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In Finnish ice hockey, a historic season begins, where the champion of Mesti can advance to the SM league.
Five Mestis clubs consider claiming a league place possible: Jokerit, Tuto, JoKP, IPK and Roki.
Four clubs do not consider promotion realistic in the current situation.
The league qualifiers are played even if the winner of Mestis does not have the opportunity to advance to the SM league.
In Finnish a historic season is underway in ice hockey, the climax of which may turn out to be tastier than expected.
Next spring, the champion of Mestis and the loser of the playout series between the last two teams in the SM league will play in the league qualifiers. The last time the Mestis club tried to rise in the rink was in 2013.
The winner of the qualifiers rises to the highest league level and the loser drops to Mestis – at least in an ideal situation.
Shortly after the return of the league qualifiers was reported last fall, it became clear that some of the Mestis clubs do not have a real chance to advance to the SM league.
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We need to quintuple our turnover. It’s hard to turn it around in a year, but we’ll think about it if we play that far in the spring.
Now, a round of calls to Mestis clubs revealed that in five out of ten clubs, claiming a place in the SM league next season is considered possible if the club wins the league qualifiers. They are Jokerit, Tuto, JoKP, IPK and Roki.
The last three clubs on the list can be considered the most surprising. Jokerit has already said before that they are aiming for promotion for next season, Tuto instead applied for a league license already for this season.
The clubs were only asked about the chances of promotion in the assumed case that the league qualifiers had already been won. The survey did not ask to evaluate the athletic opportunities for promotion.
The only club that did not directly take a position on their chances of meeting the conditions for playing in the SM league next season was Kokkola’s Hermes.
Teams looking for promotion to next season
IPK, chairman Mika Salonen:
“Of course we want to aim for a league place. The goal now is first the Mestis championship, but if we get promoted to the league, we won’t miss the opportunity.”
Jokerit, CEO Mikko Saarni:
“We have stated that our goal is to win Mestis and play at the Finnish premier league level next season.”
JoKP, manager Jaakko Lipponen:
“We are getting a new SM league-level hall in December, so of course we have the conditions to move up to the SM league. Our official goal is to go up within 2–4 years, but if the place were to become available next spring, the situation should be reviewed. Kiekko-Pojat never says no.”
Roki, CEO Janne Hyvärinen:
“If we have claimed a league place by playing in the spring, then of course we have to aim for it then as well. We need to quintuple our turnover. It’s hard to turn it around in a year, but we’ll think about it later if we play that far in the spring.”
Tuto, chairman of the board Tuomas Haanpää:
“I see that we have a good chance of meeting the conditions required by the rise. Most recently, our application was caught up in the design aspects, which of course you can also look in the mirror yourself.”
Mestizo the reigning champion IPK’s home arena, Kankaa ice hall, can accommodate around 1,300 spectators, which is not enough in the SM league. Chairman of the club Mika Salonen believes that the club still has the potential to fulfill the conditions of the league license.
“Of course, it depends to a large extent on the licensing committee, but according to the information I have received, there is a two-year transition period to meet the required conditions.”
Jokerit is aiming for a league promotion, but even for Mesti’s most famous club, the league license does not come easily.
“The conditions of the license are by no means easy yet, although they made some sense last winter. We’ll look at them then, if it’s relevant,” says Jokerie’s CEO Mikko Saarni.
The Jokers (white shirts) and IPK were among the top teams in Mestis’ regular season last season. IPK eventually won the championship, but the Joker’s season ended disappointingly in the quarterfinals.
CEO of Rovaniemi Kiekko Janne Hyvärinen says that in the club’s five-year strategy, the possibility of promotion to the league has been taken into account.
According to him, the club knows the necessary financial figures that are required to get into the league. That was helped by Kiekko-Espoo’s rise for this season.
“We need to increase our turnover fivefold. It’s hard to turn it around in a year, but we’ll think about it if we play that far in the spring. If we made it to the league qualifiers, the spring box office alone would make a lot of money.”
Last season, Tuto did not meet the license conditions when applying for a place in the SM league for this season. Lessons have been learned from the incident, says the chairman of the board of the club Tuomas Haanpää.
“Ultimately, our application got caught up in the design aspects, which of course you can also look in the mirror yourself. Things have to be handled in a different way than until now,” says Haanpää.
He mentions, for example, strengthening the club’s equity.
With these prospects, there is no chance to play in the SM league next year
Hokki, chairman Olli-Pekka Hyyryläinen:
“Promotion to next season is not a realistic goal in such a short time. That would be a pretty big bounce, and our economic area is small.”
Agile, CEO Carlo Grünn:
“The facilities are struggling because our hall only holds 1,300 people. Acquiring the money would be a lot of hard work, because the league license alone costs 2.2 million euros, on top of which you would need a few million euros more to be able to operate in the SM league.”
Keupa, CEO Jussi Tupamäki:
“We are not able to play at a higher level than Mest in our hall. The club’s structures are not in such a condition that the rise would be financially possible or profitable.”
Kiekko-Vantaa, chairman of the board Anssi Aura:
“Our hall is not at a sufficient level in terms of conditions. And even if there were no defined conditions for the hall’s criteria to obtain a license, there is no economically reasonable equation for moving up to the league.”
No direct position
Hermes, chairman Jussi Torkinlampi:
“If we were to rise next spring, it might come a little too quickly, but we will think about it if it starts to look like that. Maybe we need a little more time than one season, but you should never say no until you explore.”
Four Mesti’s club promotion should not be a realistic goal right before the start of the season. Many people’s dreams of promotion are already dashed by the fact that the current hall is not enough for the SM league.
“If we get a new ice rink for Imatra, then we could start aiming for growth,” says the CEO of Imatra Ketterä Carlo Grünn.
Chairman of the board of Kiekko-Vantaa Ansi Aura says the club’s goal is to move up to the league at the end of this decade. However, the next season will come too soon.
“Our hall conditions are not at a sufficient level. Even if there were no defined conditions for the hall’s criteria in order to get a license, there is no economically reasonable equation for moving up to the league.”
If The mestizo would be won by a club that already knows in advance that promotion to the SM league is not possible, the league qualifiers would still be played as planned. The matter is confirmed by the sports director of the league Jussi Markkanen.
“The deadline for the league’s license application closes in the fall. However, there is a back door: if the qualifiers are won by a team that has not applied for a license or whose application had flaws, the matter can be re-examined in the spring after the qualifiers.”
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Our hall conditions are not at a sufficient level. Even if there were no defined conditions for the hall’s criteria in order to get a license, there is no economically reasonable equation for moving up to the league.
So in the spring, the league qualifiers might be played with insignificant games if Mestis is won by a club that practically has no chance of receiving a league place.
The clubs praise the fact that the qualifiers are played anyway.
“It would develop our players if we made it to the league qualifiers. Financially, it would also be a good additional bonus,” says Ketterä CEO Grünn.
“It’s really good that the champion of Mestis gets to play in the qualifiers. It allows you to measure your own level and see the difference to the level of the league,” says Hoki chairman Hyyryläinen.
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