Kekalainen Faces New Challenge
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The following article featuring former Clarkson standout Jarmo Kekalainen appeared July 14 on the National Hockey League (NHL) Web site.
By Bill Meltzer
NHL.com Correspondent
Much has changed in Finnish hockey in the 12 seasons since Jarmo Kekalainen assembled a championship team as the general manager of HIFK Helsinki. In the ensuring years, the economics of Finnish hockey have changed, and even the highest-profile SM-Liiga teams such as Jokerit Helsinki, HIFK and Karpat Oulu have de-emphasized high-profile imports and European league veteran players in favor of cheaper, almost exclusively Finnish talent.
In the meantime, Kekalainen carved a reputation for having one of the hockey world's sharpest eyes for talent during an eight-year stint as the director of amateur scouting and assistant general manager of the St. Louis Blues. The 44-year-old Kekalainen, who recently stepped down from his post in St. Louis to accept the general manager position with Jokerit Helsinki, will have to call on those skills to improve the fortunes of a Jokerit club that finished 10th last season and has failed to advance behind the quarterfinals in the last two playoffs.
No one is more aware than Kekalainen that a different approach to success will be necessary if Jokerit is return to its former status as one of the top teams in Europe. It no longer is feasible to follow the same blueprint Jokerit and HIFK used to win titles in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. The title-winning 1997-98 HIFK squad largely was comprised of imported North American and veteran European talent, as well as top-end young Finnish players recruited away from smaller-market clubs, especially KalPa Kuopio.
Complete article can be accessed via the NHL Web site by clicking here.
