Kari Heikkilä in Belarus: work, wife, books and the dog

20 Aug 2011 | Irina Goroshko

Kari Heikkilä, who was named head coach of Belarusian national team, will spend at least 200 days a year in Belarus and can't cancel his contract until February 2013. The press conference of Heikkilä and chief of Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation Evgeny Vorsin took place in Minsk the day after the contract between the Finnish coach and the BHF was signed.

I can speak English and Russian so I try my best in Russian. I have spent five years in Russia and I'm very happy to come here now. It is a great challenge for me. I’ve had a meeting with the Dinamo Minsk coaches already and I’m happy with our conversation. The Belarusian national team will play in the Polesje Cup in November. I think we will use a lot of young players at that time. And in February at another tournament I will invite to the national team a lot of skilled players.

Do you think it will be a difficult new job for you?

It is a different job from my previous ones. And I understand that I will have other problems here. The first one that lack of the time. Another is lack of players. We have no big reserve but we want to have it.

What about your assistants?

I have spoken with Alexander Andrievski already and I hope we will work together. Then I need a goalkeeper coach, a coach of general physical training and a video coach.

Belarus was once 6th at the World Championships. Can you do better? What do you need for that?

No injuries, good luck and good atmosphere on the team. I can't say anything about the players now because I only know a few of them; 10 players or less.

What are your impressions of the Belarus team? Have you ever watched them play?

No, only on TV. But I remember the goal by Vladimir Kopat on Tommy Salo in the Olympic Games.

Will you live in Minsk with your family?

Yes, I'll come here with my wife and my dog. My children are 22 and 28 and they are staying in Finland for work.

What are your hobbies?

I like cross-country skiing very much. I read a lot. And I like to walk with my shepherd dog Manny. I do it every day for an hour or two. I have a pilot’s license. It has expired, but I'm very interested in cars, motorbikes and planes.

Evgeny Vorsin

What are the terms of the contract with Kari Heikkilä?

He will work here until the 2014 World Championships. We are very ambitious and Kari knows that we expect good results from him and his team every year. The contract can't be cancelled for 16 months from today.

Why?

The Belarusian team is 11th place in IIHF rankings now. And our team needs to be 9th or higher to go to the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014. If we can't do it by February 2013, our team will have to play in an Olympic Qualification round that will be held that month. So we will see the result of Kari's work here.

Kari has no experience yet with national teams. Aren’t you worried about that?

No, I'm not worried. Kari has a lot of experience with hockey clubs with different players from different ice hockey national schools and it is really great.

Can Kari work for any hockey clubs while he is working for the Belarusian team?

No, he can't. One of the terms of his contract prohibits him from having any other job on professional or amateur teams.

What place does Belarus need to finish in the 2012 and 2013 World Championships?

Anywhere from 1 to 8.