Raimo Kilpiö

Raimo Olavi Kilpiö (born 2 February 1936 in Parikkala, Finland) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 459 games in the SM-liiga and its predecessor SM-sarja from 1953 to 1977. During his career, he scored 261 goals and 492 points. He played for Ilves, RU-38, and Ässät. He is a six-time Finnish Champion and once won the bronze medal. He competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics and the 1964 Winter Olympics.^[1]

Raimo Kilpiö
Raimo Kilpiö circa 1960s
Born	(1936-02-02) 2 February 1936 (age 89) Parikkala, Finland
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb; 11 st 9 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Ilves Rosenlewin Urheilijat-38 Porin Ässät
National team	Finland
Playing career	1953–1977

He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.

Career

Raimo Kilpiö with Ilves

Raimo Kilpiö, Ässät's first captain, with an Ässät and Ilves jersey in 1990

Kilpiö made his SM-sarja debut with Ilves during the 1953–54 season.

Kilpiö was one of the best forward stars of his time. Among other things, he was chosen four times as the best forward in the SM-sarja. Kilpiö won the Finnish championship six times, the first four of which came with Ilves, one in RU-38 and one in Ässät. In SM-sarja and SM-liiga, Kilpiö scored 492 points in 459 matches.

In football, Kilpiö won the silver medal in the national championship with TaPa in 1962. In the same year, he also played one B national match. In 1956, Kilpiö won the A-junior district championship in TaPa's team, which also featured footballer Matti Mäkelä and Kilpiö's teammate from Ilves, Räshid Hakimsan.

Today, the SM-liiga annually awards the Raimo Kilpiö trophy, which is given to the league's gentleman player of the year.

Ässät have retired Kilpiö's number 11. The jersey has been raised to the rafters of the Isomäki Areena in the colors of RU-38.^[2]