Hannu Jortikka

Who is Hannu Jortikka?

Hannu Jortikka is a former Finnish ice hockey player and current coach.

Jortikka spent most of his playing career in TPS. He was a part of the championship-winning TPS team in 1976. He had to retire in 1983 due to injury.

Jortikka was the coach of the World Champion U20 national team of Finland in 1987, the tournament which is famous for the Punch-up in Piestany. He was then appointed as the assistant coach of the national team, which took Finland's first medal in men's level by finishing second in the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Jortikka is best known for his success in club teams. In 1988 he took over as the head coach of TPS, leading them to three successive championships. After being eliminated in quarter-finals in 1992, Jortikka was sacked and he signed with HPK. HPK went to the finals, but Jortikka was sacked before semi-finals after it was revealed that he had already signed for Swiss team SC Bern for the following season. He has also coached Malmö IF for two non-successive seasons.

In December 1995 he joined JYP as a mid-season replacement. JYP was placed last at that point and on its way to relegation games.