Anna Kilponen
Kilponen with Ilves in 2022
Born (1995-05-16) 16 May 1995
Orivesi, Finland
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 74 kg (163 lb; 11 st 9 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
NSML team
Former teams		 Tampereen Ilves
National team  Finland
Playing career 2009–present
Medal record
World Championship
Bronze medal – third place2017 United States
Bronze medal – third place2015 Sweden

Anna Kilponen (born 16 May 1995) is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman, currently playing in the Naisten Liiga (NSML) with the Tampereen Ilves Naiset. She played four seasons of college ice hockey in the NCAA Division I, two seasons with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and two seasons with the Quinnipiac Bobcats. Following her college career, she has played in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with Linköping HC, in the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL) with the KRS Vanke Rays, and in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Metropolitan Riveters.[1]

As a member of the Finnish national team, Kilponen won bronze medals at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 2015[2] and 2017 and represented Finland in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[3]

Playing career

Kilponen began her senior career in Naisten SM-sarja, the highest level women's hockey league in Finland, in 2009 with the Tampereen Ilves. She was named an Ilves alternate captain in the 2010–11 season, when she was 15 years old. Kilponen also played with Team Oriflame in the Naisten SM-sarja from the 2011–12 to 2013–14 season and served as team captain for the 2012–13 season. In the 2014–15 season she returned to Ilves and served as captain.

Leading up to the 2015–16 season, Kilponen moved to the United States to attend the University of North Dakota and play NCAA hockey with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. She played with the Fighting Hawks for two seasons, serving as an alternate captain in 2016–17, until the women's ice hockey program was cut by the university in March 2017.[4] Kilponen then transferred to Quinnipiac University and played for the Quinnipiac Bobcats until graduating in 2019.[5]

Kilponen signed with Linköping HC Dam of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and made her debut with the team in the 2019–20 season.[6] Her one-goal and two assists across the 36-game season marked a career low for Kilponen.

Following the disappointing season in Sweden, she returned to Ilves and resumed her prior role as team captain ahead of the 2020–21 Naisten Liiga season. She and defensive partner Reettu Kulhua led all Ilves defenders in points that season and she was selected to the 2021 Naisten Liiga All-Star team.

In September 2021, she briefly joined the KRS Vanke Rays for the 2021 ZhHL Cup Final. She played in all three games but did not record any points, as KRS fell to Agidel Ufa.

Kilponen continued as captain of Ilves to begin the 2021–22 season. She notched three goals and eight assists in seventeen games before departing the league to rejoin the KRS Vanke Rays for the later part of the 2021–22 ZhHL season. With KRS, she won the 2022 ZhHL Championship, contributing two goals and two assists in eight games to their playoff victory.

Ahead of the 2022–23 season, she signed a one-year contract with the Metropolitan Riveters of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).[7] Playing on the top defensive pairing with Minttu Tuominen, she tallied twelve assists in 24 games and participated in the PHF All-Star Game with Team World.[8]

Kilponen re-signed with the Riveters for the 2023–24 season in May 2023.[9][10] In late June, the PHF was bought out and dissolved, leaving her without a contract for the upcoming season. She signed with the ZSC Lions Frauen of the Swiss Women's League (SWHL A) in late July, becoming one of the first former PHFers to find a new team after the voiding of PHF contracts.[11]

On 20 November 2023, after playing twelve games and recording three goals and four points with the ZSC Lions, it was announced that Kilponen would not continue the season with the club for personal reasons.[12] Several days later, her transfer to Ilves was reported.

International career

Kilponen was selected for the Finland women's national ice hockey team in the 2014 Winter Olympics. She played in all six games, recording two assists.[13]

As of 2014, Kilponen has also appeared for Finland at two IIHF Women's World Championships. Her first appearance came in 2012.[14][15]

As a junior player with the Finnish national under-18 team, she participated in the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in 2011, served as captain in 2012, and was an alternate captain in 2013. She won a bronze medal at the 2011 tournament and was selected as a top-three player for Finland by the coaches at the 2012 and 2013 tournaments.[16][17][18][19]

Career statistics

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Finland U18 WW18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 4
2012 Finland U18 WW18 5th 5 1 2 3 4
2012 Finland WW 4th 6 0 0 0 0
2013 Finland U18 WW18 5th 5 1 2 3 6
2013 Finland WW 4th 6 0 0 0 0
2014 Finland OG 5th 6 0 2 2 2
2015 Finland WW 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 0 1 0
2016 Finland WW 4th 6 0 0 0 2
2017 Finland WW 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 4
Junior totals 16 2 5 7 14
Senior totals 36 1 3 4 8

Source:[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Две россиянки, трое призёров ЧМ-2021: «КРС Ванке Рэйз» обновили состав". Женская хоккейная лига (in Russian). 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "2015 IIHF World Championship roster" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Anna KILPONEN - Olympic Ice Hockey | Finland". International Olympic Committee. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "Anna Kilponen Bio". undsports.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  5. ↑ "Anna Kilponen - Women's Ice Hockey". Quinnipiac University Athletics. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  6. ↑ "Kilponen '19 Signs with Linköping Hockey Club". Quinnipiac University Athletics. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  7. ↑ Levine, Justin (14 July 2022). "Riveters Add Another Olympian In Defender Anna Kilponen". Metropolitan Riveters (Press release). Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  8. ↑ "PHF Announces 2023 All-Star Rosters". Women's Hockey Life. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Rice, Dan (24 May 2023). "Riveters Re-Sign Ganser and Kilponen". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Kennedy, Ian (26 June 2023). "Roster Review: Metropolitan Riveters". The Hockey News. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  11. ↑ Seppä, Lassi (26 July 2023). "Lisää suomalaisia Sveitsiin − Anna Kilponen vahvistaa ZSC Lionsia". Jatkoaika (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Anna Kilponen leaves the ZSC Lions". SwissHockeyNews.ch. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  13. ↑ IIHF - Team Finland Stats - 2014 Olympics
  14. ↑ "IIHF - Team Finland Stats - 2012 World Championship" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "IIHF - Team Finland Stats - 2013 World Championship" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  16. ↑ IIHF (2011). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2012. Fenn/M&S. p. 557. ISBN 978-0-7710-9598-6.
  17. ↑ "IIHF - Team Finland Stats - 2011 U-18 World Championship" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "IIHF - Team Finland Stats - 2012 U-18 World Championship" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "IIHF - Team Finland Stats - 2013 U-18 World Championship" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  20. ↑ Podnieks, Andrew; Nordmark, Birger, eds. (2019). "Active Skaters, Women". IIHF Guide & Record Book 2020. Toronto: Moydart. p. 651. ISBN 9780986796470.
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