IL: Harsh revelation about Ilves’ playoff spring from previous years: “Purely a drinking trip”
In Iltalehti’s Hockey Podcast the athleticism of Liiga players was discussed. In the episode, Santtu Silvennoinen assessed that only half of the players in the domestic top league can be considered elite athletes.
Good athletic examples from Liiga are the teams Tappara and KooKoo competing in the finals. The physical condition of the Kouvola team has been talked about throughout the season.
Ilves is an example of a poorer athletic culture. The podcast highlighted defender Jyrki Jokipakka, who is playing for Tappara this season but played for Ilves in the 2022-23 season. A clear difference can be seen in Jokipakka now that he has switched to the axe-bearers. He was not as athletic in Ilves.
– With all due respect, he was quite a lazy guy back then. He was in a quartet with Tommi Tikka, Otto Latvala, and Petri Kontiola, where the guys left for Levi during the playoffs. It was purely a drinking trip, Santtu Silvennoinen says in the Hockey Podcast.
– Okay, there was a lost semifinal and a long wait for the bronze game, but it embodied the spirit of Ilves and laziness.
Now at Tappara, Jokipakka has been in better shape. In the regular season, the defender recorded 49 games with stats of 11+25=36.
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