Staff

Coaching Staff

Olli
Jokinen

Olli Jokinen

Coach

Olli Jokinen is one of the most successful European born NHL players of all time. He was drafted 3rd over all by the LA Kings in 1997 and played over 1200 games and 19 seasons in the NHL. Olli Jokinen is currently coaching the U16 SFHA team with the Academy.

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Tomáš
Vokoun

Tomas Vokoun

Coach

Tomáš Vokoun is a Czech Rebublic born goaltender who was drafted in 1994 by the Montreal Canadiens. Vokoun spent 16 seasons in the NHL from 1998 to 2014. Tomas will be in charge of the goalie coaching for the Academy and is a part of the coaching staff for the U16 SFHA team.

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Radek
Dvořák

Radek Dvorak

Coach

Radek Dvořák is one of the Czech Rebublic born players and he spent 18 years in the NHL where he played nearly 1300 games during his career.He was drafted in 1995 by the Florida Panthers in the first round, 10th overall. Radek is coaching staff the SFHA 12U team with the Academy.

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Sergey
Krivokrasov

Coach

Sergey, native of Angarsk, Russia, was drafted in 1992 by 12th overall by Chicago Blackhawks and he went on to play 450 games (10 years) in the NHL with Chicago, Nashville, Calgary, Anaheim, and Minnesota. He also played for the famous Russian Coach Tikhonov at 16 & 17 years old for the Central Red Army team as well as 10 seasons in the KHL after his super NHL career.  

At SFHA, Sergei will be the head coach for our full season 18U team during the 2019-2020 season! He will also be in a big role at SFHA camps and clinics and focus on individual player skill development with us.

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Alexei
Ponikarovsky

Coach

Alex has been drafted 3rd round, #87 overall by the Maple Leafs franchise in 1998, where he spent most of his playing career. He has also played for the Penguins, La Kings, Hurricanes, Winnipeg Jets or NJ Devils gather total of 678 games and 323 points (139+184) in the NHL. “The Poni Express”, as he was referred to by his teammates is a great addition to our experienced coaching staff while really focusing on developing players overall skills and passing the playing knowledge to youth athletes.

Joni
Ahmavuo

Joni Ahmavuo

Coach

Joni is the Academy´s skill and skating coach as well as newly announced the head coach of the SFHA 13U team for 19-20 season. Joni has been working with youth hockey players from around the world for the past fifteen years. He is an excellent skill instructor and is specialized in proper skating techniques. Joni focuses on individual player development with the squirt team as well as at the Academy´s camps and clinics. Joni resides in Boynton Beach, Florida with his wife and daughter.

Hockey Operations

Mikko
Saarni

General Manager

As the GM for the Academy, Mikko is responsible for the Academy´s general operations and development. Mikko has a strong experience in leadership and organizational management as he has been the CEO of Universal Players for the past two decades. UP specializes in player placement to different programs from top Independent Boarding Schools, Junior A programs and Colleges in North America. Mikko´s unique experience with educational consulting is a great advantage for all players within the Academy. He has also years of experience in coaching, and managing in different levels of youth and Junior hockey from around the world. Mikko has the experience of top Junior hockey from Europe as well as North America as a former youth National team player for Finland.

Jakub
Bažant

Assistant General Manager

As the assistant GM of the Academy, Jakub is taking care of the Academy´s day to day operations. He also is in charge of the social media & the head of marketing.  Jakub has a managing and coaching experience from several youth & junior organisations from the US & Canada within the past couple years. For the last 3 years he has also worked as an European Scout at International Scouting Services (ISS Hockey) scouting players all over the Europe. Jakub is a co-founder & general manager of Czech Knights Development Program which has been helping players from Europe to develop their hockey skills & attending the top north American hockey tournaments. Graduating with a Masters Degree of Business from University of Pardubice in Czech Republic, Jakub is a great addition to our experienced staff and is also responsible for recruiting the players from central European region. 

James "Pizza"
Pizzutelli

South Florida Hockey Academy

Head Medical | Travel Coordinator

Pizza has been a Head Medical in the NHL for many years and has more than 2000 NHL games “under his belt”. He has been working with some of the best players in the world and well known for his knowledge and professionalism. Pizza was part of the World Cup winning Team Canada in 1991. He was also the Head Medical for Buffalo Sabres for many years. Pizza was part of the NHL All Star game in 1996. He has been the personal medical/ massage therapist for Olli Jokinen since 2007.

External Cooperation

Al
DeSimone M.D.

Team Physician

Dr. Alfred A. DeSimone is Fellowship Trained in Sports Medicine specializing in Complex Knee and Shoulder Reconstructive surgery. Residing in Weston, FL, Dr. DeSimone is a great addition to our staff on partnership bases in order to provide the SFHA players with the best medical treatment possible. For more information, visit the personal & practice website.

Paul
Buchanan

Team Physician Assistant

Paul is an NCCPA-Certified Physician Assistant that has the ability to perform a detailed initial assessment by conducting a clinical evaluation. With his passion for sports and hockey especially, Paul is helping out our medical staff during SFHA events at the IceDen providing all the players with immediate medical attention at the rink.