Alpo Suhonen

Last updated

Alpo Suhonen
Suhonen Alpo Assat 2008.jpg
Suhonen in 2008
Born (1948-06-17) 17 June 1948 (age 76)
Valkeakoski, Finland
Coached for Zürcher SC (1986–1988)
HPK (1988-1989)
Moncton Hawks (1989-1990)
Jokerit (1993-1994)
EHC Kloten (1994-1996)
Chicago Wolves (1997; interim)
Chicago Blackhawks (2000-2001)
HIFK (2002-2003)
SC Bern (2004-2006)
Ässät (2007-2009)
HC 05 Banska Bystrica (2011-2012)
Coaching career 1970–2017

Alpo Suhonen (born 17 June 1948) is a Finnish former ice hockey coach.

Contents

He and Ivan Hlinka of the Pittsburgh Penguins were the first European-born NHL head coaches in 52 years.

Coaching career

Suhonen worked for the Finnish ice hockey federation in the late 1970s until 1986. He coached the junior national teams and took charge of the men's national team in 1982. He was head coach of Team Finland at the 1984 Olympic Games and at four World Championships.

After coaching Zürcher SC of Switzerland for two years (1986–1988) and a short stint at the helm of Finnish Liiga side HPK, he served as head coach of AHL's Moncton Hawks in 1989 [1] and then joined the coaching staff of the Winnipeg Jets, working as an assistant. [2]

In 1993–94, Suhonen coached Jokerit [3] to the Finnish championship [4] and then embarked on a two-year stint with EHC Kloten. He guided the team to back-to-back Swiss championships in 1995 and 1996.

In March 1997, he was named head coach of IHL's Chicago Wolves on an interim basis, but did not return for the following season, [5] instead, returning to Finland to coach HPK again.

He would return to North America in 1998 as an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Suhonen was appointed head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks in May 2000 [6] and was the first European born head coach in the National Hockey League since Johnny Gottselig in 1948. Suhonen lasted less than a year as head coach of the Hawks, as he resigned next spring because of heart problems. [7] There was frequent criticism to Suhonen's coaching citing lack of discipline and a country club atmosphere among the players. [8]

Suhonen returned to Finland and served as head coach of Liiga outfit HIFK from January 2002 until the end of the 2002–03 campaign. In November 2004, he took over head coaching duties at SC Bern of the Swiss National League A (NLA). [9] He coached the team to a NLA semifinal appearance in the 2004–05 season and to the quarterfinals the following season. He was released afterwards. [10]

Suhonen took the head coaching job at Finnish Ässät on 14 November 2007 and remained in that job until July 2009. Later that month, he was appointed as sport director of the Kloten Flyers in Switzerland. [11] He stepped down in August 2010 for personal reasons. [12]

In the 2011–2012 season, he had a short stint as head coach of Slovak Extraliga club HC 05 Banska Bystrica. [13] On the first day of November, he resigned as head coach, but he remains in the structures of the club.

In June 2012, Suhonen accepted the position as sport director of the Austrian ice hockey federation. [14] In May 2016, he additionally took over the country's men's national team as head coach. [15] Suhonen left the Austrian federation when his contract expired in 2017. [16]

Other activities

Suhonen also produced a Finnish version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and ran for a spot in the European Parliament. At the time he was also the CEO of music festival Pori Jazz, and he has also written several books in Finnish.

Coaching record

TeamYearRegular seasonPostseason
GWLTOTLPtsFinishResult
CHI 2000–01 82294184704th in Central Missed playoffs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommi Santala</span> Finnish professional ice hockey player (born 1979)

Tommi Santala is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for HIFK of the Liiga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ville Peltonen</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Ville Sakari Peltonen is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey forward. Peltonen was drafted by the San Jose Sharks as their third round pick, 58th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. During his professional career, he has played 382 NHL games for Sharks, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers. Internationally, he represented the Finland men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marko Kiprusoff</span> Ice hockey player

Marko Kristian Kiprusoff is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently an assistant junior coach in Finnish hockey club TPS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Vandermeer</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1980)

James Patrick Vandermeer is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Vandermeer previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers and the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lasse Kukkonen</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Lasse Juhani Kukkonen is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga. Earlier in his career, he had a four-year stint in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. After his career in ice hockey, Kukkonen is working as a lecturer and trainer specialising in mental coaching and leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EHC Kloten</span> Ice hockey team in Kloten, Switzerland

EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 years. EHC Kloten won four consecutive Swiss championships from 1993 to 1996. They had never been relegated until the 2017–18 season. They returned to the NL following the 2021-22 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niko Hovinen</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Niko Hovinen is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing for HIFK of The SM-Liiga in Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toni Söderholm</span> Finnish ice hockey player and coach

Toni Kristian Söderholm is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a retired ice hockey defenceman. He is the head coach of the German men's national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Stapleton</span> American ice hockey player (born 1982)

Timothy Gabriel Stapleton is an American former professional ice hockey center. He played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets between 2008 and 2012. In 2011, Stapleton scored the last goal in Thrashers' history. He is the first player of Filipino descent to play a game in the National Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jukka Jalonen</span> Finnish ice hockey player and coach

Jukka Pertti Juhani Jalonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey coach and former player. In 2011, 2019 and 2022, 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 2016–2018 before returning to coach the Finnish national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rami Alanko</span> Finnish ice hockey player

Rami Alanko is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Ramholt</span> Swiss ice hockey player

Tim Ramholt is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played under contract for EHC Kloten of the Swiss National League (NL). He began his professional career with the ZSC Lions before moving to North America in the hopes of a National Hockey League (NHL) career. Ramholt was selected by the Calgary Flames in the second round, 39th overall, at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He played one NHL game for the Flames and after spending three years in the American Hockey League (AHL), returned to Switzerland for 2009–10. Internationally, Ramholt represented the Swiss junior team on four occasions. He won a silver medal at the 2001 IIHF World U18 Championships in Finland, then represented the U20 team three times between 2002 and 2004, with his best finish being a fourth-place result in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Simpson</span> Canadian ice hockey coach

Sean Simpson is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He last served as head coach of Adler Mannheim in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathis Olimb</span> Norwegian ice hockey player

Mathis Olimb is a Norwegian professional ice hockey forward, currently playing for Vålerenga of the Fjordkraftligaen (Norway). He is the older brother of fellow Norwegian Ken André Olimb.

The 2000–01 Chicago Blackhawks season was the team's 75th season of operation. Finishing 12th in the Western Conference, they did not qualify for the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Felix Hollenstein is a former Swiss ice hockey player, who became four times Swiss champion with the EHC Kloten in the Nationalliga A. In his career, Hollenstein played 650 matches in the NLA and 131 for Switzerland men's national ice hockey team, where he scored 47 goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Krueger</span> German-Canadian ice hockey player

Justin Matthew Krueger is a German-Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for SC Bern and Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League (NL) and for the Charlotte Checkers, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. He was selected by the Hurricanes in the seventh round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Tristan Scherwey is a Swiss professional ice hockey winger who is currently playing for SC Bern of the National League (NL). He served as captain of the team for the 2014–15 season. He won five NL titles with Bern in 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Scherwey also won the Swiss Cup with Bern in 2015. Scherwey represented Switzerland at the 2018 Winter Olympics and won a silver medal at the 2018 World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Muller</span> Canadian-born Swiss ice hockey player and coach

Colin Muller is a Canadian-born Swiss professional ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. Colin played ice hockey in the Swiss A league from 1983 to 2000 and has been coaching in Switzerland since 2000. He is currently serving as the head coach of the Swiss women's national team.

Jeffrey "Jeff" Tomlinson is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey coach. He was most recently the head coach of the EHC Kloten in the National League (NL).

References

  1. ↑ "Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archivsuche". news.google.com. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Alpo the Anarchist". www.iihf.com. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Alpo Suhonen on Ässien uusi valmentaja". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 14 November 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Introducing the Kloten Flyers: over 50 straight years in the top Swiss league | Champions Hockey League". www.championshockeyleague.net. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "History – Chicago Wolves". Chicago Wolves. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Suhonen Takes Reins of Struggling Blackhawks". philly-archives. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Blackhawks Won't Bring Suhonen Back". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 28 March 2001. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Hawks turn to another Sutter". nwitimes.com. 4 May 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Blick. "Alpo Suhonen neuer SCB-Trainer – Blick". www.blick.ch. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Die fliegenden Finnen des SC Bern". tagesanzeiger.ch/. November 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Alpo Suhonen neuer Flyers-Sportchef". az Aargauer Zeitung. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Suhonen verlässt die Kloten Flyers". derbund.ch/. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Actualité – Alpo Suhonen a déjà quitté la Slovaquie | Planète Hockey". Planète Hockey. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "Suhonen joins Austria". www.iihf.com. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "NEWS SINGLEVIEW". www.iihf.com. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Eishockey.at – Abschied Sportdirektor Alpo Suhonen". www.eishockey.at (in German). Retrieved 7 June 2017.
Preceded by Finnish national ice hockey team coach
1982–1986		Succeeded by
Preceded by Jokerit head coach
1993		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coaches of the Chicago Blackhawks
2000–01 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.