Jukka Jalonen, who coached the SKA and Jokers in St. Petersburg in the Russian KHL series, got to know Russian culture over the years. According to Jalonen, it is very difficult to see the Jokers continue in the KHL.
– There are smart and good people in Russia. It is a pity that the culture is such that no one there dares to say anything. That is largely the question here, the head coach of the Lions Jukka Jalonen says.
– Even smart people are quiet, even if they want to say something. There is a fear so strongly present in everything. As I get to know that culture, I fully understand that it is better to be quiet than to say anything stupid to its bigger leadership.
This is what Jukka Jalonen now thinks about his years in Russia. At KHL, Jukka Jalonen coached the SKA in St. Petersburg in 2012–2014, shortly after the Russian oligarch Roman Rotenberg had started the St. Petersburg Society as vice president. Later, Jalonen piloted Jokers at KHL in 2016–2018.
Jalonen says that coaching at KHL was a great time for him, as he got to coach top teams in the top series. No things outside the trough were thought of then.
– I was in the Jokers for a couple of years myself and I only thought from the coach’s perspective. In the background is a top organization, a hard and developing series for both the coach and the player. When playing and coaching, not thinking about politics, Jalonen begins:
– Currently, the situation is different when there is a war. Then it must be treated as it is.
Russia launched its attack on Ukraine on 24 February. Since then, several top Finnish players have left their KHL club, in addition to which the Russians have been denied competing in many sports.
Jalonen is really sad for Russian clubs, players and coaches because they don’t have a Russian president Vladimir Putin to start a war part and not a lottery.
– It was the right thing to do about sports closures. However, there is such a strong passion for sports and art, Jalonen says.
– It is very difficult to see the Jokers playing or returning to KHL anymore. That is a far-fetched thing. It is also quite a long way off for the Jokers to cease operations at the representative level altogether.
– I see that the Jokers are in the SM League at some point. There will be quite a bit of a rush for next season, but maybe in more than a year in the period 2023–2024, the Jokers could already be in the Finnish Championships. I see it as the most realistic option at the moment, but I haven’t talked to anyone about it, Jalonen emphasizes.
Most of the Finnish players have left KHL and returned to Finland after the war started by Russia. Jalonen assumes that the North American and European players who played in the KHL will be seen in the European leagues in the future.
– Some players play in the SM League and a slightly larger part in Sweden, Switzerland or Germany. The level and quality of teams from these other countries will increase. This is the quick conclusion, Jalonen says.
It is also difficult for him to imagine that coaches would leave Finland for KHL next season or in the near future.
– Coaches who have been or are still there will probably come to the domestic or European leagues. I feel like it’s a pretty good thing for our puck.
A lot of players will be released from the KHL for the European player market, but according to Jalonen, the Finnish Champions League is weak in the competition precisely because of its ability to pay.
– It is not possible to pay the same salaries here as elsewhere in the top European leagues. On the other hand, the SM League can compete if a younger player from North America wants to develop as a player. However, training in the league is very high quality and determined. Players are able to evolve here up to the NHL level, Jalonen says.