Perspective: A big farce is brewing in Mestiksen - a bold solution shattered League dreams

The ongoing Mestis season was initially expected to resemble a dentist’s waiting room as everyone awaited Jokerit’s Sunday stroll to the championship and the subsequent return to the Liiga.

However, the atmosphere of the mid-season was disrupted by Joensuu’s Kiekko-Pojat. As the Liiga’s “super season” next fall opened the door for another potential promotion alongside Jokerit, a megaphone and shock notebook were pulled out in Joensuu.

The pursuit of promotion was taken seriously. Loudly and boldly.

And why not? The early season at the wilderness border went smoothly. Kiekko-Pojat glided towards the heart of winter near the top of the standings and right behind Jokerit, winning games, collecting points, and it seemed that a finals spot – the minimum requirement for licensing dreams – was entirely realistic.

Then, a decision was made in the club’s leadership – albeit understandably given the situation – to head into the transfer market with an open wallet in mind for the spring arms race.

“We will rise too”

In Joensuu, an opportunity was sensed for the long-fancied Liiga dream to materialize, and they went all in after a long Mestis wilderness trek. The club’s management approved a decision to pursue promotion with numerous high-profile signings at the Mestis level.

They caught league champion Roni Sevänen, a goaltender who had also knocked on the NHL’s door Kasimir Kaskisuo, Santeri Hartikainen acquired from HIFK, and foreign aids Denis Kusy, Viktors Kurbaks, and Jake Smith.

On paper, the list of reinforcements sounds like the Real Madrid of the Mestis level. However, it now seems that the strategy will turn out to be an expensive lesson that chemistry doesn’t just emerge from staring at Elite Prospects statistics.

Giant Fiasco

When the imports arrived, something happened that was certainly not ordered in Joensuu. The team is currently mired in an 11-game losing streak. The last victory was celebrated in the Kiekko-Pojat locker room on January 22.

The most telling statistic is that before Kaskisuo arrived in goal, the team had collected 16 wins and 6 losses. Included were two five-game winning streaks.

Kaskisuo’s era statistics are chilling: three wins. 21 losses.

As the ship began to tilt significantly, Joensuu pulled one more ace from the sleeve. Experienced Risto Dufva was hired as an assistant coach – the man who was supposed to bring the Midas touch with him to the wilderness border. So far, that touch has resembled more of Murphy’s Law: since Dufva’s arrival, the team has lost all seven of its games.

The irony in the Joensuu suffering drama is that they dreamed of facing Jokerit only in the finals. In a grand promotion showcase.

However, it currently seems that the “invincible” Jokerit will meet them already in the quarter-finals.

Joensuu ordered a super season for next fall in the bright lights of the Liiga. However, the result seems to be just an expensive lesson that success in the Mestis cannot be achieved merely by staring at Excel statistics.