Tough takeover: The Lions’ gold goalkeeper returns to the League!
Olympic gold and two world championships with the Lions winning Jussi Olkinuora is making a return to the Liiga. Pelicans announced on Saturday that they have signed a one-year contract with the 35-year-old goalkeeper.
This is a significant reinforcement for the Lahti club’s goaltending department.
Olkinuora returns to Lahti after spending two seasons in Germany. The experienced goalie was last seen in the Pelicans’ net during the 2023–24 season, after which he moved to the DEL league. In the recently concluded season, Olkinuora played 25 games for Dresdner Eislöwen.
Pelicans’ sports director Jarkko Oikarinen believes the experienced goalkeeper will bring much more to the team than just saves.
– Jussi brings us a tremendous amount of experience, quality, and calmness to the goal. He has won significant achievements at the international level in his career and knows what it takes to succeed every day.
– We believe that his professionalism and competitiveness will further strengthen our already strong goaltending department and raise the overall standards of the team, Oikarinen commented in the club’s press release.
Olkinuora is among the most successful Finnish goalkeepers in recent years. He was part of the team that won Olympic gold for the Lions in Beijing 2022 and world championships in 2019 and 2022.
In the Liiga, the experienced goalie has represented Pelicans as well as JYP and SaiPa. Abroad, the goalkeeper has played in the AHL, KHL, Switzerland’s top league, and most recently in Germany’s DEL league.
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