HIFK’s brand has faded to pink. Now is the time for big changes in the club, writes journalist Jussi Paasi.
I’m a journalist, but now I’m playing the sports director of a hockey team for a while.
I get three million euros. It should build a team fighting for the SM league championship. It doesn’t sound impossible, because three million is an almost superior player budget in the men’s ice hockey league.
Where do I start?
I take refuge Hannu Jortikanthe golden finger of Turku, to the simple recipe of the coaching legend who won six championships.
1. I got a winning goalkeeper.
2. I will recruit the best possible center forward.
3. I buy a first class defender.
I will build the rest of the team on top of that. Suitable roles, personalities, young stars, foreign acquisitions and so on. There is enough money for everything.
It’s that easy!
Just kidding. Of course, I wouldn’t do well as the sports director of a SM league club. But it doesn’t seem to work Tobias Salmelainen too. With around three million euros, Salmelainen has put together a Helsinki IFK team for this season, which is now a league jumbo.
Salmelainen did not acquire a goalkeeper who could win games with his saves. And not a good enough first-string center. The roles seem to be messed up too.
After all, the defense came back from Sweden Ilari Melartwhich undoubtedly belongs to the elite of the SM league.
The ice hockey round discussed the situation of HIFK on 26.10.
Salmelainen has been able to practice sports management at IFK for five years. The result looks sad. With HIFK’s budget, anything other than a place in the final is always a disappointment. Of course, you can’t reach the finals every season, but with that money, the minimum requirement would be at least once every five years.
Twice during Salmelainen’s era, the team has won bronze. That would be enough in many league clubs, but not in IFK, which operates with a thick wallet. The current season has been downright catastrophic.
The sports director is responsible for building the team. Salmelainen has not been successful in his work.
On Friday, HIFK lost to Tampere Ilves in their home hall with a score of 2–5. It was the fifth straight loss for the Redshirts. The team slipped to the bottom of the SM league.
Of course, you can also point the finger of blame at the head coach. If the main commander of HIFK wasn’t there Ville Peltonen, my blue and white hockey icon, he would have been fired by now. And it may be that I will soon. But that doesn’t solve IFK’s problems. The root causes of problems cannot be found behind the bench.
Of course, Peltonen should have been able to achieve a much better result with this material, but we still have very little information about his abilities as a coach. Peltonen, who had a great career as a player, has such a short time in the costume department.
And now you should think about one more question: who hires a head coach for the ice hockey club?
Sports director.
HIFK’s red brand has faded to pink. It’s time for big changes in the club. The change starts with the sports management.
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