SM league tough guys: Jussi Jokinen advises on scoring

Ice hockey An extraordinary phenomenon has been rampant in the SM league this fall. When the match progresses to the winning goal race, the game doesn’t seem to end at all.

The statistics reveal that the success rate of winning goal contests – more familiar tough ones – has dropped startlingly this season.

Out of the 270 runners, only 55 have finished. That means every fifth attempt. The success rate has fallen from 32 last season to 20.

In the NHL, the success rate has been 35.6 this season.

The longest scrimmage session of the season was seen on October 2nd at the Helsinki Ice Hall, when HIFK and KooKoo shot 37 times in a row without success. Only the second shots of the 19th round Marcus Davidson managed to settle the game.

Two days later, HIFK lost to Kärpi in tough fashion. At that time, one of the seven red knots was successful.

Whence dramatic collapse due to?

Known as a goalie specialist in the NHL Jussi Jokinen thinks that one match can distort the statistics. Without HIFK and KooKoo’s heavy hitters, the percentage would be 23.3.

Laukoma was visited by both star strikers and linemen.

“If I were you, I would choose 4–5 guys: This is your responsibility. Practice 2-3 options, and study the opponent’s goalkeepers. I myself had a couple of things in my career that I tried to practice as well as possible and maybe according to the third one,” says Jokinen.

Part of the reason has been given that in the SM league there is no ice before the tough competition. The ice is worn, jagged and there is snow on the surface.

According to Jokis, clean ice can give a player more confidence.

“Part of it is also a mental effect. When there is snow on the ice, it is more difficult to shoot. It certainly has a small effect.”

League the Swede stands out as the best penalty kicker Lukas Wernblom. TPS has already scored six tough races, in which Wernblom has succeeded with 62.5 percent accuracy.

Kiekko-Espoon scored three goals from seven attempts Cameron Hillis always approaches the goal along the right side. Jokinen also had routines with which he prepared to shoot.

“I liked to do things the same way. It brought a sense of security. Even if there were 20,000 people cheering or booing, it didn’t matter,” Jokinen opens his world of thought.

In his rookie season in 2005–06, Jokinen was the NHL’s best rebounder. He scored 10 goals from 13 attempts (76.9%).

Today, Jokinen, who works as an NHL expert for Viaplay, among other things, relied on a couple of standard gimmicks. In addition, he studied goalkeepers.

“I liked to carefully scout the opponent’s team, how much he likes to be met and where goals have been scored,” Jokinen says.

The weakest the HIFK players who worked in the marathon sprinter competition stand out from the list of scorers. Top of the league goal exchange Iiro Pakarinen has scored 25 goals in 30 matches, but he has not succeeded in the competition for the winning goal even once in six attempts.

A good goal scorer is not automatically in the top flight.

“No way. Yes, it’s a different story. You can be a very good goal scorer and bad in the dunks, or really good in the dunks and otherwise not necessarily such a good goal scorer,” says Jokinen.

“The ranks have so much time, you have time to think, you have time to come under pressure and it has to be dealt with. It has different components.”

About HIFK’s players Peter Kodytek (1/6) has hit once and Kristian Vesalainen twice (2/4). No one else has scored a goal. Jonas Rask, Jori Lehterä and Luke Martin have all tried three times without success.

In HIFK’s favor, it should be noted that despite the catastrophic statistics, the team is only minus one point. HIFK has been able to win two of the five rank-and-file races.

About goalkeepers Matthieu Herpiniä, Juha Jatkolaa and Olof Lindblom has not been overtaken in the tough times once.

According to Jokinen, goalies have improved since he started his NHL career in Dallas in 2005–06.

“Goalkeepers have become much better in the toughs. They started watching on video and knew 1-2 top picks what to expect. If one of the three was good [onnistumisprosentti]nowadays it feels like 25 percent is good,” says Jokinen.

15 league players have over 25 percent of at least three tough shots.

The role of Veskari can also be significant as a help to the attackers of their own team.

“Especially in the first years in the NHL, I went to the second baseman’s talks about which solution to make. No one knows a goalkeeper better than another goalkeeper,” says Jokinen.

“It’s mental warfare with the goalkeeper.”

SM league The regular season is halfway through, and no team has yet lost or gained a bunch of points from the top teams.

KalPa has not lost a single winning goal competition, but has twice left the rink as a winner. SaiPa and Lukko are the only undefeated teams in the toughs.

In the spring, one point can separate a direct quarter-final spot, a playoff spot or a qualifier.

“In the first year in Dallas, I think we had 13 tough races and won 11 of them. With those 11 extra points, we won the division. For many teams, it makes the difference between making the playoffs or getting home advantage. Those are important points. Many teams still don’t take them as seriously as they should,” says Jokinen.

The October penalty shootout between HIFK and KooKoo once again sparked a debate about whether the games should end in a draw. Jokin is in favor of overtime and the tough guys.

“I have liked the rank reform and I am in favor of it. I have liked that the winners and losers are being looked for. I also like the 3vs3 overtime reform. 4vs4 was often numbing and almost always went to the tough guys.”

Jokinen, 41, ended his playing career in the spring of 2021. According to him, in Kärpi, there was competition in the game and if necessary, tough guys were pulled. The losing team had to skate.

“They used the same drivers as in the games. There was an investment in that,” says Jokinen.

“Some of the clubs should take the toughs even more seriously and invest more. Those are big points.”

The statistics used in the story were collected on 17.12.