Karri Kivi Explained

Karri Kivi
Birth Date:31 January 1970
Birth Place:Turku, Finland
Position:Defence
Shoots:Left
Played For:Ilves tampere
TPS Turku
Kiekko-67
Ässät Pori
AIK IF
Kärpät Oulu
Ntl Team:Finland
Draft:233rd
Draft Year:1990
Draft Team:Vancouver Canucks
Career Start:1988
Career End:2001
Career Start Coach:2002

Karri Kivi (born 31 January 1970, in Turku) is Finnish former ice hockey player and current coach of HC Nové Zámky of Tipos Extraliga.

Playing career

He started his professional career in Ilves in 1988-89 and played until 2001, representing also TPS, Ässät and Kärpät in the SM-liiga. His playing career also included one season in Sweden with AIK. He was drafted by the NHL's Vancouver Canucks in 1990 in the 12th round, 223rd overall, though he ultimately would never play with the club. His career highlights included reaching the Liiga finals with Ilves in 1990 and earning promotion to Finland's top-tier with Kärpät in 2000.

Coaching career

After his playing career, Kivi started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Liiga club Ässät. In 2011, he was promoted to the head coaching job and led Ässät to the Finnish championship in 2013,[1] while receiving Coach of the Year honors. After this successful season, he joined the coaching staff of the Finnish ice hockey federation and coached Finland's men's national junior ice hockey team to the title at the World Junior Championship in 2014.[2]

Prior to the 2014-15 season, Kivi accepted the job as head coach of Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[3] He was relieved of his duties in October 2014.[4] Kivi was named head coach of Finnish Liiga side Ilves prior to the 2016-17 campaign.[5] Kivi was signed as head coach for Ässät in the middle of the 2021–22 season.

Career statistics

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1988–89IlvesSM-liiga3957121050000
1989–90IlvesSM-liiga43615211481452
1990–91IlvesSM-liiga43291118
1991–92TPSSM-liiga333141430000
1992–93Kiekko-67FinD1112794
1992–93ÄssätSM-liiga342111316
1993–94ÄssätSM-liiga48112134951230
1994–95ÄssätSM-liiga501018282071122
1995–96ÄssätSM-liiga50412161830222
1996–97ÄssätSM-liiga50116171840000
1997–98AIKSEL353146
1998–99KärpätFinD14638114250000
1999–00KärpätFinD144281024
2000–01KärpätSM-liiga390111890002
SM-liiga totals4293410213619552411158

Notes and References

  1. News: Laine. Sami. Ässien sankariluotsi: "Pori tarvitsi tätä!". YLE. April 24, 2013. January 5, 2014.
  2. News: Palomäki. Ilkka. Yle Urheilu antoi kouluarvosanat - tässä on Suomen maailmanmestarijoukkue!. YLE. April 5, 2013.
  3. Web site: Jortikka replaces Kivi. www.iihf.com. 2016-05-29.
  4. Web site: Karri Kivi: Traktor is in heart of Chelyabinsk fans, and I hope it will stay the same. ХК Трактор. ru-RU. 2016-05-29.
  5. Web site: Karri Kivi Ilveksen päävalmentajaksi kausiksi 2016-18. liiga.fi. 2016-05-29.