League season preview – positions 13-17: these teams will be relegated to the B league

The long-awaited super season of the league 2026-27 is just around the corner. An exceptional season is promised as Jokerit returns to the top league level and the three weakest teams will drop to the B-league after the regular season.

SuomiKiekko anticipates the upcoming season by assessing the power dynamics of the teams. In this preview, we will go through the teams that we believe will end up in positions 13-17. Positions 15-17 mean relegation to the B-league, while positions 13-14 mean staying in the A-league, but also missing out on the playoffs.

17. Jukurit

Jukurit started last season strongly, but as the season progressed, losses began to pile up significantly more than wins. Eventually, after the relegation threat was removed mid-season, Jukurit was able to conduct a clearance sale and traded or loaned players to other clubs. Jukurit ultimately fell to second last place in the regular season, finishing at 15th.

During the summer, there has been a lot of movement in Mikkeli. The biggest loss for the team was Jesper Piitulainen, who represented the club for ten seasons and also served as the team captain for several years. With Piitulainen, who rose to the status of a club icon, the team lost nearly everything possible, such as scoring points and leadership. This summer, defense prospect Alberts Smits, who was drafted in the first round by the NHL, signed a contract with the New York Rangers. On the offensive side, Jukurit also lost players like Aleks Haatanen and Topias Hynninen, while from the defense Kim Johansson and from the goalies Evan Buitenhuis left.

The most significant new acquisitions for Jukurit come from abroad. Perhaps the most interesting name is Swedish forward Jesper Olofsson, who has made a strong impact in Sweden and Switzerland. Last season, Olofsson scored 29 points in 45 games in the Allsvenskan, and before that, he had 32 points in 49 games in the SHL. Canadian Jacob Hayhurst had a season with 76 points in the ECHL. Last season, he accumulated 24 points in 41 games in Germany. Swedish goalie Jesper Myrenberg has experience from the SHL over the past four seasons and will now take on a significant role in the league. Young forward Linus Sjödin has also played several seasons in the SHL.

The most interesting addition to the defense is 20-year-old Sebastian Soini. The NHL-drafted talent has played the last few years with Ilves. Soini has a lot of potential to take a step forward in his career this coming season. For their defense, Jukurit has also acquired Andrej Sustr, known from the NHL and Tappara, and Alex Lintuniemi, who returns to the league after several years.

Overall, the returning players at Jukurit are relatively inexperienced at the league level. In goal, Matthieu Herpin continues, while on defense, Arttu Kärki and in offense, Jeremi Tammela are key players. Frenchman Justin Addamo won the Finnish championship with Tappara at the end of last season, American Connor Ford played the end of the season with Lukko, and Norwegian Thomas Olsen had a brief stint in Switzerland. All three will again play leading roles at Jukurit this coming season, with Ford named the new captain and Olsen and Addamo serving as alternate captains alongside Lintuniemi.

It is difficult to predict a successful season for Jukurit. Under the leadership of Jonne Virtanen, the team continues with the same coaching staff and appears weak and inexperienced on paper. It does not excel in any area, and finding a competitive edge against rivals is challenging. Last season, it was seen that Virtanen could occasionally have Jukurit strongly challenging their bigger opponents, but in a high-stakes season, good effort is not enough. Jukurit’s fate is to be relegated to the B-league at the end of the super season.

16. Sport

Vaasa’s Sport had a complete disaster of a season last year, filled with real chaos. With three head coaches, a clearance sale circus, and a total of 40 points collected, there isn’t much left to tell future generations. Sport started the season under Juuso Hahl, then hired Doug Shedden, and finished the season under Jussi Tapio. The season for the Vaasa team ended with 20 consecutive losses.

Sport announced well in advance during last season that Lauri Mikkola would be the team’s next head coach. His assistants will continue to be Tapio, and the new addition is Kimmo Kuhta. Mikkola has previously served as head coach of Kärpät for a short time, after which he was head coach of the U20 national team for three years. Under Mikkola, Finland reached the top four and won silver once. Mikkola can be considered a good fit for an organization the size of Sport.

Many players left Vaasa during last season due to clearance sales. The departure of Simon Hjalmarsson, who played until the end of the season, is a significant blow to the offense. Additionally, defenseman Brad Hunt, who played several seasons in the NHL, retired. Several Sport players played the end of the season with other clubs, but they returned to Vaasa for the upcoming season. This group includes Joni Ortio, Theodor Johnsson, Kalle Miketinac, Johan Sundström, Philip Granath, and Viljami Nieminen. Most of them, if not all, will play significant roles in Sport’s team.

New names joining Sport include forwards George Diaco, Kalle Östman, Luke Grainger, Isak Walther, and Benjamin Pietilä, as well as defensemen Eric Bürger, Kalle Ervasti, Kalle Kangas, Simon Åkerström, and Valtteri Viljanen. Among them, Diaco is particularly interesting. He played last season at over a point-per-game pace in the Allsvenskan (52 games, 54 points) and has the potential to shine in Finnish arenas as well. Defenseman Åkerström has played for Ässät in the past but has since made significant progress in his career. Last season, he scored a strong 37 points in the Allsvenskan.

Sport’s roster also includes many young players, such as goalie Masi Härkönen. Their experience is complemented by gold medalist and team captain Miika Koivisto and French forward Charles Bertrand, who has previously posted strong stats in the league.

It is easy for Sport to improve from last season. The primary goal for the team is to maintain its place in the A-league for the next year, but the task is difficult. Sport has top individuals like Nieminen and Ortio, and the passionate home crowd will surely provide extra motivation in games. However, there are again many new foreign players in Vaasa, especially Swedes, whose level is uncertain at this stage. Sport, which has been seen at the bottom of the league for several years, will be relegated to the B-league at the end of the season.

15. TPS

Toni Söderholm’s first season as head coach of TPS was disappointing. The Turku club missed the playoffs. Additionally, there was more than enough buzz around the team, with examples being captain Tarmo Reunanen’s departure from the club and Veli-Matti Savinainen’s refusal to wear a Pride jersey.

During the summer, TPS has made some changes to its roster. Söderholm’s assistants have changed, with Sami Salo and Matti Tiilikainen leaving, and Riku-Petteri Lehtonen and Kimmo Rintanen coming in. The offense lost firepower with the departures of Aleksi Saarela and Eetu Päkkilä, while promising defenseman Mitja Jokinen also changed scenery.

TPS has made a few targeted acquisitions for its team. In defense, they have brought in gold medalist and captain Niklas Friman, as well as Canadian Gabriel Chicoine, and in offense Otto Paajanen, Lars Bryggman, Joona Ikonen, and Lukas Haudum. Chicoine has had two effective seasons in the top league in Slovakia. Friman has previously served as captain in HPK and Ilves, bringing leadership and reliability to TPS. The same goes for Paajanen, who had his best season in the league. Paajanen, who has been captain of KooKoo in recent years, scored 40 points. Bryggman previously had impressive stats in Pelicans and won the Swedish championship last spring. Ikonen has had two difficult years in Sweden, but the skills of the forward, who previously reached a 20-goal season in Ilves, are known to league followers. Haudum has made a strong impact in Austria, but how will he perform in the league?

In Turku, Swedish forward Lukas Wernblom continues next season, having played nearly three seasons in the league with strong stats. Last season, he scored 24 goals and 49 points. Swedish defenseman Alexis Binner joined TPS last January from France, scoring an impressive 18 points in 23 league games and earning a contract extension. Forward Sisu Yliniemi reached over 30 points last season. Toughness and grit will be brought to TPS’s group by Ruben Rafkin, Oliver Lauridsen, and Savinainen, who will, however, be sidelined for about two months at the start of the season.

TPS’s goaltending department has remained unchanged. Last season, Eetu Mäkiniemi carried the main responsibility, Noa Vali served as the backup, and Markus Ruusu joined the team for the end of the season. Mäkiniemi, who played 34 games, and Vali, who played 22 games, both had save percentages below 90. TPS did not falter due to goaltending last season, but an improvement in performance is required in a high-stakes season.

TPS has quality players, but the overall material is ultimately quite thin. There are only a few guaranteed performers in the group. For example, Paajanen and Bryggman would be big players in the playoffs, but the team first needs to claw its way there. We predict a difficult season in Turku and ultimately a harsh fate, relegation to the B-league.

14. Kiekko-Espoo

Kiekko-Espoo, which has played two seasons in the league since its return, has performed well in both seasons. Last season, it finished ninth in the regular season and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Ässät. Continuing as head coach, Jyrki Aho has managed to extract more from the team than the general public dared to expect.

Kiekko-Espoo’s strong seasons have largely been based on young goalie Petteri Rimpinen, who has played two outstanding seasons for the team. Last season, he recorded a save percentage of 91.1 and had five shutouts. His partner has been the more experienced Sami Rajaniemi, who has been able to complement the goaltending tandem excellently and provide Rimpinen with important rest time. An extremely significant factor for Kiekko-Espoo is that this duo will continue to stop pucks in the team’s colors during the upcoming super season.

The Espoo team has strengthened over the summer with familiar names. The biggest name is Jere Sallinen, who returns to Espoo after a long break. Additionally, brothers Jani and Ville Lajunen and Kasper Kotkansalo are returning to their hometown club. Sallinen, named captain, scored 20 points in Switzerland last season and has previously served as captain for HIFK and Örebro in his career. Of the Lajunen brothers, Jani last played in Espoo during the 2010-11 season, while Ville and Kotkansalo played for the club two seasons ago. In terms of foreigners, Kiekko-Espoo has recruited defenseman Connor Corcoran and forwards Linus Öberg, Mathias From, and Carter King.

Additionally, the three top scorers from last season continue with the Espoo team. Iikka Kangasniemi, who reached 39 points, Arttu Tuomaala, who scored 34 points, and defenseman Kristian Näkyvä, who scored 32 points, will all be important pieces for Kiekko-Espoo this season as well. Also noteworthy are last season’s captain Matti Järvinen, fan favorite Arvid Aronsson, and the team’s top scorer Miro Keskitalo with a plus/minus of +16.

Kiekko-Espoo’s biggest losses include forward Cameron Hillis and defenseman Kasper Kulonummi. The team also lost quality core players, including Tomi Sallinen, Santeri Virtanen, and Ottoville Leppänen.

Overall, Kiekko-Espoo appears to have a decent group again. There are strong areas such as goaltending and familiar top players. However, there are questions in the air, such as the health status of some players and their adequacy at the league level. This season, Espoo will not play in the playoffs. However, the club will maintain its place in the A-league.

13. Jokerit

Jokerit returns to the league after a 12-year hiatus, and expectations and interest are sky-high. After their years in the KHL, Jokerit played in the Mestis for the last three seasons, winning the league championship relatively easily in the last two springs. Now, media attention and pressure on Jokerit are massive.

Jokerit has invested a lot of money in their return season team. They have acquired star players from other league clubs, especially for their offensive lineup. Among the new additions are Patrick Curry, who won the Finnish championship with KalPa, and SaiPa’s scoring trio Maxime Fortier, Henri Nikkanen, and Antti Kalapudas. As the cherry on top, Jokerit further strengthened their team at the end of the summer with Teemu Turunen, who returned to Finland from Sweden for personal reasons. From this group alone, there are several players with over 50 points, and at best, even 60 points.

Other forward reinforcements for Jokerit include Patrik Virta, Markus Hännikäinen, Emil Kuusla, and Eetu Tuulola. This group also possesses skill, experience in winning, and leadership. Hännikäinen will serve as the captain of Jokerit this coming season. Additionally, Alexander Forslund and Oliver Suni continue with Jokerit, having made a strong impression in the Mestis last season and now getting the chance to showcase their skills in the league.

Jokerit has also made interesting acquisitions for their defense. Perhaps the most intriguing name is American Matt Caito, who had a season with 43 points while playing for KooKoo and was the league’s most effective defenseman. He joined Jokerit from Sweden, as did Norwegian national team defenseman Max Krogdahl and Valtteri Pulli. From neighboring club HIFK, Jokerit acquired Danish Oliver Larsen and champion Olli Juolevi from Tappara. The defense also includes familiar faces from last season, who have already accumulated a lot of league experience, such as Aleksi Elorinne and Oskari Manninen, as well as Riku Tuomola, who has already played two effective Mestis seasons with Jokerit.

Jokerit’s goaltending department raises questions in advance. The team continues with Veini Vehviläinen, who represented the club last season, and new addition Olle Eriksson Ek. Vehviläinen played strongly in the Mestis last season, but his career in the league has been declining in recent years. At his best, he won the Finnish championship and the best goalie award with Kärpät, but he has been inconsistent in the league in recent years, and his statistics have been terrible. Additionally, Eriksson Ek’s appearances have been minimal throughout his career, and he lacks experience in the number one goalie role. In this context, the Helsinki Jokerit in the league’s super season presents an unprecedented challenge for Eriksson Ek.

Another question mark is the coaching. The head coach of Jokerit is Tomek Valtonen, with Juuso Hahl, who was dismissed from Sport, and club legend Waltteri Immonen as his assistants. Valtonen was already the head coach of Jokerit in the Mestis last season, but he is a very unknown card in the league. He did coach Sport for four seasons, but that was eight years ago. In recent years, Valtonen has coached in Slovakia, Italy, Poland, Germany, and Sweden.

From the season opener onwards, Jokerit will be under a particularly large magnifying glass. Every turn will be closely monitored, and speculation and controversies will surely arise. Jokerit has made significant investments, especially in their offensive lineup, but the imbalance in team construction is evident, particularly in the goaltending, and the coaching staff does not inspire confidence. Also, this group lacks shared experiences, as it has mostly been assembled during the summer from players of other teams. We predict that Jokerit will face a challenging return season and that the team will miss the playoffs.

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