Formerly | Nuorten SM-liiga |
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Sport | Ice hockey |
Founded | 1945 |
Founder | Finnish Ice Hockey Association |
No. of teams | 18 |
Country | Finland |
Most recent champion(s) | Ässät U20 (2023–24) |
Most titles | Tampereen Ilves U20 (22) |
TV partner(s) | Ruutu |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | U20 Mestis |
Related competitions | Liiga |
Official website | U20 SM-sarja |
The U20 SM-sarja ('Under-20 Finnish Championship Series') is the premier junior men's ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja ('Junior A Finnish Championship Series') during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten SM-liiga ('Junior Finnish Championship League') during 1991 to 2020. The league was founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 1945 and a Finnish Champion in men's under-20 ice hockey has been named annually since the league's inaugural season – with the exception of the 2019–20 season, in which the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighteen to twenty teams compete in the U20 SM-sarja regular season, which is played in a preliminary ranking stage followed by a divisional or group stage.