HELSINKI, FINLAND – Team Finland have today announced the contract extensions to it’s coaching staff. Head coach Jukka Jalonen and assistant coaches, Petri Matikainen and Pasi Nurminen also receive contract extensions. The coaching trio’s contracts were due to expire after the 2012 World Championships, which will be hosted by Finland and Sweden. The coaching trio’s contracts will now expire after the 2013 World Championships. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association also extended the contracts for General Manager, Jari Kurri and Team Manager, Timo Jutila. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association executives wanted to extend Jalonen’s contract to cover the 2014 Winter Olympics, but the coach preferred a years’ extension to his current contract. “We offered Jalonen a contract to cover the Olympics in Sotshi, but in joint agreement we decided on a years’ extension at this stage. We have an agreement that we will make the decision for the Olympic games by the 31st of August 2012,” Chariman Kalervo Kummola said in a statement. Jalonen said in a statement that he is “Motivated and committed to his duties as team Finland head coach until 2013.” After the success in Slovakia, there were rumours that Jalonen had many KHL teams after his services and even rumours that few NHL teams were potentially interested in him.
Jalonen said, “I did not receive any concrete offers and didn’t even consider them. I was only concerned with being motivated to carry on with Team Finland.” Jalonen started as the head coach for Finland in 2008. Prior to that he served as the assistant coach to Doug Shedden in the Finnish national team. During his assistant coach period, Jalonen won bronze from the World Championships in Halifax. Jalonen has received a lot of criticism during his tenure as the head coach for Finland due to a few slim years in the World Championships stage, however, Jalonen has been successful, winning Bronze in Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics and Gold in the 2011 World Championships in Slovakia. At the league level, Jalonen started his coaching career as the head coach of Tampereen Ilves in 1992 at the tender age of 30. He has also coached Rauman Lukko in the SM-Liiga and coached HPK to four SM-Liiga bronze medals before leading his team to Finnish champions in 2006. Jalonen also has a brief coaching stint in the UK hockey as the head coach for Newcastle RiverKings and Newcastle Jesters between 1999-2001. Contact the author: janne.virtanen@prohockenews.com
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