Aarne Honkavaara
Born (1924-06-07)June 7, 1924
Tampere, Finland
Died March 22, 2016(2016-03-22) (aged 91)
Tampere, Finland
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Ilves
National team  Finland
Playing career 19431952
1956–1958

Aarne Väinö Edvard Honkavaara (June 7, 1924 – March 22, 2016) was a Finnish ice hockey player and coach. He was born in Tampere, Finland.

Playing career

Honkavaara played his first game of ice hockey when he was 12 years old. The team which he represented was Tampereen Kisa-Veikot. He participated in the Continuation War between 1942 and 1944 and played his first actual SM-sarja game in 1944 against HSK. He played for Ilves, which was along with TBK, one of Tampere's top teams. He played his entire career for Ilves with the exception of a short visit to Canada, where he played in two exhibition games for Sarnia Sailors. His playing career ended in 1953 when he broke his shin after a Polish player fell onto it during a national team game between Finland and Poland. After retiring, he made a two-season return to playing staff, while he was the head coach for Ilves in 1956. He re-retired in 1958 after a single game during his second season after comeback.

International play

Honkavaara was part of Finland national team and played 47 games for them, scoring 46 goals. He was also team captain of the national team during their first participation at the Winter Olympics in 1952.

Coaching career

After retiring as a full-time player, Honkavaara went on to coach Ilves to three Finnish championships and one silver medal. He was also the head coach for the Finland national team between 1954 and 1959.

Museum founder

When the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame was established June 14, 1979, Honkavaara was one of its founding members, and later served as its chairpersons from 1983 to 1996.[1]

Career statistics

Aarne Honkavaara in 1946

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1941–42 Ilves SM-sarja
1942–43 Ilves SM-sarja
1943–44 Ilves SM-sarja 37290
1944–45 Ilves SM-sarja 373100
1945–46 Ilves SM-sarja 82510350
1946–47 Ilves SM-sarja 8259340
1947–48 Ilves SM-sarja 6203230
1948–49 Ilves SM-sarja 6185230
1949–50 Ilves SM-sarja 71110210
1950–51 Sarnia Sailors IHL
1950–51 Ilves SM-sarja 102014342
1951–52 Ilves SM-sarja 5104142
1952–53 Ilves SM-sarja
1955–56 Ilves SM-sarja 10000
1956–57 Ilves SM-sarja 50110
1957–58 Ilves SM-sarja 10000
SM-sarja totals 62143612044

International

Year Team Event Result GPGAPtsPIM
1949 Finland WC 7th 46060
1951 Finland WC 7th 62350
1952 Finland OG 7th 82240
Senior totals 474612580

References

  1. "Story and Staff of the Hockey Hall of Fame Finland". Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame (in Finnish). 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.

Bibliography

  • Dynamo, ISBN 951-98557-5-0 (Book in Finnish)
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