Sanni Rantala Explained

Birth Date:8 July 2002
Birth Place:Riihimäki, Finland
Height M:1.73
Weight Kg:63
Position:Defense
Shoots:Right
League:SDHL
Team:Frölunda HC
Sex:f
Ntl Team:FIN
Career Start:2017

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
5th5 1 0 1 0
Finland WC18 6 1 1 2 2
Finland WC18 4th6 2 5 7 2
7 1 1 2 8
Finland 6th7 0 4 4 0
Finland WC 5th7 0 5 5 4
Finland WC 7 0 0 0 2
Junior totals17 4 6 10 4
Senior totals28 1 9 10 14

Awards and honors

Award
International
World U18 Bronze Medal2019
World U18 Top-3 Player on Team2019[17]
2020[18]
World U18 Media All-Star2020[19]
Olympic Bronze Medal2022
World Championship Bronze Medal2024
Naisten Liiga
Finnish Championship Bronze Medal2018
2023
2024
All-Star First Team2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
Aurora Borealis Cup Champion2022

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Beijing 2022 – Athletes: Sanni RANTALA, Ice Hockey . https://web.archive.org/web/20220217163247/https://olympics.com/beijing-2022/olympic-games/en/results/ice-hockey/athlete-profile-n1035631-sanni-rantala.htm . 2022-02-17 . 2022-02-17 . Olympics.com.
  2. News: Estola-Haaranen . Kaisa . Riihimäkeläispuolustajan kausi ohi ennen kuin se ehti alkaakaan – edessä kahdeksan kuukauden kuntoutus . 16 April 2024 . . 15 October 2020 . fi.
  3. Web site: Mennander . Pasi . Naisten Liigan kauden 2021–22 palkitut pelaajat ja tähtikentät . . 2024-02-23 . fi-fi . 2022-06-13.
  4. Web site: Seppä . Lassi . 2022-07-18 . Naisleijonien nuori puolustaja Sanni Rantala tulee KalPan takalinjoille − myös Makkosen siskokset Kuopioon . 2022-07-19 . Jatkoaika . fi . 18 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220718193956/https://www.jatkoaika.com/Uutiset/Naisleijonien-nuori-puolustaja-Sanni-Rantala-tulee-KalPan-takalinjoille-%E2%88%92-my%C3%B6s-Makkosen-siskokset-Kuopioon/242846 . live .
  5. Web site: Mennander . Pasi . Naisten Liigan kauden 2022–23 palkitut pelaajat, valmentajat ja tuomarit . . 2024-02-23 . fi-fi . 2023-06-10.
  6. Web site: Löfman . Heikki . Valmentajien nimeämät All Star -kentälliset ovat nyt selvillä . . 2024-02-23 . fi-fi . 2024-02-20.
  7. News: Olausson . Robin . Uppgifter: Frölunda värvar Sanni Rantala och Elisa Holopainen . 16 April 2024 . HockeySverige . 2 April 2024 . sv.
  8. Web site: Malmberg . Henna . 2020-03-04 . Naisleijonien MM-joukkue valittu – Sukupolven vaihdos tuo MM-joukkueeseen seitsemän ensikertalaista . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201212093535/http://www.leijonat.fi/index.php/maajoukkueet/naisleijonat/2019-20/mm2020/item/37573-naisleijonien-mm-joukkue-valittu-sukupolven-vaihdos-tuo-mm-joukkueeseen-seitseman-ensikertalaista . 12 December 2020 . 2020-03-05 . . fi-fi .
  9. Web site: Steiss . Adam . 2020-03-07 . Women's Worlds cancelled . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200307232554/https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2020/ww/news/18296/women%E2%80%99s-worlds-cancelled . 7 March 2020 . 2020-03-10 . . en .
  10. Web site: EHT: 4 Nations Tournament 20.-24.8.2019, FIN: Kokoonpanot . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230207122826/http://tulospalvelu.leijonat.fi/serie/?season=2020&lid=133&did=&stgid=7327&lang=fi#pelaajatilastot . 7 February 2023 . 2020-03-10 . . fi .
  11. Web site: 5 Nations Tournament 6.-10.11.2019, Dmitrov, RUS: Kokoonpanot . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230207122911/http://www.tilastopalvelu.fi/ih/serierosterlist/?stgid=7646&season=2020&tid=683426361&sid=1692&lang=fi&pdf=1 . 7 February 2023 . 2020-03-10 . . fi .
  12. Web site: Viljanen . Markus . 2021-11-06 . Puolustajalupaus Sanni Rantala lähestyy huippukuntoa haastavan loukkaantumisen jälkeen . 2022-07-19 . . fi-fi . 6 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706080444/https://www.leijonat.fi/index.php/sarjat/naisten-liiga/kausi-2021-22/item/42219-puolustajalupaus-sanni-rantala-laehestyy-huippukuntoa-haastavan-loukkaantumisen-jaelkeen . live .
  13. Web site: Aykroyd . Lucas . 2022-01-20 . Finnish women seek another medal . 2022-07-19 . . en . 29 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220129042022/https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2022/olympic-%EF%BD%97/news/31582/finnish_women_seek_another_medal . live .
  14. Web site: Estola-Haaranen . Kaisa . 2022-01-21 . "Moni muukin on sanonut, että olen tosi rauhallinen" – olympialaisiin valittu Sanni Rantala tunnistaa itsensä lehmänhermoinen -luonnehdinnasta . 2022-07-19 . . fi . 19 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220719160713/https://www.aamuposti.fi/urheilu/4450008 . live .
  15. Web site: 2022-02-08 . Beijing 2022 – Ice Hockey Women: Preliminary round - Group A, Game 20 – Game Summary . 2022-07-19 . . 5 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705083445/https://www.iihf.com/pdf/753/ihw753a10_74_4_0 . live .
  16. Web site: 2022-02-16 . Beijing 2022 – Ice Hockey Women – Player Statistics by Team: FIN - Finland . 2022-07-19 . . 5 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705010346/https://www.iihf.com/pdf/753/ihw7530fin_83_56_0 . live .
  17. Web site: 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Best Players of Each Team Selected by Coaches . . 16 April 2024 . en . 13 January 2019.
  18. Web site: 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Best Players of Each Team Selected by Coaches . . 16 April 2024 . en . 1 January 2020.
  19. Web site: 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship – Media All Stars . . 16 April 2024 . en . 2 January 2020.

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