Salla Kyhälä

Salla Kyhälä
Ringette player, Kyhälä (3rd from left) at the start of a race during the 2011 edition of the Extreme Downhill Skating World Championships: Red Bull Crashed Ice
Personal information
Nationality Finland
Born (1983-01-28) 28 January 1983 (age 41)
Ylivieska, Finland
Sport
Country
PositionCentre-Forward
ShootsLeft
League
Team
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
WRC 4 0 0
SMRC (Nationals) 2 ? 1
Total 6 0 1
Ringette
World Ringette Championships
Representing  Finland
Gold medal – first place 2004 Canada
Gold medal – first place 2007 Canada
Gold medal – first place 2010 Finland
Gold medal – first place 2013 Canada
SM Ringette Championships (Nationals)
Gold medal – first place 2
Bronze medal – third place 1
Ice cross downhill
Crashed ice
Representing  Finland
Gold medal – first place 2011 Quebec City, Canada
Gold medal – first place 2014 Quebec City, Canada
Gold medal – first place 2015 St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
Updated on August 28, 2023

Salla Kyhälä,[1] (born January 28, 1983, in Espoo) is a retired elite Finnish ringette player and world champion in both ringette and ice cross downhill. She played semi-pro ringette as a centre for Espoon Kiekkoseura [fi][2] in the elite Finnish semi-professional league, SM Ringette[3] and the Saskatoon Wild and BC Thunder in Canada's semi-pro National Ringette League. Kyhälä was also member of the Finland national ringette team several times.

Kyhälä was also the Women's World Champion in the World Extreme Downhill Skating Championships in the sport of ice cross downhill (a.k.a. Extreme Downhill Skating) three times.

Ringette

Salla Kyhälä has been playing ringette since she was 6 years old.

World Ringette Championships

Kyhälä played for the Finland national ringette team under-20 team (U20) in the World Ringette Champuonships.[citation needed]

At the 2010 World Ringette Championships, in the final game against Canada, she scored four goals giving her country the gold medal and world title.[4]

SM Ringette

Kyhälä reached the semi-professional ranks in Tuusula in 1999 where she played for three seasons for club Tuusulan ringeten in the SM Ringette league, Finland's elite semi-pro ringette league.

Kyhälä helped her club achieve their first silver medal at the Finnish National Championship in 2000 and their first bronze medal in 2001. She was then traded to club Espoon Kiekkoseura [fi] in 2003. In 2005, she was voted among the Kentälliseen All Stars of the elite SM Ringette league.

National Ringette League

Kyhälä moved to Canada in 2008 to play in the National Ringette League. She played 2 seasons for the Saskatoon Wild and later for the BC Thunder. In 2009, the honour of the most valuable player (Most Valuable Player) was awarded to her by the Canadian league.

Statistics

Club

International

Statistics per competition
Year Event GP G A Pts +/- PIM Results
2004 World Ringette Championships ? ? ? ? - ? Gold Gold
2007 World Ringette Championships[5] 4 10 8 18 - 0 Gold Gold
2010 World Ringette Championships 5 14 7 21 - 0 Gold Gold
2013 World Ringette Championships ? ? ? ? - ? Gold Gold

Awards

Individual honours

Extreme downhill skating

Kyhälä was a gold medalist at the Red Bull Crashed Ice races in Quebec in 2011 and 2014. In 2015 Kyhälä won the first Extreme Downhill Skating World Championship in women's extreme downhill skating finishing in front of Jacqueline Legere, thanks to her victories at Saint Paul and Edmonton.[7]

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Salla Naakka". Torneopal.fi (in Finnish).
  2. ^ "Espoon Kiekkoseura" (in Finnish).[dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Etusivu | Suomen Ringetteliitto Ry" (in Finnish).[dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Finland takes 9-8 win over Canada and USA downs Sweden 22-0" (PDF). International Ringette Federation. 2 November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2011.
  5. ^ "2007 Worlds | Top scorers".[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Awards presented at 2010 world ringette championship" (PDF). 6 November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2011.
  7. ^ "Salla Kyhälä taisteli maailmanmestariksi | Periksiantamaton suomalaisässä nousi vaikeuksien kautta voittoon" [Salla Kyhälä fought for the world champion | The unyielding Finnish ace rose through difficulties to victory] (in Finnish). Red Bull. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2023.

transl. :fr:Salla Kyhälä transl. :fi:Salla Kyhälä

See also