This story appeared on hockeysverige.se this week and has been translated from Swedish to English.

Olli Jokinen was once a star player in the NHL, having played over 1,200 NHL games.

Now, Jokinen is making a name for himself as a coach in the top league in Sweden.

Hockeysverige.se traveled to Timrå to hear about the 45-year-old from Kuopio’s hockey journey.

“Kuopio was a good hockey town when I grew up there. Not just for hockey but for all other activities available in a small city,” Jokinen said. “It’s obviously a big hockey town, but when I grew up, we only had one indoor rink for ice hockey. However, there were outdoor rinks in every neighborhood. KalPa also had a very good program for developing young players, so it was a great place to live and start playing hockey.”

Jokinen’s father, Matti Jokinen, also played hockey, including for KalPa. His brother, Ville, also played pro hockey.

“Even though we were a hockey family, we did other sports too. Our parents never pushed us into hockey. We were active kids who played hockey in the winter and then soccer, tennis, volleyball… all kinds of sports throughout the year.

“It’s a bit different compared to the 1980s and 1990s when kids today have video games and all those things.”

Jokinen played for KalPa during his youth. As a 17-year-old, he played in the Finnish league in the 1995/96 season.

“I don’t really remember my first game, but I think I played about 15 games that first season,” he said. “That summer, I had been with the team, and we had a Ukrainian coach, Anatoli Bogdanov. We trained very hard, twice a day. Around December, he was fired, and I was sent down to the U20 team. After Christmas, I only played and trained with the U20 team. We had a good U20 team but lost the championship final.”

Before the 1996-97 season, Jokinen left KalPa to play for IFK Helsinki. The following season, he made his NHL debut for the Los Angeles Kings, won a league title in Finland, was named playoff MVP, played in his second World Championship (silver), and most notably, won gold with Finland at the World Junior Championship, where he was also named the tournament’s best player.

“It was a hectic season,” Olli Jokinen says with a smile.

“I was drafted that summer and signed a contract right after. My thoughts were that I was going to play in North America for the rest of my life. Things didn’t go as planned, and I only played eight games there.

“(Former Blue Jackets GM) Jarmo Kekäläinen was the general manager for IFK. He worked to find a way to get me back there. He made a deal with L.A., and they sent me back to Finland. I returned to an amazing team where seven or eight players left for the NHL after that season. We had Tim Thomas, Brian Rafalski, Kimmo Timonen, Jere Karalahti, Johan Davidsson, Jan Caloun, Jarkko Ruutu, Christian Ruuttu…

“It was a great season, and we also won the World Juniors that year. At the end of the season, I played in the World Championship in Switzerland, but we lost to Sweden in the final. We didn’t lose the second final, but still only got silver.

“The first final we lost 1-0, and the second ended 0-0. Tommy Salo played an outstanding game. Back then, they played two finals in the World Championship, which was a bit odd, and we only got silver even though we didn’t lose the last game.”

Was it a big deal for you personally to be drafted in the first round?
“No, not really. I was young and didn’t think much about it, just that I was going over there. I was pretty open-minded. I had an idea that I might go top five based on what my agent had told me. After the first two picks, it was clear I’d either end up in Los Angeles, who had the third pick, or the Islanders, who had both the fourth and fifth picks. But I wasn’t fixated on it.”

From there, the Finnish center started the 1997-98 season with the Kings. He said the start of the year was great, playing eight preseason games before another eight regular season bouts.

“After that, there was a decision to be made about whether I’d stay in the NHL. I ended up as an extra player, learning that side of the NHL. It’s not ‘just’ about getting into the lineup—you have to perform to stay there.
“It was good for me to learn. I stayed with an American family that first year, where young Kings players often lived, like Aki Berg, Darryl Sydor, and myself…

“It helped a lot since I was 18, alone in Los Angeles, dealing with the city’s traffic,” he continued. “There was no Google Maps back then; the only map you had was the one you bought at the gas station. Driving around and trying to find places in that city after growing up in Kuopio and spending a year in Helsinki was quite the adjustment.”

One player on the team who helped Jokinen during his early days in Los Angeles was rugged defenseman and team captain Mattias Norström.

“My first season, when I played those eight games over two or three months, Aki Berg was also there. But during the 1998-99 season, Aki wasn’t there. ‘Matty’ became the one I leaned on. He really looked out for me and many of the younger players. He was a great person to be around. He made sure all the young players were doing well. Matty also picked me up when we were heading to practice, ensuring I got there on time.”

After playing 66 games with the Kings in his second season, Jokinen was traded to the New York Islanders.

“I was on vacation with my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and wasn’t expecting anything like that to happen,” Jokinen said. “I got a call saying I’d been traded. At first, it was a shock, but I started to understand that this is how the business works.”

On Long Island, he got to experience a dark time in the otherwise proud history of the franchise.

“As a team, we had a tough season. I think we finished last in the entire league. The league even took over the team because the owners didn’t have any money. We no longer had proper ownership, and we had to fly on commercial flights to games. Everything was very different compared to Los Angeles.”

After that season, the club got new owners.

“The new owners made it clear that almost everyone on the team could be traded. They wanted to rebuild the team, made several trades, and the Islanders did pretty well after that. I think they even made the playoffs a few seasons later.I expected to be traded but didn’t know where I would end up.”

Jokinen’s next destination was the Florida Panthers, where he joined players like Pavel Bure, Viktor Kozlov, Rob Niedermayer, Ray Whitney, and Robert Švehla. Little did he know at the time that playing in Florida would help set his career up for big-time success.

“When I got there, Florida had a really good team. My first season there started really poorly. Terry Murray was the coach, and Bryan Murray was the GM. Both were fired after that. During my time in Florida, there were many changes in leadership. Lots of different coaches. At first, we weren’t a young team. It was really just me, Roberto Luongo, and Marcus Nilson who were younger. After about 15 games, a lot of changes were made, and we quickly became a much younger team.”

It didn’t take long for Jokinen to make Florida his home base.

“We lived there for so long, built a house, and even spent summers there between seasons. We stayed there six more years after I retired,” he said. “When I was in Florida, I liked playing there, but in hindsight, I might have made different decisions about moving. I had a strong belief in Florida and had a big role on the team. I kept thinking, ‘Maybe this season, maybe this season…’”

In the 2003-04 season, Florida named Jokinen captain, joining Koviu as just the second Finnish captain in league history.

“Becoming a captain wasn’t something I expected,” Jokinen said. “One day I came to the rink, and Mike Keenan, the coach, asked me, ‘Are you ready for this?’ Mike felt I was ready to take on the responsibility of being captain. One important thing he told me was, ‘Don’t change who you are—just keep being yourself every day.’

“Was it a big deal for me? Honestly, it wasn’t something I had thought about before. It meant more responsibility and all that, but I had been an alternate captain and always been a leader in some way on the teams I played for.
“I never thought it was particularly special. It’s more now, looking back, that I think it’s cool.”

In 2008, after cementing himself as one of the top players n franchise history, his time in Florida was up. Jokinen left the Panthers to play for the Phoenix Coyotes.

“Arizona was a good experience,” Jokinen said. “I was there for about 60 games. We had a young and talented team. It was a big deal to play under Wayne Gretzky and get to know him. The same thing happened there as it did on Long Island—the owners didn’t have the money to keep the operation running, and the league took over.

“The team was in a playoff spot but needed to trade players to bring in money. I had been there for such a short time, and while it was a good stop, it was the right time for me to move on.”

Between 2009 and 2015, Jokinen became a journeyman, playing for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues.

“After Florida, I had a short stop in Arizona and finished that season in Calgary. I started the next season with Calgary but was about to become a free agent. The team lost nine games in a row. Two other guys had no-trade clauses.

“I knew something was going to happen, and that I’d likely be traded. Darryl Sutter was the GM in Calgary, and his brother Brent was the coach. Mike Keenan had been the coach when I came to Calgary, but after we didn’t make it past the first playoff round, he was fired, and Brent came in.

“Anyway, I finished my second season with Calgary in New York after being traded there. Calgary was actually the first team to call me when I became a free agent, so I went back there. My time in New York was short, but after that, I played two full seasons in Calgary. In total, I spent about three and a half years in that organization.
“After that, I signed a two-year deal with Winnipeg. When that contract ended, I wasn’t sure if I would continue playing. Then I got an offer from Nashville, and I knew that would be my last season. I told myself, ‘Okay, this is my final stop.’”

But it didn’t turn out that way.

“No, I was traded from Nashville to Toronto. From the team at the top of the standings to the one at the bottom. Toronto’s GM (Dave Nonis) told me right away that I’d only be there for a few weeks before being sent to a playoff team. I knew I’d be in Toronto for at most two weeks. I was traded to St. Louis, played out my contract, and then went home. There was no reason to stay, and I knew it was my last season.

“On top of that, I injured my shoulder in my first game with St. Louis. I ended the season injured and needed rehab just to play the last two weeks of games. It wasn’t the way I wanted to end my career, but not many players get to end their careers the way they want. Sure, the last season was hectic with three different teams, so it was an easy decision to retire after that.”

Where did you feel most at home toward the end of your career?
“I enjoyed playing in Canada compared to places where hockey isn’t as big, like Arizona and Florida.
“Calgary and Winnipeg—I liked my time there. Being in cities where people genuinely love hockey and the arenas are always sold out.”

You played 17 seasons in the NHL, with 1,231 regular-season games. How do you reflect on your career today?
“From 2006 or 2007, I hired a massage therapist who traveled with me for the rest of my career, no matter where I moved. It was an investment to take care of my body.

“I think I kept getting contracts because teams knew I’d play 82 games every season. ‘He won’t get injured, he’ll play hard, and he won’t miss games. Even if he gets hurt, he’ll still play.’

“That was the biggest reason I was able to stay in the league for so long. Another factor was that I was drafted high. I was expected to be a player who scored 50 goals and lots of points, but it took me three or four seasons to start producing.

“In my first four or five seasons, I had to do extra things to stay in the league. One year, I had eight fights and was among the top players in hits. I was constantly trying to find ways to stay in the league and be valuable to the team, no matter my role.

“If I hadn’t done those things early in my career, I might have been out of the league after three or four seasons. It was the same at the end of my career.

“When I returned to Calgary, my profile as a player changed. I became a two-way player tasked with playing against other teams’ top lines. I no longer had the pressure to score points. Now, I had this role and understood that I had to excel in it to stay in the league. What I did to achieve that is what stands out to me the most.”

Jokinen was no stranger to international hockey either. He played in 11 World Championships, four Olympics, and one World Cup during a national team career that spanned from 1997 to 2014.

“The national team has always meant a lot to me,” Jokinen said. “After the 2010 Olympics, I felt it was enough. I officially announced my retirement from the national team because I had played for Finland for 13 years by then. It felt good that fans and coaches knew. I still got asked a few times between 2010 and 2014 if I had changed my mind. ‘No, I haven’t changed my mind. It’s enough. Now the younger generation can take over.’”

Despite that, Jokinen wore the Finnish national team jersey two last times during the 2013-14 season.
“Erkka Westerlund, who had coached me at IFK (Helsinki) and during the 2006 Olympics, called and asked if he could add my name to a long list of 50-60 players being considered for the national team.

“‘I’m done with the national team.’

“‘Okay, I think you’re scared…’

“‘What do you mean?’

“‘I think you’re afraid to give it your all one more time.’

“Erkka challenged me, saying it didn’t matter if he added me to the list. ‘I’ll pick the best team anyway.’”

This challenge made Jokinen reconsider his stance.

“It was a good decision because it gave me an extra boost that season. The previous year had been a lockout season, and I’d had a tough time in Winnipeg.

“I made the team for the Sochi Olympics, which was an incredible experience. I also told them that if Winnipeg didn’t make the playoffs and they needed me for the World Championship, I’d play one more time.”

That tournament was played in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, a place that held special meaning to the veteran center.

“One of my closest friends, Ruslan Salei, had died in the Yaroslavl plane crash. In Minsk, I got the chance to visit his grave, lay flowers, and pay my respects. It was tough, really tough…” Jokinen pauses for a moment to collect himself before continuing. “I had two other teammates on that plane that I knew, but Ruslan was a family friend. We spent a lot of time together over the years, so it was incredibly sad when the news came that he was on that flight.

“I finished my time with the national team by winning a silver medal but also got to visit my close friend’s grave.”

After retiring in 2015, Jokinen started to think about coaching. He could have used his fame to get into a position in a prominent league but chose another path.

“I had the opportunity to step into the professional world right away, but like a player, you need to work your way up and see if it’s truly something you want to do. Jumping straight into pro coaching wasn’t for me.

“Instead, I had the idea to start a high-level hockey academy in Florida. It wasn’t just about hockey development but also ensuring education was a priority. We didn’t want kids to make the same mistakes we did as young players, where hockey came first and school second.

“It was fun working on that for five or six years. We worked with talented players aged 15-16, which is a great age in the U.S. These kids aren’t yet in USHL, junior hockey, or prep schools but are too young for college.

“Coaching took over quickly. Seeing how we could develop young players and guide them in their studies and off-ice responsibilities—it was much more than just hockey coaching.

“Those years gave me a clear vision of what coaching means. Of course, it’s different for everyone, but for me, coaching is about helping players improve, no matter their level. Working with players of all ages during that time was incredibly rewarding.”

Things changed when COVID-19 hit the United States. Due to local health restrictions, Jokinen couldn’t continue to educate players in Florida and started to look for another challenge.

“At that time, I made myself available and told my agent, who I had as a player, to let clubs know what I had been doing and that I was open to coaching, for example, in the Finnish league if there were teams there looking to make changes.

“It ended with me getting a job at Jukurit in the Finnish league. The first season was a big success. We finished second in the league and lost in Game 7 in the quarterfinals during the playoffs. After that season, several teams became interested, not just from Finland but also from other countries.

“I wasn’t in a hurry and wanted to complete my contract with Jukurit. After three years, there was interest from several teams outside Finland. Timrå was one of many teams that showed interest. It felt right, and the organization is at a point where they have a chance to win, but they also want to make changes in the direction they’re heading. What the plans are for the future and all that. Everything felt good, and I felt this was the next step for me.”

Has it been a big adjustment to go from the Finnish league to the SHL?
“There’s not a big difference for players moving from the Finnish league to the Swedish league. It’s a step up in your career. The SHL is more similar to how things are in North America compared to the Finnish league.

“From a selfish perspective, Timrå is a step in the right direction for me. As a coach, like all coaches, I want to coach at the highest possible level. At the same time, I’m not in a rush to climb the ladder.

“I like being here, how the organization works, and being part of the club’s transformation. Being one of those who contributes to making it a better place to be in the future.”

And maybe, just maybe it will be a stepping stone for Jokinen to return to the NHL one day. As a coach.