The Oulu club, which changed coach, had no other choice, as the team has even been threatened with relegation outside the playoffs, writes Simo Arkko, a journalist at Urheil.
Kärpät said on Sunday that he had won two Finnish championships at the Oulu club Lauri Marjamäki replace Lauri Mikkolan as the head coach of the club.
Marjamäki moves to Kärppi from the Jokers, who said the season would end after Russia invaded Ukraine. Marjamäki trained the Jokers for four seasons. He also has experience as the head coach of the Finnish men’s hockey national team.
Changing coach at such a late stage is exceptional in the SM League. However, the club that dropped to seventh in the regular season had no choice, as the team has even been threatened with relegation outside the playoffs.
Back in October, the Flies even showed up at the top of the series, but since mid-December, Oulu’s grips have been badly declining. Currently, the team is ranked seventh, but the Pelicans, who are ranked 11th, are just four points away in a single match.
In the last 20 matches, Kärpät has scored only 25 points. Of the nine matches in February, Kärpät has only won the club’s head clubs once: JYP once and SaiPan twice.
Mikkola, who had served as Kärppie’s assistant coach for four previous seasons, got into a difficult position and the newcomer coach was not allowed to turn the course.
However, the causes of the flies’ stomachs cannot be poured into Mikkola’s neck. The 41-year-old coach has never once served as the head coach of a men’s team. He started coaching in the 2005–2006 Fly under-16 team, and later rose to become the club’s under-20 head coach.
In terms of flies, if Mikkola succeeded, the story would certainly have been great, as Mikkola, who grew up in Oulu, was promoted to head coach from his own organization as a result of long-term work. However, Mikkola paid a heavy price for his inexperience.
A few years at Mestis, for example, or as the head coach of another, smaller league club could have brought enough experience to get a better result.
There are other reasons behind the flies’ difficulties. It’s reasonable to ask why the league’s absolute top team doesn’t have a top-level center. Or why the Beijing Olympics injured defender Atte Ohtamaa had to squirm for a long time in a mediocre Fly defense for up to more than half an hour in some matches.
The flies played as the number one center for a long time Aleksi from Black, for which only 12 power points were recorded for the entire season. Last week, the club hired a No. 1 center on the site Antti Kalaputawith only one power point in five matches.
In connection with Marjamäki’s news, Kärpät released Mustonen and the defender Miihkali Tepon HPK: hon. The club also plans to release new player contracts on Monday when the names are on paper.
With Marjamäki and new acquisitions, Kärpät will definitely become a significant medal team. I have to remember that the team has Mika Pyörälä, Juhamatti Aaltonen and Saku Mäenalasen with a lot of experience and leadership as well as a culture of winning.
It is not easy to beat Lauri Marjamäki Kärpp in the spring, although now it has been difficult for the team.