Matikainen family: Like father, like sons

Father Petri Matikainen (54) is head coach at Klagenfurter AC in the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL) and is coming to Bolzano on Sunday as their final opponent. The older son Santeri Matikainen (31) has been an assistant coach at HC Gherdëina in the Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) for the last 2 years and the son Juhani Matikainen (30), who is one year younger, has been on the coaching bench at HC Alleghe in the Italian Hockey League (IHL) is in charge. But that's not the only reason why the Matikainens' family history is special. As players, the trio took up 3 different positions: Santeri was goalkeeper, Petri was defender and Juhani was striker.

“Like father, like son” or “The apple never falls far from the tree”: these two sayings are undoubtedly true in the Matikainen family. Petri Matikainen was born on January 7, 1967 in Savonlinna, a small town in eastern Finland. As a tough defender, he initially attracted attention in his home country and took part in two U2 World Championships. In 20 he was drafted by the Buffalo Sabers in the 1985th round as the 7th overall pick. After 140 years with the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where a certain Paul Theriault was his coach, he returned to Finland and became an instant champion with Tappara Tampere. In the summer of 2, Petri Matikainen moved to the Berlin Capitals before ending his playing career in 1996 with Klagenfurter AC, with whom he reached the final twice. Petri Matikainen: player and coach in Klagenfurt 5 years later he began his coaching career. The now 54-year-old was head coach in the SM-Liiga for a total of 9 seasons, where he was named Coach of the Year twice, was in charge at the top Russian club Avangard Omsk in the KHL and replaced Mario in Graz in the 2/2013 season Richer (then at HC Pustertal). Since the 14/2018 season he has been earning his money at the KAC, which he promptly led to the EBEL title in his debut year. Father Matikainen still has a contract with the “Red Jackets” until the end of April 19. An eye on HC Bozen: Petri Matikainen and the KAC will be guests in the final series in South Tyrol for the first time on Sunday. © APA / EXPA/JFK

“Juhani and I got into ice hockey through our father. “I was 5 years old and Juhani was 4 years old when we attended the ice skating school in Kuopio,” remembers Santeri, who, like his brother, soon had to leave his Finnish homeland behind. “When I was 7 years old, I moved to Berlin with my family because our father played for the Capitals for two years. I also started school in the German capital. The first 2 months were not easy. I didn't speak a word of German and had to learn the language first and foremost. “We then moved to Klagenfurt,” says the former Val Gardena assistant coach, who will be working in Switzerland next season, looking back on his first years in Central Europe.

It wasn't enough for Santeri to have a great playing career. “As a junior, I stood in goal for HeKi and later in the squad of the Mestis team from the town of Heinola. When I was 18 years old, I played in the Tyrolean regional league with Fügen in the Zillertal before I was ordered back to my homeland because I had to do military service. Because I couldn't find an employer but wanted to earn money, I ended my goalkeeping career and went straight to the coaching bench," says Santeri Matikainen, who became goalkeeper coach for the Blues U21 team at the age of 18, adding: "In the In the 2012/13 season I moved to Tampere because of my girlfriend, with whom I now have a daughter, and worked first for the youth department of Tappara and then for three years for that of Ilves.” Santeri Matikainen: Coach of women's team in China Between 2017 and 2018, the now 31-year-old was the goalkeeper coach for the Kunlun Red Star women's team in China, which competed in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), the female equivalent of the NHL. “I ended up there by chance. But it was a very nice time. We played the home games in China and the away games in Canada or the USA. There were only 7 Chinese women on our team, the rest were Canadian or US national players,” says Santeri Matikainen, who also looked after the goalkeepers for the Chinese U18 women’s team and stayed in the Middle Kingdom for two years. <a data-caption="Santeri Matikainen war in den vergangenen 2 Jahren als Assistenztrainer beim HC Gherdëina in der AlpsHL tätig und arbeitet ab Herbst in der Schweiz." data-fancybox="inline-75638" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2021/04/santeri-matikainen-war-in-den-vergangenen-2-jahren-als-assistenztrainer-beim-hc-gherdeina-in-der-alpshl-taetig-und-arbeitet-ab-herbst-in-der-schweiz.jpg"> Santeri Matikainen has been an assistant coach at HC Gherdëina in the AlpsHL for the past two years and will be working in Switzerland from the fall.

In the summer of 2019 he came to South Tyrol and joined HC Gherdëina. “Juhani was a youth coach at HC Alleghe at the time. He found out that Val Gardena was looking for a goalkeeper coach and made contact. I spent 2 wonderful years in Wolkenstein, where I looked after all the goalkeepers from the youth level up to the first team. I was also an assistant coach for the AlpsHL team,” says Santeri Matikainen, looking back.

Santeri Matikainen will work as a goalkeeping coach in Switzerland next season. “I want and need to gain experience. The job as head coach comes too early," says the former goalie, who would like to work as an assistant to his father one day: "It would be something special if Juhani and I could work together with our father at some point."

Juhani Matikainen would also like to work as an assistant to his father: “For me, he is the best coach in the world. If my father called me, I would work with him immediately. I learned a lot from him.”

The youngest player in the Matikainen dynasty's playing career was also short-lived. After his first steps on the ice in his native Finland, Juhani started his career in 1997 as a U8 player in Klagenfurt. He spent the next 10 years in Finland. In 2008 he moved to Innsbruck, where he played for the U3 team for three seasons. At the same time, the former center forward demonstrated his great talent as the top scorer for HC Innsbruck II in the Tyrolean League. “That’s when I met my fiancée,” says Juhani Matikainen, who has long since made his home in Innsbruck.

After a season in Sweden, the ambitious Finn was stopped by a serious injury: “At the age of 22, a hernia suddenly destroyed my dream of becoming a professional ice hockey player. But I wanted to stay involved in the sport that I loved above all else. That’s why it was somehow logical that I pursued a coaching career.” Juhani Matikainen came to Überetsch through the Eppan master coach Jarno Mensonen, who had previously worked in Innsbruck for three years, where he gained his first experience as a coach with the “Pirates” U3 team in the 2012/13 season. In the following season he followed his father to Graz and looked after the U12 and U13 teams there. Juhani Matikainen: player and coach in Abu Dhabi Although Juhani Matikainen could have stayed in Styria, he decided to move to the United Arab Emirates. “I was 24 years old at the time and saw it as an opportunity and a life experience at the same time. The change came about through my compatriot Matti Fagerström. I got a 2-year contract and then stayed in the Orient for 3 years,” remembers the Finn.

“I coached the U15, U18 and U19 teams. I also worked for the United Arab Emirates women’s national team,” explains Juhani Matikainen. He was actually signed as a coach, but also laced up his skates for the Abu Dhabi Storms: "The level in the country's highest league wasn't bad, as many Russians and Canadians were chasing the puck in Dubai or Abu Dhabi." Juhani Matikainen will enter his 5th season with HC Alleghe in the IHL this fall. © Max Pattis

In the summer of 2017 he took over the U17 team at HC Alleghe. “Sami Sumkin made the contact. He was U19 coach at HC Meran at the time,” says Juhani Matikainen, who looked after Alleghe’s U19 team the following year. From the 2019/20 season onwards, he was in charge of Alleghe's coaching bench in the IHL. “I sent Miika Kiviranta to Alleghe, who has been the best player in the IHL for the last 2 years. I already played with him in Abu Dhabi. After the first season, I received a 2-year contract that is valid until spring 2022,” says the aspiring coach, who completed his master’s degree in coaching training at the “Johan Cruyff Institute” in Amsterdam in 2018, proudly. His team was eliminated in the quarter-finals against Merano three weeks ago.

From the 2022/23 season, Juhani Matikainen would like to take the next step in his coaching career. “I would be interested in a South Tyrolean team in the IHL or even in the AlpsHL. Then I would be closer to my fiancée and my child,” says the 30-year-old in perfect German.

By the way: Sonja Matikainen is also closely linked to the fastest team sport in the world. Santeri and Juhani's sister, like their mother Mia, never played ice hockey themselves. But Sonja is married to the Finnish national defender Ilari Melart, who has been earning his money in the top Swedish league for 6 years.

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Matikainen family: Like father, like sons

All three played ice hockey themselves. And all three remained as coaches after their careers ended in the fastest team sport in the world. Most recently, the 3 Finns worked in 3 different leagues that are closely rooted in South Tyrol.

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