Finnish hockey coach celebrates win, birth of son at world juniors

VANCOUVER — Finnish hockey coach Jussi Ahokas says he was the “happiest man on Earth” Wednesday night. But it wasn’t solely because his team had punched its ticket to the semifinals at the world junior hockey championship.

About an hour after Finland’s dramatic 2-1 overtime win over defending champion Canada, Ahokas got a call from his wife who had just given birth to a healthy baby boy.

He posted a photo to Instagram early Thursday morning showing a sleeping infant swaddled in a blanket and wearing a blue-and-white knit hat.

The 38-year-old is already a dad to two little girls and says he knew as he stood behind the bench that he was about to have a new child.

Still, he had to stay focused on what was happening on the ice.

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“You just have to do your job first and concentrate on the situation that was happening,” Ahokas said Thursday. “But it was, of course, a big night for our family.”

The coach added that he won’t be naming his son after Toni Utunen, the Vancouver Canucks prospect who scored the game-winning goal against Canada.

“We have a name for him, but we’ll name him later on,” he said with a laugh.

Asked how he’ll recount Jan. 2, 2019 to his child, Ahokas smiled.

“It will be a good story to tell,” he said.

Finland will face Switzerland in the semifinals on Friday.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press