MINSK – The Belarusian Ice Hockey Association has announced on Tuesday the hiring of Kari Heikkilä as the new head coach for the men’s national team. The Finn signed a three-year contract.
Heikkilä will lead the team through the next three IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships including the 2014 Worlds on home ice in Minsk, and will also attempt to qualify to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Belarus, currently ranked 11th in the IIHF World Ranking, will need to improve to ninth place within less than a year in order to receive an automatic bye to Sochi 2014 or to advance through a qualification tournament in 2013.
The 51-year-old played in Finland’s top league before turning to coaching in 1994 with Swedish minor league teams (Sundsvall, Boden). Later he was coaching HPK Hämeenlinna, Vaasan Sport, Kärpät Oulu and the Espoo Blues in Finland. In 2004 he led Kärpät to the Finnish championship, and he received the Kalevi Numminen Trophy for the Coach of the Year.
After winning the league Heikkilä left for Russia. He was coaching Lokomotiv Yaroslavl during four years in two separate stints, winning two silver medals (2008, 2009) and one bronze medal (2005).
Last season Heikkilä was behind the bench of Metallurg Magnitogorsk and led the team to the semi-finals before losing in seven games to eventual KHL champion Salavat Yulayev Ufa.
“We are pleased that the national team will be led by a specialist that has so much authority,” said Yevgeni Vorsin, the President of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association.
Heikkilä follows after two years with Belarusian coach Eduard Zankovets, who resigned after a disappointing 14th-place finish at the 2011 Worlds in Slovakia that caused a stir back home.
Before Zankovets, Belarus was already putting trust in foreign coaches between 2005 and 2009. Glen Hanlon led the team to the quarter-finals twice in his three years, and Curt Fraser was coaching the team in 2007 and 2008.
At the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland and Sweden, May 4-20, the Belarusians will play their preliminary-round games in Helsinki against Finland, Canada, USA, Switzerland, Slovakia, France and Kazakhstan.
MARTIN MERK |
