The long-time chairman of the Ice Hockey Federation and legendary hockey influencer Kalervo Kummola took a firm stance on the situation in the League on Friday.

Starting from the 2027-28 season, there will be 14 teams in the League. In the so-called B-league, ten teams will play.

Kummola believes that the teams relegated to the B-league will particularly suffer from this change.

– With that decision, the B-league has now been thrown under the bus. I actually hope that one of those teams that wanted this 14+10 team model ends up in the B-league and experiences what it’s like to play there. They are making the same mistakes now as they did 10 years ago.

– This fumbling does not give a good impression of the decision-making in the SM-league. There were all kinds of letters from Ässät and others. But I guess this turmoil will end for a while. If we think about the positives, it’s good that they managed to make a decision, Kummola stated to Iltalehti.

– It is now important to tear up the old shareholder agreements, he continues.

Before transitioning to the new 14+10 model, the League will play a so-called super season, which will include a maximum of 18 teams. In the next season, the top 12 teams will advance to the playoffs, while positions 13-16 will fight for two spots in the A-league.

Teams finishing in 17th place and lower will move directly to the B-league for the 2027–28 season.

The change still requires the approval of the Ice Hockey Federation. The federation council will discuss the matter on Saturday.

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