Kitchener, Ont. – The Kitchener Rangers announced today that Finland-native Jussi Ahokas (pronounced you-see, uh-ho-kus) has been named the 25th head coach in franchise history.
Ahokas, 42, comes to Kitchener with 20 consecutive years of head coaching experience and is today known as one of the most decorated bench-bosses in European professional hockey, being named the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs’ (EHC) 2019-20 Coach of the Year across Europe’s top professional hockey leagues spanning Germany (Deutsche Eishockey Liga – DEL), Finland (Finnish Elite League – Liiga), Sweden (Swedish Hockey League – SHL), and Switzerland (National League – NL).
Impressively, Ahokas has earned two prominent Gold Medals while serving as the Head Coach of Team Finland on the international stage. He was the Head Coach of Team Finland when the Fins defeated Team USA to capture the Gold Medal at the 2019 IIHF World Juniors in Vancouver, B.C., and was also the Head Coach when the Fins defeated Sweden to capture the Gold Medal at the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships in Grand Forks, N.D.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Jussi and his family to Kitchener,” said Kitchener Rangers General Manager Mike McKenzie. “Jussi’s resume speaks for itself. He has already accomplished so much at the club and international level in Finland. We are thrilled he has chosen to take the next step in his decorated career by coming to North America and thankful it will be here in Kitchener. I look forward to working with Jussi and seeing our player’s benefit from his care and coaching.”
A native of Espoo, Finland, Ahokas has spent the last four seasons as a head coach in the Finnish Elite League (Liiga), Finland’s top men’s professional hockey league. He led Kouvola KooKoo from a 73-point campaign the year prior to his arrival, to a 110-point campaign in his first season in 2019-20, a 37-point jump in the Liiga standings where he was then awarded the Kalevi Numminen Trophy, given to Liiga’s Coach of the Year. After earning a promotion to be the Head Coach of Turku TPS in 2021, Ahokas led the club to back-to-back best-of-seven Liiga Playoffs series victories, en-route to a Silver Medal, in his first season in Turku.
“I’m really excited and really honoured,” said Ahokas. “In Finland, we know what the Kitchener Rangers are about and the type of organization they are. I feel privileged to get this opportunity to coach in Canada, especially in Kitchener. I cannot wait for the season to start and look forward to working with the Rangers’ business and hockey staff moving forward.”
Ahokas served as the video coach for Team Finland’s women’s team who won a Bronze Medal at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and was the assistant coach for Team Finland that won Bronze Medals at both the 2008 and 2009 IIHF World Women’s Championships in China and Finland respectively. Additionally, Ahokas served as a guest coach at the Chicago Blackhawks camp in 2015 and 2016.
Prior to his time in the Finnish Elite League, Ahokas was the Head Coach of U16-through-U20 age groups for 15 years. Most notably, Ahokas was the Head Coach of Finland’s National Junior Team for six seasons spanning the U16, U17, U18, U19, and U20 levels.
Ahokas’ Recent Notable Accomplishments:
- 2015-16 World U18 Championship – Gold Medal
- 2016-17 World Juniors
- 2017-18 World Juniors
- 2018-19 World Juniors – Gold Medal
- 2019-20 Kouvola KooKoo (Liiga) – EHC Coach of the Year
- 2020-21 Kouvola KooKoo (Liiga)
- 2021-22 Turku TPS (Liiga) – Silver Medal
- 2022-23 Turku TPS (Liiga)
- 2023-24 Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
Ahokas graduated with a Bachelor of Sports Studies (specialized in coaching) degree from Haaga-Helia University in Helsinki.
Pending approval from Canadian Immigration, Ahokas and his wife Elina, two daughters Amelie and Adanne, and son Juhana will move from Finland to the Waterloo Region this August.
Ahokas will be introduced in a media availability session at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium this Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.
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The Kitchener Rangers return to the ice Sunday, Sep. 3 when the Blueshirts host the Oshawa Generals for a pre-season match up at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. The Rangers drop the puck on the regular season Friday, Sep. 29 when the East Avenue Blue host the Saginaw Spirit. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
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