Ville Mäntymaa is the new head coach of the Young Lions

Trim got fired last March Ville Mäntymaa is the new head coach of the Young Lions, i.e. national team under the age of 20.

Mäntymaa, 40, has previously worked in the U20 national team as an assistant coach in 2020–22 and last season.

On Monday, the Ice Hockey Federation also announced the new responsible pilots of the U16 national team. The head coach of the under-16s was named Tuomo Ropo.

Ropo, 41, has been the head coach of the under-18 national team this season. Ropo, who worked at SaiPa for a long time, coached Imatra Ketterä Mesti to become the champion in 2022.

“Mäntymaa is familiar with the World Youth Championship tournament and the events leading up to the tournament from the role of assistant coach. Ropo, on the other hand, has already done a great job with the current age group and together with the club coaches for the development of the players”, the association’s head of coaching and elite sports Olli Salo says in the announcement.