Oulu hockey club begins training as others play semifinals – fans question repeated failures
Monday 23rd March 2026 on 18:30 in
Finland
Oulu-based ice hockey team Kärpät will start off-season training on April 20 while other teams compete in the league semifinals, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports. The club’s second consecutive failure to qualify for playoffs has sparked criticism in a city accustomed to success.
Head coach Petri Karjalainen called the season a “complete failure” and acknowledged major changes are needed. “We have to dig deep and find out why we hit the wall and what steps we take moving forward,” he said.
Kärpät, one of the league’s highest-budget teams, finished outside playoff contention for the second straight year—a result Karjalainen described as “catastrophic” for the organization. While injuries to key players affected performance, he emphasized deeper structural issues: “The problem was that our game wasn’t tight or resilient enough. The teams still playing now know how to push through tough moments. We didn’t.”
The club’s early training start serves as a “concrete reminder” of underperformance, Karjalainen added. “We put ourselves in this position. The alternative would be playing well enough to still be competing in April and May.”
Major roster overhaul planned Sports director Kimmo Kapanen confirmed significant changes, with seven or eight new players expected to join. The goal is to build four balanced lines, aligning more closely with the coach’s vision than in previous seasons.
Despite two years of financial strain from missing playoffs, Kapanen insisted the budget will remain competitive. “Every euro we spend will go toward building a strong team. We’ll have the resources we need,” he said, noting that strategic moves during the past season already freed up funds for reinforcements.
Karjalainen, who retains the board’s full support, reaffirmed the team’s ambition: “Whether other teams get relegated or not doesn’t change our goal—we aim to win every game and the championship. Our focus has to be on performing at that level every night.”