In the league, it hit hard – the second coaching dismissal of the season, Kai Suikkanen at the helm!

KooKoo has separated its head coach Jouko Myrrä and assistant coach Tuukka Poikonen. The new head coach of the team will be Kai Suikkanen, whose contract covers the remainder of the season.

KooKoo announced the coaching change in a statement released on Wednesday. Marko Virtanen will also join Suikkanen’s coaching staff.

The Kouvola club, which reached the finals of the league last season, is currently at the bottom of the standings with one point. The first victory of the season is still to be achieved.

CEO Sakari Välimaa justifies the decision in the statement.

– In professional sports, results ultimately determine actions. During the early part of the season, we have sought various solutions to turn the situation around, but we have not succeeded in finding the necessary change.

– The team’s performance and results have not met expectations, and the direction of development has not been sufficient. One of the most important tasks of coaching is to bring out the best performance from the players and help them succeed. This has not been achieved now.

Suikkanen returns to the league after a long break. He last coached in the league with Kärpät during the 2016–2017 season. Last season, he worked as the head coach of Slovakian HC Prešov.

In 2010, Suikkanen led TPS to the Finnish championship. Virtanen, on the other hand, has coached JYP, TPS, and Lukko as head coach in the league.

– Kai Suikkanen has strong experience in situations where a team needs a quick change of direction during the season. Marko Virtanen also brings significant experience and insight from the league level to the coaching staff. We believe that under their leadership, we can create a new sense of belief, clarity in play, and energy within the team, Välimaa states in the announcement.

KooKoo’s situation is further pressured by the league’s exceptional season: the bottom three teams in the regular season will be relegated directly to a lower division.

– We are fully aware of the seriousness of the situation. We face a challenging end to the season, but at the same time, we strongly believe that there is more potential in the team than what the standings or the early season results currently indicate. Now the goal is to make that potential visible on the ice as well, Välimaa notes.