Heikki Hietanen, the chairman of the advisory board that outlines the future of top ice hockey, does not understand the withdrawal of the Players’ Association and the Mestis clubs from the working groups.
The chairman of the advisory board of Huippukiekko Heikki Hietanen does not understand the Players’ Association’s claim that it would not have a genuine opportunity to influence the future of hockey in the recently established working groups.
The Players’ Association would have liked Mestis to be included in the top hockey advisory board, where the new contract between the League and the Ice Hockey Association is agreed upon.
According to Hietanen, there are many things in the contract that are in no way related to the Players’ Association.
– Workgroups have that place of influence. Unfortunately, they are stuck that they should be in the top ice hockey advisory board, where they are not parties, says Hietanen.
According to Hietanen, the actual work regarding the future of top ice hockey is done in working groups, from which they are taken to the advisory board. According to him, the advisory board does not decide on anything, but the League’s general meeting and the federal council are responsible for the decisions.
The players’ association and the representatives of the Mestis clubs felt that they do not have a real opportunity to influence the working groups. They believe that the advisory board can make its own proposal instead and take it forward.
– That logic is pretty lame. I would understand the criticism if, in retrospect, it happened that their opinions had not been listened to or they had not been able to influence.
– But they have the attitude in advance that they haven’t been open or had a real impact. That’s a pretty absurd statement.
There are also great youth series on the list
According to Hietanen, the biggest influence on top hockey in the future is the working groups. Experts such as sports managers and league managers have been asked for them. As the process progresses, other experts for different needs can also be invited to the table.
According to Hietanen, the experts together refine the best possible presentation, which is forwarded to the top hockey advisory board. The plan is to approve the proposal by the end of June.
– We will certainly not start to make changes to that proposal in the top ice hockey advisory board after that, because it was made by experts. With that in mind, I really don’t understand their omission. It is an illogical solution.
According to Hietanen, right now it is being decided how the SM league, Mest and the under-20s SM series will be played in the next few years. Regarding the SM league and Mestis, it is decided that the league qualifiers will be as fair as possible for both sides in terms of match schedules.
The system of the SM series for under-20s is also on the table, because according to Hietanen, no one in Finland is satisfied with it.
– These things can be influenced from within the working group.
Several models
Regarding the future series systems of the SM League, Hietanen says that ultimately the SM League will decide on its own series system. However, they can take into account the presentations made in the working groups regarding the future.
– We have talked about making a longer-term plan in which we think about how Finnish top leagues will be played, for example, at the end of the decade or the beginning of the next decade. There has been a lot of talk about the A and B league, and there are any number of solutions.
– Big changes require long transition times. If it is decided to start making different solutions than at the moment, it will require its own process in the future.