Let’s agree, coaching hockey isn’t easy and sometimes the bench bosses are the unsung heroes of a game. They’re honest, they’re demanding, but they’re also encouraging and understanding. Easily the scapegoats of a game gone wrong, and seldom praised for what a club’s done right. But at the end of the day, every Head Coach wants to see his team succeed just as much as the fans do, if not more. Ahead of the Quarter-Finals, we’ve spoken to coaches as they share their thoughts on their upcoming matchups and what their club needs to do to see the Semi-Finals.
Jussi Tapola, Tappara Tampere
Jussi Tapola has been involved with Tappara Tampere for eight of the past nine seasons. Tapola joined Tappara during the 2012/13 season as an assistant coach and after brief stints in other roles and other leagues, returned to man Tappara’s bench once again during the 2020/21 season.
With his club making it past the Round of 16 for the first time in their CHL career, Tapola recognised the work the players put in so far but was candid about what to expect from their upcoming opponents, the Rouen Dragons.
“I expect tough Playoff games against Rouen and small margins in both games. I watched their games against Red Bull Salzburg and I think Rouen deserved to go through.” He went on to applaud Rouen’s collective effort saying, “They played very well as team and their team spirit is now very high.”
If Tappara are to overcome this next obstacle on their way to the CHL Final, Tapola believes that, “We have to find a way to score against their excellent goalie and defend their counter attacks with speed and positioning.”
Nothing comes easy in this league, and Tapola will be the first to admit that: “It is going to be a hard battle to get through to the top four”
Don Jackson, Red Bull Munich
Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Red Bull Munich’s Head Coach, Don Jackson, has a pretty extensive resume when it comes to coaching. Jackson played 15 seasons of professional hockey, featuring in the NHL, before beginning his coaching career as an assistant back in 1988. Jackson relocated from North America to Germany in 2004 and has been coaching in Europe ever since, spending most of his time in the DEL.
With all this time and experience in the European hockey scene, there aren’t many teams who Jackson hasn’t come across. In fact, their Quarter-Final challenger, Lukko Rauma, are quite familiar to him.
“We remember our series against Lukko Rauma a couple of years ago when they beat us. They were young, hungry and organized.”
But their battle on the ice notwithstanding, Jackson is also aware of the battle going on around the world as the pandemic continues to have its impact on everyday life.
“Every team is being threatened during the pandemic, so luck can come into play as well.”
Nevertheless, Jackson prefers to take a more pragmatic approach towards the future, saying, “We have to focus one game, one day at a time to be sure our work and habits are top-notch until we meet Lukko.”
Jackson’s plan to come away with a win against Lukko is pretty cut-and-dry: “We will need to neutralize Lukko’s speed and play smart.”
Marko Virtanen, Lukko Rauma
After spending one season with Lukko’s U20 squad, Marko Virtanen was named the club’s Head Coach for the 2021/22 season. In his short time with the club, Virtanen has helped propel Lukko to their second Quarter-Finals appearance in the CHL. Fortunately, this isn’t unfamiliar territory for the Finn as he’s also coached clubs like TPS Turku and JYP Jyväskylä, the latter of which he led to the Final in 2017/18.
Consequently, there isn’t much that can or will surprise Virtanen come their matchup with Munich, as he says, “We are looking forward to our games against Munich and expect tight games.”
Furthermore, he’s well aware that, “Red Bull Munich are a very skilled team,” and so Lukko will, “have to be careful with the puck and have a good balance between offence and defence” if they’re to have any hopes of making it to the Semi-Finals.
Björn Hellkvist, Leksands IF
Born in Malmö, Björn Hellkvist has seen time with Swedish clubs in varying capacities for the past 17 years of his 18-year-coaching career. The only time he’s left Sweden was when he was brought on to coach Danish side Rungsted Seier Capital for one season back in 2016. But that was all and he was back on home soil a year later as Head Coach of IK Oskarshamn. Three years later, he moved to his current post as coach of Leksands IF and in his two-year stretch with the club has managed to do some incredible things, one of which was help Leksand qualify for the CHL for the first time.
Qualifying for the CHL is one thing, but making it to the Quarter-Finals is an achievement that would make any coach proud and this opportunity is not lost on Hellkvist as he notes, “First of all, it’s so much fun to be competing in the Quarter-Fiinals. As I look at it, it’s now two teams between us and the Final.”
Regarding the first team, fellow Swedish side Frölunda Gothenburg, Hellkvist needs no introduction to them, saying, “Frölunda is a team that we know well from the national league, and we have a good record against them throughout the years.”
Having played against them already, the Head Coach is familiar with Frölunda’s playstyle: “They’re playing with a lot of speed and skill,” and goes on to identify how each club pushes the other whenever they line up in the faceoff dot, saying, “normally when we play against Frölunda both teams really force each other to bring their best performance into the game."
While it won’t be a walk in the park considering Frölunda’s play of late, Hellkvist believes that, “through good goalkeeping, good special teams and a solid defence we will advance to the Semi-Finals.”
Cam Abbott, Rögle Ängelholm
"We have been watching some games which have given us a good understanding of how Sparta might want to play and what it is that makes them a good team. They play a fairly physical game and are skilled with their sticks. They control the ice well as a team so there won’t be much space for us to work with," said the Head Coach.
Adding: "We have to stick to what we’re good at, which is to be heavy and difficult to play against. We’re going to play with pace and create a lot of offensive zone time."