Heikki Riihiranta

Heikki "Hexi" Riihiranta (born October 4, 1948 in Helsinki, Finland) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga and World Hockey Association.

Heikki Riihiranta
Riihiranta at Helsinki Book Fair, 2016.
Born	(1948-10-04) October 4, 1948 Helsinki, FIN
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	SM-liiga HIFK WHA Winnipeg Jets
National team	Finland
Playing career	1967–1983

Playing career

Career in Finland

Riihiranta started out his career as a Forward in Helsinki club HIFK but was moved to play Defence by then HIFK Player-Coach and former NHL'er Carl Brewer.

Riihiranta had a good career in Finland and was one of the premier players for the National Team at his time.

Career in WHA

Heikki Riihiranta was one of the first Finns move to play in North America.

Riihiranta played for 3 full seasons in a Canadian WHA team, Winnipeg Jets, and won the Avco World Trophy with them in 1976.

After his retirement as a player in 1983, he was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991 for his achievements as a player.

Non-Playing career

Team Manager for Finnish National Team

In 1993, Heikki Riihiranta was named as the Team Manager for Finnish National Ice Hockey Team.

During his time, Riihiranta worked with 3 different Head Coaches. The coaches were: Pentti Matikainen, Curt Lindström and Hannu Aravirta.

Riihiranta had his finest moment when he shed tears in the players bench after Finland won the World Championships over Sweden in 1995.

Riihiranta retired from his position after the 2003 Ice Hockey World Championship's.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database