News book | Alpo Suhonen is rooting for his dismissal from the Jokers years ago – Harry Harkimo’s proposal did not please him

Jokers sailed as the flagship of Finnish ice hockey in 1993. Russian coach Boris Majorov had piloted the “jelly shirts” to the championship in the spring of 1992, but was fired the following year. The new coach is the club boss Harry Harkimo hired in North America with experience Alpo Suhonen.

Suhonen says in a recent biography Alpo (Into Kustannus) that Harkimo ended up hiring him Teemu Selänten of the recommendation. Suhonen had worked in Winnipeg’s coaching team while Selänte was playing there.

Suhonen did not know Harkimo, and there were surprises in store. Risto Pakarinen in the work he wrote, it is said that the Jokers were a “one-man band”, which did not suit Suhonen, who was not fired up by Harkimo’s marketing efforts.

“I attended a meeting of a large company, but I couldn’t watch Harkimo’s sales pitch from the side. I said after the meeting that I wouldn’t go along anymore”, recalls Suhonen.

Harkimo had suggested to the coach that his workstation be moved from the ice rink to the Joker’s office. Suhonen did not warm to the idea.

“I said that I am a coach and that if Hjallis wants to talk”, he can find me in the hall.

The team’s success was not according to the wishes of the club management. In November, Jokerit fought for a place on the right side of the playoff line. This made Harkimo and the club part of the background forces Kalervo Kummola to react. Suhonen was fired, and replaced Hannu Aravirta.

Kummola had objected to hiring Suhonen from the beginning, but according to him, Harkimo made the decision to fire him. “Hjallis” recently said that it wasn’t about whether Suhonen is a good or bad coach.

“This bubble just had to be burst sooner or later,” Harkimo said in 1993.

Alpo Suhonen’s stint as coach of Jokeri was short-lived in the fall of 1993. Picture: Sverker Ström / Magazine photo

The book according to the team had nothing bad to say about Suhose. Pakarinen lends Juha Lindin and Walter Immonen recent comments on the matter. Immonen, who was the captain, says that he only realized Suhonen’s gift as a coach later.

“It was part of his philosophy that it is not his job to fire up the team, but it is the captaincy and players’ job. I took it as my own personal responsibility, which took me a lot further in the future,” Immonen has said Jokersin the document.