Published 30.11.2015 13:39 GMT+2 | Author Organizing Committee

Also the national team jerseys of Saku Koivu, Jere Lehtinen and Ville Peltonen will be lifted to the rafters at Hartwall Arena on 26 December.

The Finnish national team retires the national team jerseys of Saku Koivu, Jere Lehtinen and Ville Peltonen on the opening day of the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship held in Helsinki, Finland. The ceremony will be held on 26 December at Hartwall Arena starting at 16:25 local time.

The trio that has made a lasting impact on Finnish ice hockey will have their national team jerseys join Jari Kurri’s #17 and Raimo Helminen’s #14 at the Hartwall Arena rafters. The Finnish national team will also retire Teemu Selanne’s legendary #8 at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in a ceremony taking place on 30 December.

”Saku, Jere and Ville are three unique individuals. All three are exceptionally talented and uncompromisingly committed athletes. They have helped to bring Finnish ice hockey on the level it currently is through their achievements on the ice as well as being role models off the ice,” says President of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association Kalervo Kummola.

For the three players themselves the retirement of their national team jerseys is a great honour.

“Being part of the Finnish national team has meant a great deal to us. We will never forget all those fantastic things we experienced during the years in the national team. Representing Finland and wearing the national team jersey is something we have always been proud of. Having our jerseys now retired by the national team is a great honour for us,” the legends said in a statement.

In the Finnish National Team Koivu, Peltonen and Lehtinen formed together the so called “Tupu-Hupu-Lupu” (Huey, Dewey, Louie) line, which was formed for the first time at the 1993 IIHF World Junior Championship held in Gavle, Sweden.

At the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics the line scored the most points in the Finnish team. The Finnish hockey fans went crazy for the three ducklings during the 1995 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, where Finland won its first men’s ice hockey world championship title and Koivu, Lehtinen and Peltonen were all selected as tournament all-stars.

During their national team careers Koivu, Lehtinen and Peltonen all won four Olympic medals and represented their country at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where Finland finished second. Koivu was the captain of the Finnish national team for several years and played altogether 119 games for the men’s national team. Lehtinen represented Finland in 105 and Peltonen in 261 games on the men’s national team.

The Koivu, Lehtinen and Peltonen jersey retirement ceremony will be held at Hartwall Arena on 26 December starting at 16:25 local time. The ceremony begins immediately after the game between the Czech Republic and Russia.

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