Few coaches know Finland better than Italy’s Jukka Jalonen who coached Finland to a historic Olympic gold medal in 2022, two World Championship gold medals, one silver, and an Olympic bronze between 2010 and 2022.
 
He may even know the Finnish team better than its current coaching staff, including its current head coach Antti Pennanen, who was Jalonen’s assistant in several tournaments.
 
Jalonen took over Team Italy in 2024, with a clear goal set in the Milan tournament.
 
“I guess it came as a surprise to many, but I had a good feeling about this, and I figured it would be a nice challenge to try to help take Italy toward the top,” Jalonen told IIHF.com at the time. 
 
“I didn’t know too much about Italian hockey, but I did know that the northern region is true hockey country. Hockey culture is strong here, the game has been played here since the 1930s, and people know their hockey,” he said.
 
Eighteen months later, he’s still happy he took on the challenge. Based out of Bolzano, Jalonen has learned to appreciate Italian hockey even more.
 
“I'm happy to be here. It's great that the guys are playing that well and we are giving ourselves a chance to win against teams like Sweden and Slovakia. Fine, we didn't win those games, but we were close and that's not easy against those kinds of players and teams,” he said after Italy’s 2-3 loss to Slovakia.
 
Having pushed Sweden and forcing Slovakia to defend desperately in the final five minutes, Italy – and Jalonen – want to take the next step.
 
They want to win games. On Saturday, Jalonen’s Azzurri take on the Finnish Lions, and that would be a perfect game to start.
 
“That would mean everything. And not just for Jukka, as it’s his home team, but obviously for us, too. We want to prove to people that we belong and I think we've been doing that. We've got to get one. Gotta keep going!” said captain Phil Pietroniro.
 
Moral victories aren’t doing it for Jalonen and his players anymore. 
 
“It’s frustrating to get close and have a chance to tie the game [against Slovakia] only to come up short. We’re all here to compete and anything is possible in one game. We’re not happy with this, we want to do something more,” Jalonen said.
 
“We have a game against Finland and then Game 4 of the tournament on Tuesday, and by winning that we’ll be in the Top 8. That’s how it goes,” he said.
 
With age, experience, and a hefty bag of medals from the Olympics and World Championships comes also charisma, and that, combined with Jalonen’s vision for the game, has helped him get a complete buy-in from the Italian players.
 
“Jukka's put in place a very defensive, tight structure in our defensive zone, together with a quick transition game to get us into the offensive zone,” forward Matt Bradley says.
 
“Especially playing against players at the level here, you don't get a lot of chances, so you've got to take advantage of the ones you do. We spend a lot of time together, we do lots of video, and I think everyone's growing. It’s not easy to get everyone on the same page quickly, but I feel like we've done a great job so far,” he added.
 
At home in Finland, Jalonen is a revered hockey legend, and during his two tenures as the Team Finland men’s team head coach, he was the greatest spokesperson and a beacon for the game in the country, even though he wasn’t always best friends with the media.
 
That’s why it’s surprising to hear him lament the lack of media attention hockey is getting in Italy.
 
“Media attention, or the lack thereof, may be the biggest surprise. I knew there wouldn't be much, but not even now. I've been in Milan since last Thursday, and I’ve been interviewed once by Italian media. Of course, it would be another matter if I was the manager of the soccer national team,” he says with a grin.
 
Media or not, Jalonen is driven by winning, and he’s looking forward to the next two games behind the bench. First his native Finland, and then the all-important Qualification Playoff Game.
 
“We’ve been close to winning at least one game here but of course, winning the fourth game and advancing to a quarterfinal is the dream we want to make come true,” Jalonen concludes.

But first comes Finland, and this time, he will be trying to beat them.