Is Tomi Lämsä the problem for Lukko? This is how sports director Kalle Sahlstedt responds.

Lock has been one of the League’s consistent performers in recent years when looking at the regular season. However, the team’s path in the playoffs has been significantly rockier.

In spring 2025, Lukko celebrated winning the regular season. In the semifinals, however, SaiPa managed to take the upper hand and sent the team from Rauma to the bronze match.

In 2026, Lukko was fifth in the regular season. Their journey in the playoffs ended in the first round when HPK provided a shock treatment to the team from Rauma and advanced to the quarterfinals.

SuomiKiekko interviewed Lukko’s sports director Kalle Sahlstedt and asked why Lukko’s game falters in the spring.

– Of course, one big thing that has been discussed this spring with the coaching staff, data analyst, and physical coach is why this happens. I definitely don’t want to make excuses, but practically we’ve been involved in the CHL every other season. It’s surprisingly tough. However, we have progressed every year. Traveling and playing three games a week takes a toll. The problem is that when you play three-game weeks all the time, you can’t practice as you would like, Sahlstedt reflects.

– If you go far in the CHL, it brings its own problems for early-season training. A player needs to stay fit and improve their condition during the season to be at their best in the spring. We haven’t succeeded in that in the best possible way.

Against HPK, Sahlstedt does not feel that Lukko faltered. The team from Rauma dominated the game in terms of play, but scoring did not succeed. At the same time, HPK’s top line was effective and goalkeeper Kim Saarinen was on fire.

– During the regular season victory year, we lost to SaiPa. SaiPa was on a roll and played extremely well. On the other hand, the Sport series had been a tough opponent for us. We had to play against SaiPa with many key players dealing with serious injuries. There were abdominal muscle tears, a couple of serious knee issues, and broken bones.

Is head coach Tomi Lämsä the problem for Lukko?

Lukko’s head coach Tomi Lämsä holds an interesting position in Finnish ice hockey. When speaking with players or coaches, they have a very positive perception of Lämsä’s professionalism. However, in media and fan discussions, the view of Lämsä is less flattering.

Sahlstedt strongly defends his head coach.

– Yes, Lämsä is a damn good coach. If you ask any of his coaching colleagues, they know and understand this. But why he receives so much criticism in the press, I can’t say. He doesn’t have a Finnish championship, so is it because of that, or is it because Lukko, as a strong underdog, knocked out Lämsä’s Jokerit in 2013? I don’t know, Sahlstedt ponders.

– It feels unfair because he certainly hasn’t deserved it that strongly. However, it must be remembered that ultimately, when the puck drops on the ice, it’s the players who play. The coach’s job is to prepare the team for the game in the best possible way in terms of practice, game tactics, and atmosphere. Lämsä has done good work, and if you listen to the players who have left us, the feedback is the same from everyone.

Earlier in his career, Tomi Lämsä has also served as head coach for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Pelicans, and Jokerit. Photo: All Over Press

Has it crossed your mind that Lämsä is responsible for Lukko’s poor performances in the spring?

– It hasn’t crossed my mind. When the team trusts the coach, it is known. Whether they trust him or not is everything. In the spring, it depends on surprisingly little. The skill gaps between teams are small. Of course, we have faith that we will succeed with Lämsä. I hope that it will be this coming spring, Sahlstedt says.

– The coach’s significance in spring games – I say this from my own 20 years of playing experience – is quite small. If individual tactical things are changed, that’s it when talking about spring games. I’ve tried to think back to my championship years, and I don’t remember a single time when the coach did something special that propelled us to victory.

Sahlstedt has perspective on the matter. Before his career as a sports director, he had a long and successful playing career. Over the years, he celebrated the Finnish championship five times and the Swedish championship once.

What does Lämsä himself say?

SuomiKiekko asked the same question to Lämsä himself at the League’s media event. What does he think about this peculiar situation where appreciation comes from within the sport, but external pressure is intense?

– Just now, I was talking with Hese [captain Heikki Liedes] about today’s media and scoring. The people who need to know, know. The media has immense power and can steer the basic fan’s thinking by deciding what to focus on and what to leave unsaid. The media has every right to do that, and fans have every right to believe it. When you win enough, the tone of the writing will surely be different from both the media and fans, Lämsä says.

The negative public discussion has not gotten under Lämsä’s skin, as one might easily imagine.

– If you think about this job, you have to understand that you are a human being, a spouse, a family man, and then a coach. If you start mixing these roles, it becomes difficult. One of the head coach’s tasks is to be a buffer between the team and the media and fans. As long as the arrowhead points at me and the players can be behind my back in peace, then I believe I have done my job well. It is one of my tasks to take pressure off them and help them perform, Lämsä says.

The interview with Kalle Sahlstedt will be published in three parts before the start of the League’s super season. This is the third part of the interview series. The first part dealt with the sports director’s work and the second with the League’s most interesting acquisitions.