Hockey Ilves, the puck league’s audience magnet, won more than two million euros – Defender Jokipakka returns from his breeders’ club from KHL

Hockey Ilves-Hockey Oy, the backing company of Tampere’s Ilves, which plays in the league, said on Thursday that it had made a profit of as much as EUR 2.4 million in its last financial year. The financial year ended at the end of April.

In the middle of last season, Ilves moved to play from the Hakametsä ice rink to the Nokia arena.

“This made it possible to offer a better experience product to viewers as well as to develop the quantity and quality of corporate products. The last matches of Hakametsä Ice Rink were also of interest to the audience. These factors brought the company cash flow in an exceptional way than before, ”the press release states.

Ilves says in its press release that corporate customer sales increased by 30 percent and supporter product sales by 50 percent compared to the previous period, which was played in the worst phase of the corona pandemic.

Due to the corona pandemic and the change of home arena, Ilves says that he has followed the precautionary principle in terms of costs. According to the club, the financial result was supported by NHL compensation of EUR 827,000 and a closing fee of just over EUR 650,000 granted by the State Treasury, which Ilves received after playing four of his matches in empty stands during the season.

The lynx’s audience last season totaled 247,994 spectators.

Lynx said under midsummer also on new player contracts. As the most famous player, a 30-year-old defender will join the team Jyrki Jokipakka with a one-year contract.

Jokipakka last played in Ilves in the 2012–13 season. Since then, he has played four seasons in North America and five in KHL. Jokipakka was part of the Lions team in the 2016 Ice Hockey World Cup.

Last season, Jokipakka played 31 matches in KHL in Sibir Novosibirsk, where he scored 14 power points.

“It’s really great that one of the most successful and one of the most successful Ilves puppies in recent years will be seen in the company again in the middle of their best years,” said Ilves’ sports director. Timo Koskela in the bulletin.

In addition to Jokipakka, a defender is coming to Ilves as a new player Kevin Czuczman and the attacker Eetu Tuulola, whose contracts cover next season. The contract for the next season was made by the defender Dominik Mašín. In addition to the attacker Joonas Odenin the contract was extended for one year until 2023–24, and the league contract was also awarded to the striker Emil Järventiewhich is bookable for the NHL in a year.