Olli Jokinen’s 17-plus-year career as an NHL player was over by the summer of 2015. But instead of a difficult transition into a second career, there was a clear path for Jokinen.
He had played for 10 NHL teams — including the Florida Panthers from 2000 to 2008 — and some of those clubs wanted him to become an assistant coach.
Jokinen took a different route, blazing a trail of fresh ice.
Together with his business partner and good friend Mikko Saarni, Jokinen in late 2015 created the South Florida Hockey Academy (SFHA).