It all started with Töölön Vesa
When Töölön Vesa lost to HIFK in February 1967 for promotion to the Finnish Championship Series, it was clear that the red-shirted local players would have a strong advantage in ice hockey of the Helsinki metropolitan area. But with the end of the Töölön Vesa and the founding of Jokerit during autumn 1967, HIFK’s reign was to be shorter than expected
Jokerit officially began as a club on the 27th of October 1967, but played their first match on the 10th of November in the green shirts of Töölön Vesa with visiting Finnish Championship series team Upon Pallo from Lahti.
Ice hockey in Helsinki was blooming in the end of the 1960s to 1970s, as HJK was also still among the top Finnish Championship Series clubs. During the 1971–72 season, even Karhu-Kissat had a brief visit at the Finnish top level.
In their fourth year of existence, Jokerit managed to score higher in the main division than HIFK, and two years later, in 1973, Jokerit won their first Finnish Championship.
