The Kärpät champion was supposed to be the top acquisition – had to step aside for someone familiar from the Jokers.

The Finnish reinforcement for the French top league team Chamonix, Taneli Ronkainen, will not continue with the team. The defender, who won the Liiga championship with Kärpät in 2018 and has played around 300 Liiga matches in his career, did not manage to convince the club during the preseason.

The 31-year-old Ronkainen was brought to Chamonix as an experienced top defender, but the collaboration ended just days before the start of the season.

– After weeks of preparation, the defender did not convince the club management, even though he has plenty of experience at the highest level, having played eight seasons and 300 games in the SM-Liiga, and for that reason, he leaves Chamonix before the last preseason match, Chamonix reports on the background of the contract termination.

Ronkainen played last season at UTE in Hungary. In the Liiga, he has also been seen with Pelicans, SaiPa, and TPS. He also has international experience from Olimpija Ljubljana and GKS Jastrzebie.

Jeskanen, familiar from Jokerit, fills the gap

Chamonix reacted quickly to the situation and acquired Valtteri Jeskanen to replace Ronkainen. The 25-year-old defender played last season with Esbjerg Energy in Denmark.

Jeskanen is a product of HPK and has played 70 Liiga matches in his career with HPK and SaiPa. He played with Jokerit from 2023 to 2025.

There is also shared history with Chamonix’s Jaakko Heikkinen and Ville Vainikainen from Jokerit. Additionally, Jeskanen briefly played under the current Chamonix coach Santeri Immonen at SaiPa.

Chamonix describes Jeskanen primarily as a reliable and defensive player. His task is to bring stability to the team’s defense.