Kim Ahlroos
Born (1971-07-02) July 2, 1971
Helsinki, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position RW
Shot Left
Played for HIFK
HC Stadion Hradec Kralove
TuTo Hockey
Hyvinkään Ahmat
KalPa
Podhale Nowy Targ
Newcastle Riverkings
Espoon Palloseura
Karlskrona IK
Cardiff Devils
London Knights
Nottingham Panthers
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 19902005

Kim Ahlroos (July 2, 1971) is a Finnish retired professional ice hockey winger who played in Finland and throughout Europe.

Career

Ahlroos began his career with hometown club HIFK, coming through the junior ranks before making his SM-liiga debut during the 1990-91 season. During this time, Ahlroos also spent time on loan at another Helsinki based club, Karhu-Kissat.

After 4 years with HIFK, Karhu-Kissat and a short stint with Czech Extraliga side HC Stadion Hradec Kralove, Ahlroos moved to another SM-liiga outfit, the Turku-based TuTo Hockey for the 1995-6 season. TuTo would have a disappointing season, which saw them finish last in the standings and subsequently get relegated at the end of the season. Following this, Ahlroos moved to Hyvinkään Ahmat of the I-Divisioona for the 1996-97 season. He would return to the SM-liiga the following season, playing 42 games for KalPa. Following his stint in Kuopio, Ahlroos moved to Poland to play for Podhale Nowy Targ in the Ekstraklasa helping the team finish 3rd overall.

For the 1999-2000 season Ahlroos, alongside Podhale team mate Mikko Koivunoro, would move to the United Kingdom in order to play for BISL outfit Newcastle Riverkings. The Riverkings had been purchased by SM-liiga side Jokerit in the off-season, and installed Jukka Jalonen as head coach.[1] As a result of the Finnish connection, Ahlroos would be one of twelve Finns to dress for the Riverkings over the course of the season.

Following his year in Newcastle, Ahlroos would return to Finland to play for Suomi-sarja side EPS, however, it was a short-lived stint with the team, playing only 7 games. A shorter stint with Swedish Hockeytvåan side Karlskrona IK followed. Ahlroos would then return to the UK for the rest of the season, this time playing for the Cardiff Devils, also of the BISL, where he made an instant impact, scoring on his debut against the London Knights.[2] However, at the end of the season the Cardiff Devils went into voluntary liquidation, and as a result were stripped of their BISL franchise.[3] The team would eventually reform and participate in the British National League, which was at the time the second tier of Ice Hockey in the UK. For the following season, Ahlroos stayed in the BISL joining the reigning league champions, the London Knights, along with fellow Devils teammates Ian MacIntyre, Steve Thornton and Vezio Sacratini.[4]

Ahlroos played for the Knights for two seasons. Following the culmination of the 2002-03 season, in which the Knights lost the playoff final to the Belfast Giants, the team would fold as a result of their rink, the London Arena, being sold to developers. This, coupled with the Ayr Scottish Eagles and Manchester Storm also folding, and the Bracknell Bees deciding to drop down to the BNL, culminated in the demise of the BISL.[5][6]

The new EIHL would ultimately replace the BISL as the top tier of British hockey, and Ahlroos would sign with the Nottingham Panthers again linking up with Koivunoro. His first season in Nottingham would be a career year, scoring 68 points in 57 games. The Panthers would also win the Challenge Cup beating the Sheffield Steelers, whilst narrowly losing the Play-off final, also to the Steelers. Ahlroos would return to the Panthers for the 2004-05 season, but struggled with the after-effects of a concussion picked up in a match against the Coventry Blaze, only playing 15 games.[7][8] Ahlroos would subsequently retire at the culmination of the season.

Career Statistics

Regular Season and Playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1990–91 HIFK SM-liiga 71124
1990–91 HIFK U20 Jr. A SM-sarja 40220
1990–91 Karhu-Kissat (loan) I-Divisioona 2711172812
1991–92 HIFK SM-liiga 3325728 50000
1991–92 Karhu-Kissat (loan) I-Divisioona 22134
1991-92 Urheilukoulu (loan) Jr. A SM-sarja 10315188
1992–93 HIFK SM-liiga 4568146 31120
1992–93 Karhu-Kissat (loan) I-Divisioona 54590
1993–94 HIFK SM-liiga 347111820 30000
1993–94 Karhu-Kissat (loan) I-Divisioona 863910
1993-94 HC Stadion Hradec Kralove ELH 44266
1994–95 HIFK SM-liiga 2734712
1995–96 TuTo Hockey SM-liiga 455121716 51126
1996-97 Hyvinkään Ahmat I-Divisioona 4117314824
1997-98 KalPa SM-liiga 42371026 71122
1998–99 Podhale Nowy Targ POL  ?10465649  ?2101216
1999-00 Newcastle Riverkings BISL 411418324 40000
2000–01 EPS Suomi-sarja 73694
2001-02 Karlskrona IK Hockeytvåan 2101
2000-01 Cardiff Devils BISL 3813102312 637106
2001-02 London Knights BISL 4814152920 73362
2002-03 London Knights BISL 276192512 40110
2003-04 Nottingham Panthers EIHL 5629386734 62242
2004-05 Nottingham Panthers EIHL 1528104
Liiga totals 233 27 48 75 90 23 3 3 6 8
BISL totals 154 47 62 109 48 21 6 11 17 10

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1991 Finland WJC 5th 7 2 1 3 4
Junior totals 30 26 24 50 22

References

  1. "Riverkings Become Jesters as Finns Move In". Sportcal. August 10, 2000. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. "Sparks fly in match brawl". BBC. November 6, 2000. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  3. "BBC Sport - Cardiff loses Superleague status". BBC. May 9, 2001. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  4. "Devils can top the table - Sacratini". Walesonline. September 2, 2002. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  5. "Eagles forced out". BBC. November 14, 2002. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  6. "Elite League "will go ahead"". BBC. May 31, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  7. "Panthers Man 08.02.05". BBC. February 8, 2005. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  8. "Good to hit the target". Coventry Telegraph. January 25, 2005. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
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