Sanni Rantala

Sanni Rantala
Born (2002-07-08) 8 July 2002 (age 22)
Riihimäki, Finland
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
SDHL team
Former teams		 Frölunda HC
National team  Finland
Playing career 2017–present
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Beijing Ice hockey
World Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2024 United States

Sanni Rantala (born 8 July 2002) is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national team. She is signed with Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) club Frölunda HC for the 2024–25 season.

Rantala won bronze medals in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and at the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship in Utica, New York.[1]

Playing career

Naisten Liiga

Rantala made her senior club debut with Team Kuortane in the 2017–18 season of the Finnish Naisten Liiga (NSML). Her rookie season was capped by Team Kuortane winning Finnish Championship (SM) bronze in the 2018 playoffs, the first SM medal in team history.[2]

After four seasons with Team Kuortane, she joined Kiekko-Espoo for the 2021–22 season and won the Aurora Borealis Cup in that season's playoffs. The 2021–22 season marked the first instance of her career in which she averaged more than a point per game (25 points/21 games=1.19) across the regular season and was highlighted by her selection to the Naisten Liiga All-Star First Team.[3]

Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Rantala left Kiekko-Espoo to sign with KalPa.[4] She led all Naisten Liiga defensemen in assists during the 2022–23 regular season, with 32, and was KalPa's top point-scoring defender, notching 39 points in 30 games. In eight games of the 2023 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs, she contributed two goals and eight assists to KalPa’s SM bronze medal-winning effort. Her play earned a second selection to the All-Star First Team.[5]

Rantala was the league's top scoring defenseman in the 2023–24 season, tallying 34 points (13+21) in 30 games, and was selected to the Naisten Liiga All-Star First Team for the third consecutive time.[6]

SDHL

In early April 2024, Frölunda HC announced the signings of Rantala and KalPa teammate Elisa Holopainen for the 2024–25 SDHL season.[7]

International play

Rantala was officially named to the Finnish roster for the 2020 IIHF Women's World Championship on 4 March 2020, before the tournament was cancelled on 7 March 2020 due to public health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9] She appeared on the national team roster for all four of the tournaments of the 2019–20 Euro Hockey Tour.[10][11]

After a knee injury sustained in a preseason game kept her in rehabilitation and off the ice for the entire 2020–21 season,[12] the 2022 Winter Olympics served as Rantala's senior-level IIHF debut.[13][14] She played in all seven games and scored two points in the tournament, a goal and an assist, both tallied against the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) during the group stage.[15] Her eight penalty minutes led all Finnish players in the tournament.[16]

Career statistics

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Finland WC18 5th 5 1 0 1 0
2019 Finland WC18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 1 2 2
2020 Finland WC18 4th 6 2 5 7 2
2022 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 1 2 8
2022 Finland WC 6th 7 0 4 4 0
2023 Finland WC 5th 7 0 5 5 4
2024 Finland WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 0 0 0 2
Junior totals 17 4 6 10 4
Senior totals 28 1 9 10 14

Sources:[17][18]

Awards and honors

Award Year or period
International
World U18 Bronze Medal 2019
World U18 Top-3 Player on Team 2019[19]
2020[20]
World U18 Media All-Star 2020[21]
Olympic Bronze Medal 2022
World Championship Bronze Medal 2024
Naisten Liiga
Finnish Championship Bronze Medal 2018
2023
2024
All-Star First Team 2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
Aurora Borealis Cup Champion 2022

References

  1. ^ "Beijing 2022 – Athletes: Sanni RANTALA, Ice Hockey". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  2. ^ Estola-Haaranen, Kaisa (15 October 2020). "Riihimäkeläispuolustajan kausi ohi ennen kuin se ehti alkaakaan – edessä kahdeksan kuukauden kuntoutus". Aamuposti (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  3. ^ Mennander, Pasi (13 June 2022). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2021–22 palkitut pelaajat ja tähtikentät". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  4. ^ Seppä, Lassi (18 July 2022). "Naisleijonien nuori puolustaja Sanni Rantala tulee KalPan takalinjoille − myös Makkosen siskokset Kuopioon". Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  5. ^ Mennander, Pasi (10 June 2023). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2022–23 palkitut pelaajat, valmentajat ja tuomarit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  6. ^ Löfman, Heikki (20 February 2024). "Valmentajien nimeämät All Star -kentälliset ovat nyt selvillä". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  7. ^ Olausson, Robin (2 April 2024). "Uppgifter: Frölunda värvar Sanni Rantala och Elisa Holopainen". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  8. ^ Malmberg, Henna (4 March 2020). "Naisleijonien MM-joukkue valittu – Sukupolven vaihdos tuo MM-joukkueeseen seitsemän ensikertalaista". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  9. ^ Steiss, Adam (7 March 2020). "Women's Worlds cancelled". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  10. ^ "EHT: 4 Nations Tournament 20.-24.8.2019, FIN: Kokoonpanot". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  11. ^ "5 Nations Tournament 6.-10.11.2019, Dmitrov, RUS: Kokoonpanot". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  12. ^ Viljanen, Markus (6 November 2021). "Puolustajalupaus Sanni Rantala lähestyy huippukuntoa haastavan loukkaantumisen jälkeen". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  13. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (20 January 2022). "Finnish women seek another medal". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  14. ^ Estola-Haaranen, Kaisa (21 January 2022). ""Moni muukin on sanonut, että olen tosi rauhallinen" – olympialaisiin valittu Sanni Rantala tunnistaa itsensä lehmänhermoinen -luonnehdinnasta". Aamuposti (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Beijing 2022 – Ice Hockey Women: Preliminary round - Group A, Game 20 – Game Summary". International Ice Hockey Federation. 8 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Beijing 2022 – Ice Hockey Women – Player Statistics by Team: FIN - Finland". International Ice Hockey Federation. 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  17. ^ Podnieks, Andrew; Nordmark, Birger, eds. (2019). "Active Skaters, Women". IIHF Guide & Record Book 2020. Toronto: Moydart. p. 658. ISBN 9780986796470.
  18. ^ "2023 IIHF Women's World Championship – Player Statistics by Team: FIN - Finland". International Ice Hockey Federation. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  19. ^ "2019 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Best Players of Each Team Selected by Coaches". International Ice Hockey Federation. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  20. ^ "2020 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Best Players of Each Team Selected by Coaches". International Ice Hockey Federation. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  21. ^ "2020 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Media All Stars". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2024.