IL: The large association contacted Olli Jokinen – now a new direction is beginning to take shape
Olli Jokinen, who was fired from HIFK this week, was in the sights of a top European club last summer. The Swiss giant Zürich Lions wanted the Finnish coach in their ranks, but Jokinen decided to stay in Helsinki.
The matter was reported by journalist Timo Kunnari, who knows Jokinen well, in Iltalehti’s Lätkäpodissa.
– On the other hand, I know that Zürich Lions were very serious about pursuing Olli for this season. Olli did not want to break his contract with IFK, nor did he want to engage with the overtures from Europe’s top club.
Ultimately, the experienced NHL coach Claude Julien ended up as the head coach of Zürich.
According to Kunnari, Jokinen’s reputation in the European coaching market remains high despite the HIFK firing. He considers it possible that a new job could be found for the Finnish coach right in Switzerland.
– I wouldn’t be tremendously surprised if there were offers for Olli from Switzerland in the future, especially since things change there at least as rapidly as they do here in Finland. Olli’s future is interesting; his career is not coming to a halt here.
Jokinen’s next move also depends, according to Kunnari’s assessment, on whether he wants to return abroad. Jokinen justified his departure from the SHL club Timrå at the time for family reasons.
Before his stint at HIFK, Jokinen also coached Mikkelin Jukurit from 2021 to 2024.
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