Kai Suikkanen
Kai Suikkanen Petri ( born June 29, 1959 in Parkano ) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey player and current coach, who played in the National Hockey League, among others, for the Buffalo Sabres in its active between 1976 and 1991.
- 2.1 As a coach
Career
As a player
Kai Suikkanen began his career as a hockey player in the junior department of Kärpät Oulu, for the first team he made his debut in the second class I divisoona was in the 1976/77 season and he rose straight into the SM- liiga. In the 1980/81 season the winger won with his team the Finnish championship, after he had already occupied the third place last year with his team. On 31 August 1981 he signed a contract as a free agent with the Buffalo Sabres, for he two games in the National Hockey League completed in the next two years. However, the entire rest of the time he spent exclusively with their farm team, the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League. With the Amerks, he won in the 1982/83 season the Calder Cup.
After he first went aground, the 1983/84 season for the Rochester Americans in the AHL, he returned in the course of the season to Kärpät Oulu. With Kärpät he finished 1984, 1985 and 1986, three consecutive third place. In the 1986/87 season he failed with Kärpät even until the playoff finals at Tappara Tampere. In the 1988/89 season the shooter had links with his team's relegation to the second-class I accept divisionna, where he played for one year before moving to the top club TPS Turku for the season 1990/91. With TPS, he won for the second time in his career, the Finnish Championship and then finished at the age of 31 years his active career.
As a coach
From 2004 to 2006 supervised Suikkanen as head coach RoKi in the third-class Suomi- sarja. He then moved to the second division Hokki Kajaani, with whom he at once master of the Mestis was in season 2006/ 07. Hokki Kajaani he trained until he during the season 2008/09, replaced as head coach at his former club TPS Turku Hannu Virta. With TPS, he won in the following season as a coach for the first time the Finnish championship. He then signed a contract with the Russian giants Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. In this he began the 2010/11 season as head coach in the Continental Hockey League. The former Olympian was replaced by Vladimír Czechs Vůjtek senior Already on 4 November 2010 and then worked as a scout for the club.
Between 2011 and 2013 he was head coach at the Pelicans Lahti, with whom he was in 2012 a Finnish runner. Since 2013 Suikkanen is back as head coach at TPS Turku under contract.
Internationally
For Suikkanen Finland took part in the junior level at the Junior World Championships in 1978 and 1979. In the senior level, he stood in his country's squad at the World Cup 1986, as well as at the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary in 1988. By winning the silver medal at the Olympics he reached the hitherto biggest success since Consisting of the national team with Finland. To this end, he contributed one goal in eight games.
Awards and achievements
As a coach
- 2007 Master of the Mestis with Hokki Kajaani
- 2010 Finnish Champion with TPS Turku
- 2012 Finnish runner with the Pelicans