Henry Saleva started his career as a hockey player in his hometown in the youth department of HIFK Helsinki . For the team he made his debut in the SM-sarja , the top Finnish division, in the 1969/70 season . With HIFK he won the Finnish championship title in the 1973/74 season . He was also runner-up with his team in 1973 and 1975. From the 1975/76 season the attacker took part with HIFK in the newly established highest Finnish professional game class, the SM-liiga . For the 1977/78 season he moved to Kärpät Oulu within the SM-liiga . For Kärpät he scored 60 scorer points in 36 games, including 25 goals, which meant a career record for him and which made him top scorer in the SM-liiga as well as their best assists. He then also played for Jokerit Helsinki in his hometown for a year .
From 1979 to 1981 Saleva was under contract with TPS Turku . He then returned to Kärpät Oulu for two seasons as well and was honored as the fairest player in the SM-liiga in the 1981/82 season . The 1983/84 season he spent with MODO Hockey in the Swedish Elitserien . At the end of the season he and his team had to accept relegation to the second division Division 1, whereupon he signed a contract with the Finnish second division club JYP Jyväskylä . With JYP, he immediately succeeded in advancing to the SM-liiga, in which he was on the ice for the team from Jyväskylä for another two years, before he after the 1987/88 season, in which he worked for the second division club VaKi HT was active, ending his career at the age of 37.
Henry Saleva 