Kari Jalonen is a former professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 center. He played parts of two seasons at the NHL

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 level, with the Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...

 and Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

, but is best known for his time in SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...

 and with the Finnish national team.

Jalonen represented Finland internationally on nine occasions, including with the silver-medal winning 1980 World Juniors team and the bronze-medal winning 1986 World Championship team.

After his Playing Career, Jalonen has made himself a career in coaching.

Jalonen has coached successful SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...

 teams TPS

TPS (ice hockey)

TPS or Turun Palloseura is an ice hockey team and 11-time champion of SM-liiga. They play in Turku, Finland at the HK Arena. In terms of championships, TPS is the most successful team in SM-liiga history.-Team history:...

, Kärpät

Kärpät

Oulun Kärpät is an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga based in Oulu, Finland. Their logo features a stoat ; "kärpät" is Finnish for stoats or ermines. The team has won five league championships .-History:...

 and HIFK

HIFK (ice hockey)

HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897...

. He has won four gold medals as a Head Coach. Three with Kärpät and one with HIFK. Jalonen also played for HIFK during his playing career.

Jalonen will start as the Head Coach of Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod is an ice hockey club in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. They are members of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League....

 in KHL from the beginning of the 2011–12 season.

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