The jokers’ solution surprised Raimo Summanen – he points out two big reasons

Helsinki Jokerit surprised many by announcing on Monday morning that they had hired Risto Dufvan as his new head coach.

This group also includes a hockey expert who has seen a lot Raimo Summanen. He sees one factor in particular as significant when it comes to hiring.

Jokerit wants to move up from Mestis to the League, and as part of this goal, the team changed the head coach, after the season Mestis had only a 3-5 loss to Kiekko-Vantaa.

Summanen says that he was especially surprised by the timing. Jokerit started the season Tero Määtt as the head coach, but with the arrival of Dufvaa, Määttä moved to his assistant as part of the coaching group.

“It’s a good thing that they kept Määtä along. We wanted to do it differently. You can really enjoy this, that you get to coach more and lead less on a general level”, Summanen reflects.

He believes that the coach’s reflection started already last spring, when Jokerit lost to Kokkola’s Hermes in the quarterfinals of Mestis with a 2–4 ​​win. The last push could be given by a recent player acquisition.

“I think the Filppula effect is at work here,” says Summanen, referring to the all-conquering Jokerit icon Valtteri Filppulawho returned for this season to help the club in its promotion dreams.

“When a legend joined the team, the dynamics of coaching changed as well. Rotten is a young guy. There will be a different atmosphere and way of leading when it comes to such legends. Jokerit is in a way Filppula’s team, like it or not.”

Dufva61, last coached Vaasan Sport in the league in the 2019–24 seasons. At the end of the season, he announced his retirement from coaching.

“When the jester calls, that’s when the man leaves,” Dufva commented in the press release about his decision to return to the bench.

Summanen also sees the occupational disease of coaches in the background.

“There’s a lot of talk about players having a void when their careers end, but the dependency ratio of coaches is almost bigger. Coaching takes you to a certain kind of bubble that many people can be surprised by.”

Overall, Summanen considers Joker’s decision a good thing, even if the timing was surprising.

“Now Jokerit, Mestis, Finnish ice hockey and the SM league will benefit from this. It’s really the case in many clubs. This improves the League and makes the league qualifiers interesting.”

“This makes it likely that the gangs at the tail end of the League will change coaches at some point, if there is money and they want to survive. It’s a tough place if there are inexperienced coaches and a failed season when we go to the qualifiers.”

To the qualifiers in order to qualify, the Jokers must of course first beat Mestis. Summanen sees the team as having good opportunities for that under the leadership of Filppula, who won the Stanley Cup, the World Cup gold and the Olympic gold.

“It’s a terrible stomachache if that team doesn’t gradually start to go from victory to victory.”

Dufva will be behind the bench for the Jokers for the first time on Tuesday, when the team meets Tuto at home on Nordenskiöldinkatu.