It’s been rumored for a while and on Monday it was confirmed: Jukka Jalonen is now the coach of the Italian national team. The man who has been behind the bench for three of Finland’s four IIHF World Championship teams and its only Olympic gold in ice hockey did a telephone interview with Finnish media outlet MTV Urhelu.

After a very successful stretch where he guided Finland to three golds and one silver in four consecutive major international tournaments between 2019 and 2022, Jalonen makes no bones about the fact that he left the Finnish national team because he wished to pursue an NHL job. For that reason, his contract with the Italian Ice Sports Federation includes an escape clause if he receives an NHL offer.

“Just to be clear, that’s what I wanted,” Jalonen said about the NHL. “However, it’s very unlikely that any offer will come from there (this off-season), since there hasn’t been one so far.”

However, there’s no doubt that the Italians would like Jalonen to stick around at least two seasons as they host the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, and are therefore guaranteed a place in the tournament without qualifying. And the chance to coach in another Olympics was a strong incentive for Jalonen as well.

“There’s no denying it,” he confirmed. “I’ve participated a couple of times, in Vancouver and Beijing, and I’ve won bronze and gold. The events were absolutely insane. It is different from the usual World Championships, where only hockey players participate. The presence of athletes from other countries and sports brings its own flavor to the fact that it is still on a different level.”

Italy previously hosted the Olympics in 2006 in Turin and its men’s team finished with three losses and two ties. Since then, they’ve been an “elevator team” in the World Championships but since being relegated in 2022, have twice failed to return to the top group under Canadian head coaches Mike Keenan and Mike Pelino, including last year on home ice in Bolzano. 

Under Jalonen, the Italians would like to return to the top group at next year’s IIHF World Championship Division I Group A in Romania and that goal seems doable, where the toughest obstacles will be recently relegated Great Britain and Poland. The real challenge, however, will be competing against NHL players at the Olympics.

“There are no NHL players on the Italian team,” Jalonen acknowledged. “Maybe someone can be found, but it’s great that when all the best players are on the same rink, you can at least participate in it in some way.”

To that end, Jalonen might be the right man for this job. During his tenure behind the Finnish bench, the team was known for playing a structured, defensive-first style that was derided by many as boring but was unquestionably effective. Jalonen was known for often passing on available star talent in favor of players who were familiar with his system.

Currently, most players on the Italian national team play on one of the country’s three ICEHL teams in Bolzano, Bruneck and Asiago. There are also players from a few Alps Liga teams, and all of them are within a short distance of each other in the South Tyrol Region. Last year’s team also included players based in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia, promising young goaltender Damian Clara in Sweden and young forward Tommy Purdeller in the OHL.

“There are actually a dozen of their best teams in the surrounding area, so it's easy to observe the players,” Jalonen said. “A large part of the Italian national team plays in those teams. I can follow the activities of the clubs from a close distance and attend practises if I want to.”