A significant coaching bomb was seen in the league – Ismo Lehkonen warns of the consequences on Yle: “There could be a distraction”
Yle Urheilu’s ice hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen assesses the possible consequences of the coaching changes announced in the Liiga on Wednesday. According to him, the unusually early appointments may cause unrest within the teams.
On Wednesday, the Liiga saw quite a coaching carousel as three clubs announced their head coaches for the next season. Raimo Helminen moves from SaiPa to Ilves, Tommi Niemelä from Ilves to HIFK, and Janne Hietaniemi rises from SaiPa’s assistant coach to head coach.
The clubs’ decisions came as a complete surprise to Lehkonen. Typically, announcements about the next season’s coaching appointments are made only in the spring.
– I was about to fall on my backside. It came completely out of the blue. I wouldn’t have believed that I would see a day like this in my lifetime. In Switzerland, this has been the case for several years, but I don’t know if it’s happening in any other European leagues, Lehkonen marveled on Yle.
Lehkonen estimates that the clubs aim to cut off rumors related to next season’s coaching situations with early announcements. However, he believes that this decision may increase speculation regarding player transfers.
– Teams are built in this November-December period. The biggest fish are caught then. One can only imagine how speculation starts to heat up within HIFK, Jokerit, Ilves, and SaiPa about who is stealing whose player. This could become quite a disruptive factor within the teams, Lehkonen warned.
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