The Finnish Ice Hockey Players Association (Pelaajayhdistys) and the Ice Hockey League Clubs Association (Mestis) explain in their press release why they refused the offer from the Ice Hockey Federation and the SM League.
Teemu Ramstedt is the chairman of the players’ association. IL-TV
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association (Pelaajayhdistys) and the Ice Hockey Series Clubs (Mestis) did not participate in the working group established by the Ice Hockey Federation and the League, which will review the changes in Finnish ice hockey.
– We feel that by being part of the working groups, it is not possible to truly influence the necessary changes, e.g. regarding league systems, because in the end only the representatives of the Jääkieksoliitto and the League make the decision proposals, SJRY and Jääkiekon Series Associations justify their decision in the press release published on Wednesday.
SJRY and the Jääkiekon Series Clubs Association would have liked to be included in the Huippukieko advisory board, but it did not happen to the Jääkiekkoliito and the League.
– This week we still tried to influence the decision regarding Huippukiekko’s advisory board to be changed to the model we wanted. Since there was no change, we saw no other option than to stay completely out of the working groups as well.
– We consider it important that the big changes in Finnish ice hockey are decided together and not in a way that different parties are only consulted and the power over decisions is still in reality still a well-defined inner circle. It is not genuine cooperation, the release states.
However, SJRY and Sarjaseurat ry assured that even though they were left out of the working group, they intend to influence the future of Suomi-kieko through other channels.
The press release was signed by the chairman of the board of SJRY Teemu Ramstedt and the chairman of Jääkiekon’s League clubs Mikko Saarni.
Mikko Saarni is the chairman of Jääkiekon’s League Clubs. JOONA RISSANEN