Matti Tiilikainen is leaving his job as head coach of the national team.
Matti Tiilikainen coached HPK in 2020–21 and the beginning of the 2021–22 season, until Jarno Pikkarainen replaced him. Now Tiilikainen’s career continues in Germany. MATTI RAIVIO / AOP
Matti Tiilikainen will not continue in the Finnish Ice Hockey League next season and as the head coach of the under-17 age group, i.e. those born in 2007. This season, the man from Hämeenlinna coached exactly this age group in the league, i.e. the under-16 national team.
According to information received by Iltalehti, Tiilikainen has announced that he will leave the national team job and move abroad to coach.
Most likely, the man’s next employer is Löwen Frankfurt of the DEL league.
Tiilikainen was the team’s head coach for two seasons, 2018–20. At that time, the club played in the DEL2 league, i.e. Germany’s second highest league level. The top men of the organization are familiar to Tiilikainen.
Tiilikainen moved from Germany to become HPK’s main manager for the 2020–21 season.
Two seats
Frankfurt’s head coach was a Canadian this season Gerry Fleming. The man’s new employer is Kloten of the Swiss league.
There is a lot going on at the head coaches’ positions of the Junnuma teams at the moment. Tomi Lämsä left the under-20 team last week, and now Tiilikainen is leaving.
There are two coaching positions open in the ice hockey association.