The Helsinki Jokerit will return to the domestic rinks and play next season in hockey Mestis. Heinola’s Peliitat was left without a license.
Matti Lehtisaari,
STT Sports
The Jokerit of Helsinki will play hockey in Mestis next season. The issue got the final seal when the Ice Hockey Federation’s license committee granted the people of Helsinki a Mestis license.
Jokerit got a conditional league place in Mestis already in February. The club still had to fulfill the conditions of the Mestis license.
13 teams will play in Mesti in the coming season.
Heinola Peliitoi, who played in the series last season, was not granted a license. The taxman files for Peliitto’s bankruptcy due to unpaid taxes and other payment arrears.
The Latvian team Zemgale, which played in Mestis last season, will not continue in the series.
Jokers after a long break to the domestic series
The Jokerit, who played in the KHL, last played in domestic rinks in the 2013-2014 season. The Jokerit moved to the Russian-led KHL league from the 2014-2015 season and left the series in February 2022 after Russia started a war of aggression in Ukraine.
– This was an expected decision and a very great thing for the entire Jokerit community. In recent months, we have worked hard to ensure that Jokerit is an organization that meets the license requirements of the Ice Hockey League both financially and athletically, Jokerit Helsinki Oy’s Mikko Saarni commented in the announcement.
Jokerit last played on Finland’s second highest league level in the 1988-1989 season, in the then 1st division.
Home matches in Helsinki and Kerava
The Jokerit plans to play a large part of its home matches next season in the Kerava ice hall. According to current plans, 15 of the home games of the regular season will be played at the Kerava Ice Hall and nine at the Nordenskiöldinkatu Ice Hall in Helsinki. The exact program will be confirmed later. Possible playoff matches will also be played at the Helsinki Ice Hall.
The construction of Jokeri’s next season’s Mestis team is already well underway.
– The core of the team is made up of our own juniors, and it is supplemented with carefully thought out specific acquisitions. We don’t waste money, but the player budget is kept financially sustainable. Our goal is to get a very competitive team up and running already next season, Mikko Saarni explained.
The longer-term goal of the Jokers is to move up to Finland’s main league, the Finnish Championship League. A group of investors has been assembled to support the project, led by Saarni, the founder of Viima Hockey, which has been successful in the hockey business, and a former player of Jokerien Ossi Väänänen.
Clubs with a Mestis license
FPS Hockey Ltd
Hockey Kainuu Oy
Imatran Ketterä Oy
IPK Hockey Ltd
Joensuu Kiekko-Pojat Oy
Jokerit Helsinki Oy (Jokers)
KeuPa Hockey Ltd
Kiekko-Espoo Oy
Kiekko-Vantaa Hockey Oy
Kokkola’s Hermes Oy
Koovee Hockey Ltd
RoKi Hockey Ltd
TUTO Hockey Ltd