Jyrki Aho jumps at the helm of Espoo.
Jyrki Aho gets a washing machine from Espoo. Jussi Eskola
Jyrki Aho is Kiekko-Espoo’s head coach next season.
The club announced this at a press conference on Thursday.
49-year-old Aho has coached Grenoble of the French league for the last three seasons. He was relieved of his duties at the end of November.
In France, Aho won one league championship and one cup championship.
Aho is also a familiar pilot from the SM league. He coached JYP, Blues and Ässi in 2011–2018, and won the Finnish championship in 2012 in JYP.
Six years
The new head coach said right away at the beginning of his speech that the new coach brought out his feelings. The Kiekko-Espoo project and the values associated with it are important to him.
Aho has been involved in the Kiekko-Espoo trip more or less for six years now. He has been sparring with coaches as well as the sports director and has also visited coaches during the summer seasons.
After a long-term cooperation, sports director Kim Hirschowitz found that he had been talking to the perfect head coaching candidate all along.
– You fill all the boxes we are looking for. Any interest? Hirschovits said he finally asked.
Helping Aho Kiekko-Espoo and the people of the club has always been a matter of the heart. He has coached Hirschovits during the Blues days, and the door was always open for the former player.
– I have always thought that I am available to my old players, Aho said.
Aho is also planned to play a role in the development of the club’s junior team coaches.