Venla Hovi
| Venla Hovi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Hovi in 2016 | |||
| Born |
28 October 1987 Tampere, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb; 10 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | |||
| Current coach | Harvard Crimson | ||
| Coached for |
Metropolitan Riveters Manitoba Bisons | ||
| National team | Finland | ||
| Playing career | 2003–2019 | ||
| Coaching career | 2018–present | ||
Venla Hovi (née Heikkilä; born 28 October 1987) is a Finnish ice hockey coach and former ice hockey forward. She is an assistant coach for the Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey program, and was head coach of the Metropolitan Riveters in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) during the 2022–23 PHF season.
A member of the Finnish national team for over a decade, Hovi won bronze medals at the 2010 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games and at the 2008, 2009, and 2017 IIHF Women's World Championships, and a silver medal at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship. Hovi announced her retirement from top athletic competition the day following the achievement of silver at the 2019 Worlds.
Following her retirement, Hovi served as an on-ice instructor with True North, the Winnipeg Jets' hockey development program. She was the first woman ever to be hired as a coach by the organization and was one of a small number of women employed as on-ice instructors in the NHL or NHL affiliated programs.