Former Panthers captain named Liiga coach of the year

Finland's top division, Liiga, announced the winners of their annual awards on Friday and they included a few notable names.

Former Florida Panthers captain Olli Jokinen was named Liiga coach of the year. In his first season as a head coach in Finland, Jokinen led Jukurit to second in the regular season standings, earning a spot in the quarterfinals. In the playoffs, they were defeated by the eighth seed, KooKoo, in seven games.

2022 top draft prospect Joakim Kemell was named rookie of the year. Kemell finished the season with 23 points (fifteen goals, eight assists), two penalty minutes and was a minus-thirteen in 39 games for JYP.

Vili Saarijarvi, a third round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2015, was named Liiga defenceman of the year after recording 43 points (seventeen goals, 26 assists) in 52 games.

Speaking of the Red Wings, 2008 Stanley Cup champion Valtteri Filppula was honoured by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association during the awards ceremony on Friday. He was given the President's Trophy and named Finnish male player of the year. Filppula won Olympic gold with the Finns in February and last month led them to a World Championship gold medal on home ice. With the World Championship victory, Filppula became the 30th member of the Triple Gold Club.

Source: Liiga.

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