto) is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the fair play player of the year of the Auroraliiga (previously called the Naisten SM-sarja and Naisten Liiga). The award recognizes a player who best contributes to the scoring of their team while "playing fair," that is to say, while incurring very few penalty minutes. Winners typically exceed one point per game and are issued fewer than ten penalty minutes (PIM) over a full season.
It is named after defenseman Emma Terho (née Laaksonen), former captain of the Finnish women's national ice hockey team and general manager of Kiekko-Espoo Naiset. Despite being named after a defenseman, it has only ever been awarded to forwards.
The Emma Laaksonen Award was first awarded, to Christine Posa of the Espoo Blues in 2011.[1] Johanna Juutilainen and Saila Saari are the only players to have received the trophy more than once. Saari was awarded in 2013, while playing with JYP Jyväskylä, and in 2018, while playing with Oulun Kärpät.[2] Juutilainen holds the record for times awarded, with three. She was the trophy recipient while playing with KalPa Kuopio in both 2021 and 2024, and with Ilves Tampere in 2026. Emilia Vesa, recipient for the 2018–19 season, and Anni Montonen, recipient for the 2024–25 season, are the only honorees to have won the trophy while averaging less than one point per game.[3] In 2022, French national team player Emmanuelle Passard became the first international to win the award and was also the first recipient to have incurred zero penalty minutes in the award season.
The trophy is currently held by Johanna Juutilainen, who won the award while playing with Ilves] during the 2025–26 Auroraliiga season.
Award winners
| Season | Winner | Team | GP | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Christine Posa | Espoo Blues | 26 | 28 | 4 |
| 2011–12 | Satu Niinimäki | Ilves Tampere | 19 | 28 | 2 |
| 2012–13 | Saila Saari | JYP Jyväskylä | 28 | 39 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | Tiina Paananen | JYP Jyväskylä | 28 | 31 | 8 |
| 2014–15 | Noora Tulus | Espoo Blues | 25 | 38 | 8 |
| 2015–16 | Sanni Hakala | JYP Jyväskylä | 23 | 36 | 4 |
| 2016–17 | Tanja Niskanen | KalPa Kuopio | 22 | 36 | 6 |
| 2017–18 | Saila Saari | Kärpät Oulu | 26 | 44 | 8 |
| 2018–19 | Emilia Vesa | Team Kuortane | 28 | 21 | 4 |
| 2019–20 | Viivi Vainikka | Team Kuortane | 30 | 52 | 6 |
| 2020–21 | Johanna Juutilainen | KalPa Kuopio | 25 | 35 | 2 |
| 2021–22 | Emmanuelle Passard | IFK Helsinki | 28 | 33 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | Jenna Hietala | KalPa Kuopio | 35 | 50 | 6 |
| 2023–24 | Johanna Juutilainen | KalPa Kuopio | 32 | 46 | 2 |
| 2024–25 | Anni Montonen | Kiekko-Espoo | 32 | 31 | 2 |
| 2025–26 | Johanna Juutilianen | Ilves Tampere | 32 | 39 | 2 |
Source: Elite Prospects[4]
All time award recipients
| Player | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| Johanna Juutilainen | 3 | 2021[5] |
| 2024[6] | ||
| 2026[7] | ||
| Saila Saari | 2 | 2013 |
| 2018[2] | ||
| Sanni Hakala | 1 | 2016 |
| Jenna Hietala | 1 | 2023[8] |
| Anni Montonen | 1 | 2025[9] |
| Satu Niinimaki | 1 | 2012 |
| Tanja Niskanen | 1 | 2017 |
| Tiina Paananen | 1 | 2014 |
| Emmanuelle Passard | 1 | 2022[10] |
| Christine Posa | 1 | 2011[1] |
| Noora Tulus | 1 | 2015 |
| Viivi Vainikka | 1 | 2020[11] |
| Emilia Vesa | 1 | 2019[3] |
References
- 1 2 Mennander, Pasi (11 March 2011). "Naisten SM-sarjan palkinnot 2010–11 – Tässä nimilista!". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- 1 2 Mennander, Pasi (8 March 2018). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2017–18 palkitut pelaajat, erotuomarit ja tähtikentät". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- 1 2 Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Jääkiekkon SM-liiga Oy. Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2019–2020 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. p. 554. ISSN 0784-3321. OCLC 476321083. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ↑ "Awards - Auroraliiga (W) Fair Play Player (Emma Laaksonen Award)". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ Niemeläinen, Jonne (16 March 2021). "Huikeat tehot kerännyt 19-vuotias KalPa-hyökkääjä Elisa Holopainen palkittiin Naisten Liigan runkosarjan parhaana – huomenna edessä kauden tärkein peli". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ Mennander, Pasi (8 June 2024). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2023–24 palkitut pelaajat, valmentajat ja tuomarit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ↑ Seppä, Lassi (17 April 2026). "Kiekko-Espoon Emma Nuutinen on Auroraliigan paras pelaaja, HPK:n Marko Peltoniemi paras valmentaja" [Kiekko-Espoo's Emma Nuutinen is the best player in the Auroraliiga, HPK's Marko Peltoniemi is the best coach]. Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- ↑ Mennander, Pasi (10 June 2023). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2022–23 palkitut pelaajat, valmentajat ja tuomarit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ↑ Mennander, Pasi (7 June 2025). "Auroraliigan kauden 2024–25 palkitut pelaajat, valmentajat ja tuomarit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
- ↑ Mennander, Pasi (13 June 2022). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2021–22 palkitut pelaajat ja tähtikentät". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ↑ Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Jääkiekkon SM-liiga Oy (2020). Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2021: Suomen Jääkiekkoliiton ja Liiga Kausijulkaisu 2020–2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. p. 528. Retrieved 13 November 2020.