Champions Hockey League newcomers Jukurit Mikkeli had a sensational 2021/22 regular season in Finland's Liiga. They were one of three clubs that dominated the league, the others being fellow CHL clubs Tappara Tampere and Ilves Tampere, and battled for the top position until the very end.
The beginning of the season wasn’t the easiest for the club from Mikkeli. They assigned former NHL star Olli Jokinen as their new Head Coach in the hope of revitalising their team. While Jokinen has his own legacy as a national hero (and featured on the CHL's TikTok), some showed skepticism towards the move as the regular season kicked in due to his lack of coaching experience. However, Jukurit ended up proving everybody wrong thanks to their bold attitude on the ice and superb individual performances.
Jukurit won the Suomi-sarja championship in the first season and were immediately promoted to Mestis, Finland's second tier. Their triumph continued as Jukurit took three championships in Mestis in their first three seasons in the league. All in all, Jukurit won the Mestis championship seven times between 2001 and 2016 – proving the organisation understands what it takes to win games year in, year out.
As Liiga, the top level of Finnish hockey, is closed these days, it’s impossible for clubs from lower levels to be promoted or for the least competitive ones to be relegated. In the past, Jukurit had their chance to make it to Liiga through qualifier games. In the 2012/13 season, Jukurit were given the chance to earn a place in the league but Ilves managed to maintain their position by winning the best of seven series 4–1. Still, Jukurit were able to show that they could make big things happen when given the opportunity.
Jukurit eventually made it to Liiga after the Espoo Blues went bankrupt during the 2015/16 season.
However, Jukurit’s fortune changed once they were promoted to Liiga. Whereas once they were on the winning side of things in Mestis, now in this new, more challenging league, Jukurit were finding winning a bit more difficult. They failed to make the playoffs in their five first seasons and, in fact, they didn’t even reach the top ten once in that time span. Surprisingly, Jukurit barely managed to gain over a point per game in a few seasons. Nevertheless, all of this was just an epilogue for the events that we witnessed last season.
As mentioned in the beginning, Finnish ice hockey legend Olli Jokinen was brought in as Head Coach. Armed with only some junior hockey coaching experience in North America, Jokinen’s hire was openly mocked by the Finnish media as well as hockey enthusiasts. Jokinen, for his part, presented a calm and determined attitude towards his critics from the beginning. For, in reality, the former NHLer had a plan on how to manage the players in the team.
He treated his team with respect and behaved in a kind of brotherly manner. He was invested in his players on both a professional and personal level and openly shared his personality, his strengths and his weaknesses – this was something that hadn’t been seen in Finnish hockey on this scale. This good atmosphere and supportive environment certainly contributed to Jukurit’s success and what they were able to accomplish.
Even though Jukurit lost their quarter-finals series against KooKoo, another team that surprised everybody, the Mikkeli-based club were able to carve out a name for themselves amongst an elite group of Liiga organisations.
With Jokinen staying on as Head Coach, it could be said that the team have what it takes to go on another medal hunt next season. This time, though, it won’t come as such a surprise.
Jukurit haven't been seen on the international stage yet, so those who go against them during their CHL debut should be prepared. After all, if anyone knows what it’s like to be a part of the upper echelons of hockey, it’s their Head Coach.