The SHL club Timrå IK confirmed today that Olli Jokinen will take over as head coach with a contract of the 2+1 year model. Jokinen himself says he is excited about the opportunity to train in the SHL.
Jokinen, who played seventeen NHL seasons, has in recent seasons served as head coach for Jukurit in the FM league. In an interview on Timrå IK’s website Jokinen says he is extremely satisfied with the move to Sweden.
– The first impression is that I am extremely excited about this opportunity to come here, and as a coach to get the opportunity to enter a better league. For me, the SHL is the best league outside the NHL.
– In addition, we have a fantastic group of people here. The previous coaching staff has done a fantastic job. The team is in good shape. There are many good players. I think within 2-3 years there is an opportunity to win with this group of people here.
Will learn Swedish
Jokinen says that he will now also start learning Swedish. The school Swedish has rusted, but now Jokinen says he is motivated by being able to communicate in Swedish in the future.
– I work in Swedish. The big goal is to hopefully be able to do the interviews and start communicating in Swedish. Of course we’ve learned that in school and stuff. But I have also had the opportunity to work with some Swedish players in the last three years. So I’ve been trying to learn some words. And actually, that’s something that I’m doing now, studying Swedish and trying to learn the language.
“SHL better than the FM league”
As a player, Jokinen played virtually his entire career in North America. But in recent years he has reacquainted himself with the FM league as a coach for Jukurit. According to Jokinen, the SHL still holds a better class than the FM league right now.
– I think there are differences in the speed of the game, and the way the teams play here. It’s more of a North American style in Sweden, more based on skating. In Finland it is based on transition games.
– But in Finland, things have changed over the past three years. Many coaches activated their game plans, and perhaps one of the reasons was the way Jukurit played. We forced the teams to play not only trap, but a little more aggressively.
Caption Jokinen coached Jukurit for three seasons.
Image: Vesa Pöppönen / AOP
Olli Jokinen, ice hockey, Jukurit, FM-ligan and ice hockey
The gaming philosophy from North America
Jokinen also highlights his playing philosophy in general. He has brought with him many important lessons from his years in the NHL.
– I was 18 years old when I went to the NHL and I was lucky to play there for a long time. So the philosophy comes from the NHL. I am more of a North American coach than a Finnish coach, and believe in completely opposite things than, for example, many Finnish coaches believe in.
– This is also an entertainment industry. So if you play traps in the center zone for 60 minutes and you have no physical hockey then how can you ask the fans to come and support your team? You can’t.
– It’s also about when the fans come and see us, regardless of whether we win or lose, they will see the product on the ice that they can be proud of. And it’s something that basically comes from North America for the NHL, it’s show business after all. So I also want to bring show business here.
In the past season, Timrå finished in eighth place in the regular season in the SHL. In the first playoff round, however, Timrå was eliminated by Rögle. Now Jokinen has at least two seasons to take Timrå far in the SHL.
– I can’t guarantee that we will win every game, but I guarantee that we will be the hardest working team. Every player will leave everything they have on the ice, every time we go to practice or play in the games. The way we play will suit our fans very well. Because it is very, very entertaining.
Source: Timrå IK’s website
