Justus Kainulainen
.jpg) Kainulainen at the 2024 World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National team |  Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 February 1999 Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Floorball | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Justus Kainulainen (born 22 February 1999)[1] is a Finnish floorball player and national team member. He is a 2024 world champion, two-time Finnish champion, and was named the world's best floorball player in 2024. He has been playing in the Finnish and Swiss top leagues since 2015.
Club career
Kainulainen began his professional floorball career in 2015 with the club LASB, where his older brother Rasmus also played. In his very first season, the team was promoted to the Finnish top league.[2] He played two more seasons in the league with the club before transferring to Oilers in 2018.[3]
His brother followed him to the new team a year later.[4] In the 2020–21 season, they reached the finals with Oilers.[5] In the 2023–24 campaign, Kainulainen was the top scorer of the playoffs and led the team as a captain to their first championship title in 18 years. In the decisive seventh game of the final series, he scored three goals, the last being the game-winner.[6][7] As a result, he was named the season's most valuable player and the sportsman of the city of Espoo.[8] In the following season, they successfully defended the title, although Kainulainen did not play in the final match due to injury.[6][9]
Ahead of the 2025/2026 season, he transferred to Zug United, the reigning two-time champions of the Swiss Unihockey Prime League. However, the team fell short of defending their title, finishing in second place.[10]
International career
Kainulainen represented Finland at the 2017 Under-19 World Championships, where he led the Finnish team to a successful title defense as the tournament's top scorer. In the final match, he scored four goals and assisted another.[3]
He made his debut for the men's national team at the postponed home 2020 World Championships held in Finland, where the team failed to defend their title. Kainulainen scored a hat trick in the final and was named to the All-Star Team.[11][12] He won his first world title at the 2024 championship, where, as the team’s top scorer, he helped overturn a 0–4 deficit in the medal match with two goals and an assist.[13]
| Year | Team | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Finland U-19 | WFC U-19 |  |
| 2020 | Finland | WFC |  |
| 2022 | Finland | WG | |
| 2022 | Finland | WFC |  |
| 2024 | Finland | WFC | |
Awards
In 2024, Kainulainen was named the world's best floorball player in a Innebandymagazinet Award.[14][15] For the 2024/2025 season, he won the inaugural Player of the Year award presented by the International Floorball Federation.[16]
Gallery
Kainulainen (right) at the 2022 World Championships.jpg)
Kainulainen (second from left in blue) at the 2022 World Championships
Kainulainen (in white) in the bronze medal match at the 2022 World Championships
References
- ↑ "Justus Kainulainen" (in Finnish). F-Liiga. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ↑ Virtanen, Mika (20 September 2016). "Mestarit aloittavat kautensa keskiviikkona Tampereella". LASB (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- 1 2 "Salibandyliiga valmistautuu välieriin, samalla porisevat sopimusmarkkinat". Suomen Salibandyliitto (in Finnish). 2 April 2018. Archived from the original on 23 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Matias Veikkola ja Rasmus Kainulainen vahvistavat Öljymiehiä!" (in Finnish). 9 August 2020. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Classic karkasi toisessa erässä viidenteen perättäiseen mestaruuteensa". F-liiga (in Finnish). 11 April 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Hallitseva mestari kaipaa maailman parasta takaisin – pelaako Justus Kainulainen ratkaisevassa salibandyfinaalissa?". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). 10 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Justus Kainulainen, 25, on maailman paras". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). 30 December 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Espoo Athlete of the Year is floorball player Justus Kainulainen". Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ↑ "Oilers Is the Finnish Champion Second Time In a Row". F-liiga. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ↑ "Rychenberg gewinnt Superfinal im Penaltyschiessen!". Unihockey.ch (in German). Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ↑ "Kahden maalin johto ei riittänyt – Ruotsi katkaisi Suomen kultaputken". Suomen Salibandyliitto (in Finnish). 11 December 2021. Archived from the original on 19 January 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Kolme suomalaista MM-tähdistöön, Ville Lastikka kisojen arvokkain pelaaja". Suomen Salibandyliitto (in Finnish). 12 December 2021. Archived from the original on 13 January 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Finland floorball world champions for the fifth time". blue News. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Justus Kainulainen valittiin maailman parhaaksi pelaajaksi" (in Finnish). 30 December 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Justus Kainulainen, 25, on maailman paras". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). 30 December 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
- ↑ "Veera Kauppi and Justus Kainulainen receive the first IFF Player of the Year Awards". International Floorball Federation (IFF). 9 August 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
External links
