Liiga week's tops and flops: Jonne Virtanen has given Olli Jokinen a run for his money

Last week in the Liiga, many significant events were witnessed. Jokerit and HIFK faced off in the city derby, and KooKoo, which changed its head coach, managed to grab its first victory of the season.

This time, the tops and flops of the Liiga week focus on head coaches. Three of them will receive roses, and one will get thorns.

Tops

1. Jonne Virtanen has been the king of head coaches since the start of the season. The Jukurit game is not always beautiful to watch, but Virtanen gets strong results out of his limited material night after night. Defenders Andrej Sustr and Alex Lintuniemi, who have seen a lot of the hockey world, have blossomed under Virtanen’s coaching. “Monni” also earns points for not making excuses even on the worst nights.

2. The head coach of Porin Ässät, Jarno Pikkarainen, also deserves a praise song. Although the team has several critical injuries, Pikkarainen has not hidden behind them but has gotten the most out of the players who are healthy. If the injury list clears up and a strong defensive reinforcement might be on the way to Pori, Ässät could seriously compete for medals in the spring.

3. Juuso Hahl has made a lot of good progress as the head coach of Jokerit in a short time. Jokerit looks like a completely new team. The opening play makes sense, the defensive work has found structure, and the goalies are catching the puck better now that they no longer have to fear their own defense’s mistakes. Additionally, Hahl has appeared confidently and firmly in front of the media, which is what is expected from the head coach of Jokerit. There is still plenty of room for improvement. With this play, Jokerit is unlikely to reach the playoffs, but the team should be able to avoid relegation.

Juuso Hahl moved from assistant coach to head coach of Jokerit during the season. Photo: All Over Press

Flops

1. Olli Jokinen is a former jonnevirtanen of the Liiga, who gets everything possible out of his limited material and who, with his personality and psychological insight, is a resource for his team. In the local battle of the city, Jokinen appeared almost phlegmatic on the bench. HIFK did not show the fighting spirit desired by the head coach, but the head coach could have also tried to bring it out. The evening was capped off by unusual behavior at the Liiga press conference.

2. There is a lot of good in TPS’s game, but also one major problem: the lower lines are not producing. And it is not that there isn’t skill outside the top line. For example, Joona Ikonen is a true talent and has made a significant impact in his career at Ilves, but now his game is in a serious knot. In 11 matches, he has accumulated stats of 0+3. And Ikonen is certainly not the only underperformer. Better performance is also expected from Sisu Yliniemi (1+0) and Aatos Koivula (1+1). If TPS can get production from players outside the top line, the Turku team’s league position will rise sharply.

3. One player who has fallen seriously off track is HPK’s winger Joonas Oden. In 12 matches, last season’s silver medalist has scored only one goal. His role has also been constantly diminishing. Against KooKoo, Oden played on the fourth line and logged just over 11 minutes of ice time. His stats were two steps into the negative for the match. It remains to be seen if a playing position will gradually be sought for Oden elsewhere. It would not be the first time that the agile winger moves to new surroundings after a difficult start to the season.

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League | 26.10.2026 18:43