Sanni Ahola

When the PWHL's Ottawa Charge signed Sanni Ahola ahead of the 2025–26 season, she became the first Finnish goaltender to sign in the league — a marker in the history of both the PWHL and Finnish women's hockey.

Ahola was born in Helsinki on June 3, 2000, and began her professional path in Finland's domestic leagues. In 2018–19, playing for HIFK in the Mestis (W) league, she posted the circuit's best save percentage at .962, a performance that helped earn HIFK promotion to Naisten Liiga — the top tier of Finnish women's hockey — for the following season.

She then crossed the Atlantic to play five seasons of NCAA hockey at St. Cloud State University, competing from 2020 to 2025. Over 84 games in the WCHA, she compiled a .917 save percentage. In 2024, the conference named her its Goaltender of the Year and placed her on the First All-WCHA Team; the following year she received a Third Team All-WCHA nomination. She also earned a degree in Biology — with a concentration in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution — during her time at St. Cloud State.

Alongside her college career, Ahola built a consistent record with the Finnish national team. She represented Finland at three consecutive IIHF Women's World Championships and was part of the squads that won back-to-back bronze medals in 2024 and 2025. At the 2024 tournament she was named a Tournament All-Star and recognized as one of Finland's top three players. Her international record at the youth level includes a tournament-best 1.81 goals-against average and .929 save percentage at the IIHF Women's U18 World Championships, where she was also named one of Finland's top three players.

In 2026, Ahola made her Olympic debut at the Milano Cortina Games in Italy, starting four of Finland's five games in the tournament.

Off the ice, Ahola is an avid animal lover who has expressed a desire to work with animals in the future — an interest that aligned with her academic studies in ecology and evolution at St. Cloud State.