Karri Kivi appointed as new Traktor head coach

Ivan Senichev, Chairman of HC Traktor Council, Head of Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast Administration: Boris Dubrovski, Interim Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast and the President of HC Traktor, has approved the appointment of Karri Kivi as team’s head coach. Kivi was not the only person in the list of candidates, but we have chosen him for several specific reasons, one of the chief ones being the fact that Kivi’s career has been moving upwards since the very start and reached its climax when Karri led Assät to victory in Finnish national championship. He was also at the helm of U20 Finnish national team who was victorious at this year’s World Championship. During the negotiation process we have talked with several European hockey officials and experts, and each and every one of them spoke highly of Mr. Kivi. Another important factor in choosing the head coach was the ability to work with younger players as the new Traktor is going to be built around young Chelyabinsk hockey school alumni. Karri’s skills and experience in this regard speak volumes since he led his national U20 team to the world title some months ago. All the aforementioned factors contributed in choosing Karri Kivi as Traktor’s head coach for the next two years.

Boris Dubrovski, Interim Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast, President of HC Traktor: I would like to reiterate that I have approved the appointment of Karri Kivi as Traktor’s new head coach. I found the arguments in his favor to be the most convincing one. I would also like to take this opportunity and thank Kalervo Kummola, President of Finnish Hockey Federation and Vice President of IIHF for his assistance in the negotiation process. Mr. Kivi has been bound with contractual obligations he had to fulfill, but thanks to Finnish Hockey Federation’s help this question was rectified. I hope Chelyabinsk will welcome Karri Kivi in our large hockey family.

Karri Kivi, Traktor’s new head coach: I am very happy to be here in Chelyabinsk. Once I got here, I realized that I found myself in a true Mecca of Russian hockey, a true hockey town. I was really surprised with e how much attention is paid to both past and future of Traktor. This is the right way to build a team; a dialogue between generations, if you will. I know that the new team will be based on native players. It is going to be a tough season for sure; the level of KHL is constantly increasing, and the objectives for the next season set by interim Governor are pretty ambitious. I am also counting on the support of Chelyabinsk fans. I am the only non-CIS coach in Traktor’s history, and it gives me an even stronger motivation to work hard and accomplish set objectives.

Bio

Karri Kivi
Born January 31, 1970 in Turku, Finland

Teams (as player): Ilves, TPS, Kiekko-67, Assät, AIK (Stockholm), Kärpät, Finland U18, Finland U20.
Teams (as coach): Assät, FPS, Assät U20, Finland U20.
Achievements (as player): U20 WJC champion (1987), U18 EJC silver medalist (1988), SM-liiga silver medalist with Ilves (1990), SM-liia bronze medalist with Assät (1995).
Achievements (as coach): Jr.A SM-liiga silver medalist with Assät Jr. (2008), SM-liiga champion with Assät (2013), SM-liiga coach of the year (2013), U20 WJC champion (2014).
Notable Finnish hockey players such as Minnesota Wild’s Erik Haula, Sakari Salminen and Veli-Matti Savinainen all were trained by Karri Kivi.

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