Trending records in coaching can suit great communicators like Gronborg and Oli Joaquinen
Before setting up the structure as the first year coach of Liga club Mikkelin Zukurit, Oli Joaquinen installed a karaoke machine in the team’s dressing room.
“Some people love to sing,” said Center Jarco Immonen, 39.
The machine isn’t always plugged in, but the coach’s guidance, which has undoubtedly been a boon to organizational culture since he was appointed to the post in February 2021, has certainly stimulated the jukebox players. “I am coaching the team. “But I’m a servant to the players, 24/7 to the players,” Joaquinen said. “Everything they want on the ice is out of the ice. Help them learn life lessons. Help them with their daily work. Anything, what it means to be a pro. “
This is an ideal form of coaching for coaches at virtually all levels of the game who have adapted to get the most out of young players who may not be able to do the heavy hand prodding. Instead, many modern players respond well to personal time and explanations and the key is to understand that the coach really cares about them. “We have people singing before practice, but they understand that we work when we go to work,” Joaquinen said.
The 43-year-old is a veteran of 1,231 NHL games, but his only previous training experience was at the Minor South Florida Hockey Association. Zukurit has crossed the pole in the middle of his first season, however, with 11 wins in 13-games by mid-January, Zukurit has surpassed any previous organizational high-watermark. Liiga has no annual promotions or promotions and is the club’s best run since accepting an invitation to join Finland’s top flight in 2016.
European hockey may not be on the radar of many North American fans, but a wide and intricate staff pool suggests that it should. There are talented coaches who can be positioned to take advantage of an evolving mindset that suggests that North America’s traditionally stable hockey culture is moving away from its familiar insecurities. And Joaquinen, who was praised for his talent, for the look on the baby’s face on the border of cult status – and in the twilight of his career, maybe some blonde locks – is definitely in that group.
In the summer of 2000, Chicago’s Alpo Suhoenen and Pittsburgh’s Evan Hlinka were not appointed NHL head coaches. Suhonen survived only one season; Hlinka led the Penguins to the 2001 Eastern Conference Final before dropping four games in 2001-02.
Since then, Finland’s Jarmo Kekalainen has been named Columbus’ GM in 2013, Sweden’s Patrick Alvin has just been named Vancouver’s new GM, and Winnipeg-born German immigrant Ralph Krueger has played 145 games with Edmonton (2019) and B1912-2012. -21) After a long run with the Swiss men’s national team. Marco Sturm guided Germany to a silver medal at the Pyongyang Olympics and they are now assistants in Los Angeles, while Tuomo Rutu and Ulf Samuelson are assistants in Florida. Thomas Mittel, who coached Stockholm’s AIK for two years in hockey Olsvenskan, was just 41 years old when Jeremy Collinton left Chicago earlier this season. Among them is Evgeny Nabokov, a handful of European goaltending coaches, but that is the proportion of European NHL assistants.
There is a saying that the coaching guard is the “old boys club” and this is certainly true in many corners of hockey. Peter Laviolet and Daryl Sutter are on their fifth coaching stunt, while Bruce Boudreau and Peter Deborah are on fourth. Of course, everyone has found levels of success in the NHL, with Laviolette and Sutter combining three Stanley Cups. This is even more eye-opening when coaches who have failed to make an impact at an earlier stop are given a second or third chance before finding the best European coach.
But the main reason North American coaches have so many opportunities is because they benefit from their network’s constant presence and support system. This may mean nepotism or a different way of saying “Old Boys Club”, but in North America it is very difficult to integrate into the immediate orbit of decision makers from a far continent. “It’s about getting to know someone, trusting and finding connections,” said Hall of Famer Jerry Curry, Jokerit Helsinki’s GM since 2013, who has played at KHL since 2014. “It simply came to our notice then. There is no doubt that there are very good coaches in Europe. Of course, history is different. I think they care the most. Do they know enough about the NHL and the history of the game and the style of hockey? So, I guess that’s all they care about, maybe. But, why not? Why not? “
