Gagarin Cup runner-up Avangard Omsk has kept a Finnish connection in its choice of coach, announcing Petri Matikainen on Thursday after previous coach Raimo Summanen resigned in mysterious circumstances.
Matikainen, a former assistant coach of the Finnish national team, has agreed a three-year deal with the Siberian team, which lost the KHL title to Dynamo Moscow on a decider in April.
“We’re satisfied that Petri Matikainen has accepted our offer to head up Avangard,” team president Alexander Sterlyagov said in a website statement.
“He’s a firm advocate of modern hockey and will be able to introduce new aspects to our team’s style.”
Matikainen is already working with Avangard at their pre-season training camp, Sterlyagov added.
Summanen announced his resignation earlier this month, little more than three weeks after signing a contract extension.
At the time, general manager Vladimir Kapulovsky told R-Sport that Summanen’s exit was “completely unexpected” but suggested it would not affect a team of players “ready for battle”. Summanen has made no public statement on his exit.
He had spent two years with the team, bringing success with two strong playoff runs, but also reported feuds with players over his tough coaching methods.
Before signing the one-year extension last month, Summanen turned down repeated offers of another two-year deal, and had reportedly argued with the team management over player transfers.
New coach Matikainen’s greatest success came in 2008 when he took Finnish league team Espoo Blues to defeat in the playoff final.
Matikainen was named coach of the season afterwards.
