Kari Jalonen is jumping fast to become the head coach of the Czech national hockey team and is already behind the bench at the World Cup in Tampere.
12.3. 16:46 • Updated March 12th. 19:00
The bells rang in the Czech Republic as the sky at the Beijing Olympics hockey tournament ended in a landing. The Czech Republic bowed to Switzerland in the first round of the playoffs and did not even make it into the top eight in Beijing.
Changes had to be made to the coaching. Sports director of the Czech hockey team Petr Nedved decided to quarrel To Kari Jalosen. It was agreed that the men would sit at the same table.
– It was definitely a big decision for the Czech association whether to get a foreign head coach or whether to continue with a new domestic coach, Jalonen tells Urheilu.
– I had one option for them and I don’t even know how many other options there were. I went to an interview with Nedved twice, we talked about hockey for a long time. He spoke about the situation in the Czech Republic and I myself shared my views on how I see coaching, Jalonen sheds light on the course of events.
Jalonen and Nedved quickly reached the same page in the negotiations, but there was still one major bend in the journey. Jalonen had previously signed an agreement that would have taken him as the head coach of Finland’s under-20s next spring.
– I had a contract in November. But a big thank you to the Hockey Association for giving me the opportunity to negotiate with the Czech Republic, Jalonen sends his thanks to the domestic hockey makers.
To a moving train
Now all things have been clarified and Jalonen is ready to wing the traditional puck of the Czech Republic into a new boom. The agreement is for two years and will run until spring 2024.
– The mood is good. Immediately after the Olympics, it started to happen on a fast schedule, but now all things are clear. I have jumped the so-called. to a moving train, but my feelings are good, Jalonen describes.
He is the first foreign head coach on the Czech national hockey team. Jalonen believes that the sensational season at the helm of Lev Prague is still remembered.
Jalonen piloted Lev Prague until the KHL finals in the spring of 2014.
– There is a strong bridge left when I followed the Czech league at that time and met local puck people, Jalonen remembers.
– But another thing is that the success of the Lions, Young Lions and Little Lions is one of the factors that opened this place for me as a Czech coach. In the Czech Republic, it was known exactly how the Lions have succeeded and they also know how they (the Czech Republic) have not succeeded.
Finnish puck coaches are well on their way to Europe.
– Toni Söderholm is already the third year as the head coach of the German national team, and now I have been selected as the coach of the Czech Republic. We have experienced and good coaches in Finland, but best of all, we also have young coaches of the future, Jalonen notes.
Jalonen against Jalonen at the World Championships in spring
So Jalonen is already behind the Czech bench at this spring’s World Cup. Finland and the Czech Republic play in the same starting block in Tampere. A special evening is on May 24 when they face each other Jukka Jalosen The Czech crew of the Lions and Kari Jalonen.
– It will definitely be a pretty unique evening. Sure, we’re in a different box with Jukka (Jalonen), but the player will decide the match in the end. That is the last struggle of the first series, the atmosphere can be interesting and at the same time great, Jalonen is already excited at this stage.
Jalonen, 62, has won a total of twelve Finnish championships, four as head coaches, three as assistant coaches and five as players. He has also won the Swiss Hockey Championships in Bern in the spring of 2017 as a coach.
Jalonen also coached the Finnish national team in 2014–2016 and won World Championship silver in his wash. There is enough power and fire after he has been on the sidelines for the last couple of years of coaching work. The corona era has tormented many, but it has had its advantages.
– After Switzerland, I needed my first year of rest. It also hit Korona time, so I got home. I had gone from place to place for 16 years without long holidays. This second year I have been following hockey closely, I know exactly where to go in hockey, Jalonen says.