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 (1990-05-31) 31 May 1990 (age 34)
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
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vancouver Ice hockey
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Pyeongchang Ice hockey
World Championship
Silver medal – second place 2019 Finland
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Sweden
Bronze medal – third place 2017 United States

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

[4][5][6][7][8]

References

edit
  1. ^ Merk, Martin (24 July 2019). "Linda Valimaki retires". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  2. ^ Lahtinen, Matias (20 February 2020). "Ilveksen naisten jääkiekkojoukkueen ensi kauden päävalmentajaksi maajoukkueessa meritoitunut Linda Välimäki". Jatkoaika.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  3. ^ Raunio, Antti (1 April 2022). "Linda Leppänen ei jatka Ilveksen päävalmentajana: "En ole mitään sulkenut elämästäni pois"". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  7. ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics | Olympic Video Medals News". Vancouver2010.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
edit