Jukka Jalonen
Jukka Jalonen (born November 2, 1962 in Riihimäki, Finland) is a Finnish professional ice hockey coach and former player. In 2011 and 2019, he led the Finnish national team to the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship, and at the 2022 Winter Olympics, he coached the team that won Finland's first ever Olympic gold in ice hockey. He was the head coach of Jokerit in the Kontinental Hockey League during 2016–18 before returning to coach the Finnish national team. Playing career. During his playing career, Jalonen appeared in two SM-liiga games for JyP HT in  the 1985–86 season. He also played for JYP, Jääahmat and Lohi in lower divisions. Coaching career. Jalonen started his coaching career with SM-Liiga sides, managing Ilves from 1992 to 1995, and Lukko during the 1996–97 season. Afterwards, he took over Mestis side Vaasan Sport for the 1997–98 season. After a one-year stint with Sport, Jalonen spent three seasons abroad. First, he coached HC Alleghe in Italy and then two seasons in the United Kingdom, with the Newcastle RiverKings and Newcastle Jesters in the British Ice Hockey Superleague, respectively. For the 2001–02 season, Jalonen returned to Finland and signed  with HPK. He went on to spend six seasons with HPK, and led the team to remarkable success with placing third in the SM-liiga in 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2004–05. His era in Hämeenlinna reached a climax in 2005–06, when he led HPK to win the first Kanada-malja in the franchise history. The same year, he was awarded with the Kalevi Numminen trophy for being the best coach in the league. In his last season with HPK in 2006–07, Jalonen added yet another SM-liiga bronze medal to his record. After his years in HPK, Jalonen started coaching the  Finnish national team, first in the role of an assistant coach under Doug Shedden in 2007–08, and then as the head coach from 2008–09 onward. In 2010, Jalonen's team won the Olympic bronze medal in Vancouver, and in 2011 he coached the Finnish national team to the country's second World Championship title. In the final game, Finland defeated arch rivals Sweden with a score 6–1. While Jalonen remained as the head coach of the national team until the end of 2012–13 season, the national team failed to win additional medals under his tenure. During the 2012–13 season Jalonen  signed with KHL side SKA St Petersburg, replacing Miloš Říha during the season. He went on to lead the team to conference finals in the Gagarin Cup. He stayed with SKA the following season, 2013–14, but the team's run ended in a loss in conference semi-finals. For the 2016 World Juniors that were organised in Finland, Jalonen was hired to coach the Finnish U20 team. He successfully led the Finnish team to a World Junior Championship title on home ice, beating Russia with a score 4–3 (OT) in the final at the Hartwall Arena. In the 2016–17 season , Jalonen returned to the KHL with the Jokerit. Jokerit made the playoffs but were knocked out in the first round of the Gagarin Cup. In 2017, Jalonen was re-elected to the Finnish national team as head coach, replacing Lauri Marjamäki after the 2018 World Championship. The contract originally covered the seasons 2018–20, and was later extended by another two years to include the 2021–22 season. After his successful performances, which included gold medals at the 2019 IIHF World Championship and 2022 Winter Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, Jalonen extended his contract to 2024 . Coaching awards and honors. As head coach: As assistant coach: